Sheesh! The same beat goes on and on!
Gideon's story is an interesting one overall. He is the weakest of his family, and is first seen threshing the wheat....which is the lowest job one could have. He wants no part of what the angel is telling him.....he has a hard time believing. Then, miraculously (I can only guess, by the Grace of God)...he is transformed into the fearless leader. That throws around statements like,
"Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
That seems like a LONG way to come for one person, doesn't it?
I can relate to how the Ephraimites spoke to Gideon after his victory....
“Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?”
Its always nice to think you are on the winning team, and would have the courage to stand up, if you were called...but, a completely different thing to do it when the conflict is starring you in the face. It makes me think of the Joe Paterno situation....I keep hearing on the radio all the details, and the people calling in to say what they would have done......hind sight is always 20/20, but real courage takes blind faith sometimes.
Your point is so true, he went from apparently weak and meek to having unshakable confidence. Maybe this is the result of testing his faith and having it confirmed--a good lesson?
ReplyDeleteOne thing that bugged me in this chapter is:
v27 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.
He made a great statement saying the Lord will rule them not him, but then he goes out and builds an idol it seems. Why? It doesn't go on to say much, but this seems like a bad choice for a man of faith. Is it an illustration of how even those of great faith are at risk to make bad choices? or am I missing something and this was not a bad choice?
I completely agree with your Paterno take, there are all these people speaking as if they would acted so much more noble. If they self reflect I bet they can all point to times where they turned their head the other way at a negative circumstance--the people that appear the most angry are the ones I doubt the most. Like you say, its easy to say the right thing now. That is a terrible deal going down though--its hard to imagine what is in a man's head if he is truly guilty.