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Gideon Made an Ephod
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And 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. 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.”
Judges 8:26–27
God granted Gideon a miraculous victory over the Midianites that brought deliverance from painful bondage to the Jewish people. With a tiny group of three hundred men, Gideon routed a massive enemy army and put them to flight. Then, once the victory had been won, in one of the great tragedies of Scripture, Gideon took the spoils of war that had been gained only by God’s power and grace, and used them to make a false idol that eventually he and many others began to worship.
While most people do not carve statues of gold or silver to worship in our day, there are many who worship something in place of God. Charles Spurgeon said, “If you love anything better than God, you are idolaters: if there is anything you would not give up for God it is your idol: if there is anything that you seek with greater fervor than you seek the glory of God, that is your idol.”
It is not by coincidence that the first commandment said, “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2–3). God is not willing to be one among many or even first among equals. He is God alone, and nothing and no one will be allowed to take His place. The throne of our heart must be His completely.
Judges 8:26–27
God granted Gideon a miraculous victory over the Midianites that brought deliverance from painful bondage to the Jewish people. With a tiny group of three hundred men, Gideon routed a massive enemy army and put them to flight. Then, once the victory had been won, in one of the great tragedies of Scripture, Gideon took the spoils of war that had been gained only by God’s power and grace, and used them to make a false idol that eventually he and many others began to worship.
While most people do not carve statues of gold or silver to worship in our day, there are many who worship something in place of God. Charles Spurgeon said, “If you love anything better than God, you are idolaters: if there is anything you would not give up for God it is your idol: if there is anything that you seek with greater fervor than you seek the glory of God, that is your idol.”
It is not by coincidence that the first commandment said, “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2–3). God is not willing to be one among many or even first among equals. He is God alone, and nothing and no one will be allowed to take His place. The throne of our heart must be His completely.
Today’s Growth Principle:
The only rightful place for God is on the throne of our hearts, and He will accept nothing less.
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