April 4th | Judges 8

For the first 10 years of my marriage, my wife and I did not have a dishwasher. Actually, we did have a dishwasher, ME! But one day, we got a machine that we could load all of our dirty dishes in, and it was glorious the first time I pressed start on the button and walked away. A couple of hours later, I opened up the dishwasher, and all the dishes were magically clean! Whoever invented the dishwasher is my favorite person! While a dishwasher is an amazing invention, I still struggle sometimes. I will open the dishwasher expecting the dishes to be clean but find that I never pressed the button to start the wash. I was so close, but that one action led to the dishes being dirty and failing to be cleaned. Isn’t it amazing how we can get almost everything right, but one little mistake can keep all the dishes dirty? The same is true in our spiritual lives as we see in the story of Gideon. 

Gideon trounces over the kings of Midian. They are vanquished, and Israel can walk in freedom and peace. In response to this great victory, the people of Israel seek to make Gideon King. 

Judges 8:22, “Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, 'Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.’”

I’m sure this is a good plan, but according to the Levitical law, God forbade Israel from having a king. They are not to look to human kings to lead them, but they are to look to the Lord alone. Gideon knew this, and after he had followed the Lord and experienced His power, Gideon responded appropriately. 

Judges 8:23 says, “Gideon said to them, 'I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.’”

Gideon says the right thing. God will be our king! Yet, while Gideon says the right thing, his heart and actions say another. Gideon declines the official title of King over Israel, but he certainly begins acting like a king. 

He asks the men of Israel to bring all the gold they had collected from the spoils of war and directs them to make an ephod in his honor. We aren’t sure what this ephod is exactly, but it is likely some type of breastplate or kingly garment. He then directs the people to put it up like a statue in HIS city of Ophrah (v.27). Do you see the problem? He is saying that the Lord is Israel’s king, but he is directing them to work, as a king directs his servants. He is directing them to make a statue in his honor. He is claiming a city as his own, much like a king would do. He might claim that God is King, but in his own heart, he wants some glory for himself. Then, we hear the devastating effects of Gideon’s actions. 

Judges 8:27 says, “And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.”

Gideon was close, but at the end, one little mistake stained his legacy. He had loaded the dishwasher and put the detergent in, but he failed to press start. The dishes were still dirty. In the Bible, many people come and go. They do great acts and fight for God, and yet they all fail. The dishes are still dirty. For us, we might try to clean ourselves up and do right, but in some way or another, we will fail. This is why we need King Jesus! Jesus was the only one who didn’t fail. He obeyed the Father perfectly, even unto death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him to be worshiped above every name (Phil 2:6-11). 

Today, recognize your shortcomings. Repent of your deceptive heart and the stains that your sin leaves. Cling to Christ, our perfect King, who has come to make us clean.