Links for today’s readings:
Read: Judges 8 Listen: (5:08) Read: Titus 3 Listen: (2:05)
Links for this weekend’s readings:
Read: Judges 9 Listen: (8:22) Read: 1 Peter 1 Listen: (3:53)
Read: Judges 10-11.11 Listen: (7:11) Read: 1 Peter 2 Listen: (3:48)
Scripture Focus: Judges 8.27-31
27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years. 29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.
Reflection: Underdogs Gone Wrong
By John Tillman
Leaders called and used by God often “go wrong,” yet biblical authors rarely feel obligated to point it out. They expect us to notice.
Gideon started as a relatable, reluctant, outcast with “underdog vibes.” By the end, Gideon acts like a tyrant, even though he refuses to be crowned king. Let’s compare Gideon’s beginnings to his later actions.
Gideon’s nickname, “Jerub-Baal,” described his opposition to the community’s idolatry. But soon Gideon used plunder to create a golden ephod, leading his family and Israel to sinful worship.
Gideon hesitated to go to war without God’s double-confirmation. But after tasting a little victory, he obsessively tracked down two kings to take revenge for his brothers’ deaths and took revenge on anyone who hesitated to help him.
Gideon hiding in the winepress didn’t seem “mighty” or “valorous.” (Judges 6.11-12 NKJV) By the end, violent warlords recognized Gideon as their kind of “prince” and his vengeful bloodlust frightened his son.
At the end of the story, Gideon, the likeable underdog has become a vicious, lustful, revenge-obsessed wolf. Gideon, the opponent of idols, led Israel right back to idolatry instead of the God who saved them. Gideon is so likable in the beginning, it’s easy to miss when the lines are crossed from victim to anti-hero to villain.
At what point did Gideon “go wrong?”
God disappears from the story after confusing the armies, causing them to kill each other. Following this, Gideon doesn’t consult God and neither God nor the narrator gives approval or disapproval to Gideon’s actions. This could be the moment Gideon starts to go wrong, but I wouldn’t be dogmatic about it.
Gideon’s darkest moments were driven by the pain and anger of losing his brothers. His tainted legacy was set in motion by his lust for women and power.
Pinpointing Gideon’s errors might be an interesting intellectual exercise, but we need to turn our attention to ourselves. Like Gideon, lusts, pain, anger, and bitterness can be the undoing of our own lives or the lives of our leaders and peers.
It is extraordinarily difficult to notice someone you love and respect is “going wrong” and speak up to correct them. The only thing harder might be to notice when we, ourselves, are going wrong. We need the Holy Spirit to aid us.
It’s okay to be an underdog, but don’t let bitterness transform you to a wolf.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm
Can a corrupt tribunal have any part with you, one which frames evil into law?
They conspire against the life of the just and condemn the innocent to death.
But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my trust.
He will turn their wickedness back upon them and destroy them in their own malice; the Lord our God will destroy them. — Psalm 94.20-23
– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle
Read more: Embracing Uncertainty
Gideon cannot escape his insecurity…Our repetitive pleas to God to help our uncertainty is not a sign of diminishing faith.
Read more: The King We Want
We want a king, we say
A conqueror, triumphant
Crush our enemies who slight us
Crush the governments above us