Judges 8:22-35

     The Central Idea of the Text is that Israel tried to make Gideon king (Judg. 8:22-23), then they worshipped the ephod he’d created (Judg. 8:27), and they eventually returned to idolatry after his death (Judg. 8:33-34). 

     Gideon took some of the gold he’d acquired from the Midianites and created an ephod (Judg. 8:25-27). The ephod was originally part of the clothing worn by the high priest (Ex. 28:1-6).  It is possible Gideon made the ephod for himself, and like the priests of Israel, sought to consult the Lord directly, as did others in Israel (see Judg. 17:5; 18:14-20).  Or, it could be that Gideon made the ephod as a memorial to remind Israel that it was the Lord who delivered them (Judg. 8:34).  The end result was that the ephod became an object of worship as the men of his city followed the natural inclinations of their depraved heart. 

     It was valid for Gideon to be recognized and rewarded for his obedience to the Lord.  However, Gideon seems to have desired and requested more than was due him when he multiplied wives and sons (Judg. 8:30), even naming one Abimelech, which means “my father the king” (Judg. 8:31).  Gideon’s success over the Midianites was followed by spiritual failure when he succumbed to the cultural landmines that plagued his culture.

     Israel had a pattern of crying out to the Lord when faced with a crisis (Judg. 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:6-7; 10:10), but then did as they pleased and worshipped false gods when everything was going well (Judg. 2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1).  However weak, it seems Gideon had a restraining influence upon Israel, which restraint was removed after his death, as Israel quickly turned to Baal worship (Judg. 8:33-35).  

     Israel’s return to idolatry exposes the depravity of the human condition which is naturally bent toward sin, the exclusion of God, and the substitution of a manufactured god.  We are all born with a sin nature that leads us to sin and evil (Ps. 51:5; Jer. 17:9; Matt. 7:11; 15:19; John 3:19; Rom. 3:10-20; 7:18; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19; 1 John 1:8-10).  Individuals may be denoted as given over to evil (Matt. 5:39), and so may a generation (Matt. 16:4), as well as an age (Gal. 1:4; 5:15-16).  Satan’s world system seeks to silence the Christian either through temptation and absorption, or through oppression and exclusion.  The Christian is victorious over the world when his mind (the control center for his thoughts, feelings, and actions) is saturated with God’s Word (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:16-17), and he continues in prayer (Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2), and godly Christian fellowship (Acts 2:42; Heb. 10:23-25), under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:16).