Gone and Forgotten
This morning, I took my friend Paul Irwin with me to our Tuesday prayer connection with some elected officials. I then had my morning Bible Study with the residents at Morning Star Assisted Living. Paul and I joined Dick and Ruth Foth for lunch. It was a great opportunity to connect and share with those who are making such an impact on others through their lives.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God who had delivered them from the power of the enemies around them. They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.” Judges 8:33-35 HCSB
The story of Gideon is one of the most detailed of the judges in the Bible. God calls Gideon from a place of hiding. He takes this unlikely hero and turns him into a brave warrior. As Gideon calls out men to battle, the Lord soon reduces the ranks to 300 men. Gideon and his army with the Lord’s help defeat the Midianites and throw off their oppression.
All of this took place so that God’s people who had disobeyed and were suffering the consequences of their disobedience would turn to the Lord and serve Him only and faithfully. But we see that the people desired to make Gideon their King.
Gideon’s response, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” (Judges 8:23 HCSB) For reasons not known, Gideon collected from the people some of the spoils of war and made an ephod, or breastplate. Perhaps this was to serve a memorial to the victory the Lord had won; but the people treated it as an idol and it even became a “snare to Gideon and his family.”
After all the victories, Gideon dies, the people return to their idolatry, they forget about Gideon, the victories won and most important that it was the Lord who had gone before them and delivered them.
As I reflect on these events, I am struck by how easy it is for us to neglect to recognize the source of our strength, provisions and deliverance. The Lord has made it clear the He was the One who had made Gideon successful. The Lord chose an unlikely person, with an inadequate army to show that He was the One who brought the victory. But instead the people wanted to make Gideon King and then they made an idol out of a souvenir from the spoils battle.
Gideon tried to direct the people’s attention to focus on the Lord and stay loyal to Him, but it seems that was not acceptable to the people. They were fixed on what they “could see” – whether a king or ephod, or idol or some object. This strikes a the heart of the first commandment, “thou shalt have no others gods before me.” What we see is when the first commandment is broken, all others fall by the wayside. That is what happened over the years in the moral decline of God’s people.
Next we see how when Gideon was gone, who he was and what he had accomplished were soon forgotten. It is important for us to remember that our lives stand on the foundation of the “victories” of others. That may relate to those who have fought for our freedoms. It may be parents and past generations who worked and sacrifice, so that a future generation might enjoy a “better life.”
In our life it is important for us to continually recognize God’s divine intervention into our lives. We can be and need to be thankful for those whom God uses. But we most not give to others the glory that is due to the Lord. At the same time, we need to value the contribution of others and the difference they make in our life, nation and world. It is so easy to forget the impact of those of the past in seeking, heroes in the present. It is the “heroes” of the past that should provide the encouragement and dedication needed in the present.
Perhaps all of this is summarized in the New Testament Book of Hebrews, “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.” (Hebrews 12:1,2 HCSB)