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Judges 8:27
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.
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March 9
A Hero Falls
Even heroes are
susceptible to failure. Pastors and great
Christian men and women can and will sin.
It is a tragedy when our heroes fail us, both as
a matter of disappointment on our behalf and the
fact that those who oppose Christianity trumpet
the failure as a victory for them and proof that
Christians are frauds.
Gideon led the Israelites
into a great victory and he was placed on a
pedestal. It is doubtful that he
desired the attention, nor did he expect the
worship that came from his placement of the
golden ephod.
When we're told that we're
great often enough however, we may start to
actually believe it. This was likely the
case with Gideon. He had accomplished
something great but it was God who achieved the
victory, Gideon was simply an instrument of
God's work.
Gideon did not seek to be
worshipped but he didn't stop it when people
began to worship the ephod which he made.
We need to be careful about the praise that we
receive. When people praise us, we need to
give God the glory for the abilities that He
gave us. |
