After Gideon’s victory over the Midianites, the people of Israel come to him and want to make him a king. “Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you” (Judg. 8:2323And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you. (Judges 8:23)). Isn’t that lovely? His answer is orthodox all right, but the man’s heart is already away from the Lord; he can utter pious things, but his heart is not right.
“Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; besides ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels’ necks. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house” (Judg. 8:24-2724And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 26And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks. 27And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. (Judges 8:24‑27)).
The Snare of the Jewels
That is sad, isn’t it? Gideon was willing to accept a little flattery. He wanted the earrings, jewels, and ornaments taken from the prey, and they became a stumbling block to his people, himself and his house. There is a warning there for us, dear saints of God. You may be used of the Lord mightily, as Gideon was, but if you do not keep that same meekness and lowliness that characterized him as humble and broken in spirit, you are going to get away from the Lord. When Gideon got away from the Lord, he took others with him. When you get away from the Lord, you are going to take others with you. His own son got into the snare.
God does not say a word about that in Hebrews 11; it is omitted. God is there giving a record of those men as men of faith, not as men of failure; they are going to be in that glorious resurrection in that coming day, “that they without us should not be made perfect.” They are candidates for that better resurrection. He passes over all their failure; isn’t that lovely! That is the kind of God and Father we have. Down here in this world we have to reap the fruit of our ways, but thank God, when we get through the wilderness journey, when we are gathered home to the Father’s house, we will be there without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
It is a wonderful thing to be a child of God — to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, and to seek, according to the measure of our faith, to live for Him the little time we are left here.
C. H. Brown