The High Priest s ephod What s an ephod? The ephod had two shoulder pieces, each holding an onyx stone. The names of the 12 sons of Israel were engraved on these two stones. The breastpiece had 4 rows, each with 3 precious stones. Each of these stones had engraved upon it the name of one of the tribes of Israel.
The High Priest s ephod The ephod and the breastpiece together represent the value that the Lord places upon His people as a whole nation and as individual tribes these two pieces of Aaron s clothing also indicate that he is to act as a representative on behalf of the 12 tribes before the Lord in order to bring them to remembrance.
The High Priest s ephod The ephod was to be worn only by the High Priest as he performed his duties in the tabernacle (or later, the temple). The priests acted as God s representatives to His people, and as their mediators who presented their offerings to God.
Here s a different one - Why doesn t this one look like it s made of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen? Why does this one have incense burning before it? How could there be another ephod?
Well, let s back up a bit first... Look back at Judges 7:2 what were God s primary goals in this battle with Midian? Israel must know their dependence upon Him. Israel must acknowledge that He is the true God. Israel must worship God alone and no others. Now look at 7:20-22 What was Israel s role, and what was God s role, in this battle? Israel: Watch the Lord fight on your behalf. God: Do the real work of the battle. In 7:24-25 Gideon calls out additional men from Ephraim to help. They do so, and perform valiantly.
That brings us to chapter 8...and a lot of questions. Starting with this in 8:1-3 Why are the guys from Ephraim so upset? For some reason, back in 6:35, Gideon chose not to call out men from Ephraim to fight, maybe because they weren t immediate neighbors around the Valley of Jezreel where the battle was fought. Whatever the reason, the Ephraimites were all bothered about this, and pitched a fit. Gideon s sot answer turned away their wrath, whereas a harsh word would have stirred up anger (Prov. 15:1). Maybe a little flattery here too? Well, anyway, they got calmed down.
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 Question: What s missing in 8:1-21 that we saw frequently in chs. 6-7? Answer: God speaking. His name gets tossed around a bit in ch. 8, but He Himself is silent. Which raises another question: Was Gideon supposed to keep fighting? Because this is very different from the pattern the Lord had set for this battle in chs. 6-7. Answer: That s a really good question. This additional fighting that Gideon takes on with his 300 exhausted men ends up as a train wreck.
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 In v. 4-9 Gideon seeks help from two Israelite cities located just east of the Jordan River. The people of both cities refuse help to Gideon & his men. Maybe, since they lived east of the Jordan and much closer to the people of the east who had cruelly oppressed Israel for the last 7 years, they were reluctant to take a side. Maybe. Or not. At any rate, they refuse, and Gideon is ticked. He makes some rash and tough-sounding promises (v. 7, 9). Doesn t quite sound like the weak, timid guy we saw earlier.
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 So what is this? It is evidence of the increasing fracturing, division, and localized self-interest that eventually result in near civil war later in Judges. What is the most important command in Scripture? Mark 12:28-31 Love God first, and love your neighbor as yourself. The problem: increasing sin results in increasing distance from God, which will always lead to fracturing, division, and self-interest. Isolation. love your neighbor as yourself becomes love your neighbor as yourself.
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 Don t ever forget the critical importance of unity in the body of Christ. Why does it matter so much? John 13:35; 17:21-23. That s why it matters. From here on through v. 21, the action alternates between the two Kings of Midian that Gideon was seeking, and the two cities of Israel that Gideon was disciplining. Gideon and however many men were with him at this point find the Kings of Midian in the city of Karkor (v. 10), which was likely east of the Dead Sea near or in the territory of Ammon.
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 A quick strike by Gideon s army nets him his goal: the two Kings of Midian. The rest of the Midianite army, with no leadership, panics and runs. Gideon is satisfied he found what he wanted, and turned around and headed for home. And that s when the problems start. Come on Gideon finish well! Please finish well! Look back again at 7:2. I think maybe Gideon forgot this. God s battle of liberation became Gideon s personal crusade, with the 300 now his personal band of marauders.
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 So Gideon shows up again at the city of Succoth with the two Kings of Midian in hand (v. 13-15). He gets the names of the 77 officials & elders of the city, v. 14. He rounds them up, grabs a bunch of briers with thorns, and he taught the men of Succoth a lesson (see v. 7). A little harsh? He finishes there and moves to Penuel. Remember what he promised he d do there? v. 9. He broke down the tower and in addition killed the men of the city (v. 17). In his rage he went beyond his threat to fellow Israelites.
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 Was that really necessary? Once again, it s interesting that in these narrative books of Scripture, we so often see things like this presented without moral comment. We don t get the author s opinion we just have to look at the facts, at the setting, and evaluate: based on what you know of God and Scripture, was this the right thing to do in that situation? And that is life for us as Christians, right? Take what we see in Scripture, and what we know of the character of God, get godly counsel, and make the best decision we can.
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 Well, Gideon has these two Kings of Midian, and he needs to do something with them. In v. 18-19 we get another little glimpse into Gideon s family, and we begin to understand why he has captured the Kings of Midian. The Kings of Midian had captured Gideon s brothers and killed all of them at Mt. Tabor, just north of their camp in the Valley of Jezreel. So Gideon tells his young son who was with him to do the dirty work and kill these two Kings (v. 20).
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 The two Kings, in v. 21, tell Gideon to man up and so he did, and killed them bringing more questions: First, why was Gideon s young son with him? It s very doubtful that he was one of the 300. Second, once again, why did Gideon break the pattern that God had set in chs. 6-7 for this battle? Third, why didn t Gideon leave vengeance to God? Could he have trusted God for this? And fourth, why oh why did Gideon take the crescent ornaments off the necks of their camels? No Gideon don t! Just let it go finish well!
The fallout of the battle--judges 8:1-21 We re seeing a pattern here of self-gratifying choices. Deviating from God s directions and ways, taking matters into his own hands where will it end? Why do we sometimes ignore the clear direction of Scripture and make self-gratifying choices? Because it feels good in the moment? Because we don t see immediate consequences? Because who s going to see? Because the people around me aren t following God, and it s just really hard? Because I m so tired? Because I want to be God for a little while?
The legacy of Gideon-Judges 8:22-35 I keep wanting Gideon to keep his mouth shut. In v. 22, Gideon is asked to be king. Again, think back to 7:2 God alone was to get the glory for this entire deliverance. Gideon appears to respond nobly but here s the problem with 7:18, 20. Well, this noble-sounding response came from a guy who named his son My father is king; the meaning of Abimelech (v. 31). And notice that Gideon carefully avoided giving credit for the victory to God, like he should have. And now, if the narrative went straight from v. 23 to v. 28 and stopped there, all would be well. But
The legacy of Gideon-Judges 8:22-35 Gideon has to open his mouth. Why does Gideon make this request in v. 24??? No! This can t end well! No Gideon, don t!! 1700 shekels of gold approx. 50 lbs., plus a bunch of other very costly stuff (v. 26) notice that he kept all the symbols of royalty. And there it is that s Gideon s price. 50 lbs of gold is enough to turn him away from the Lord. From this gold, Gideon makes his own ephod. The true ephod was only to be worn by the High Priest in the presence of God. Why did Gideon want an ephod of his own???
The legacy of Gideon-Judges 8:22-35 His own ephod. What could possibly go wrong? Notice what resulted from this decision: It became a snare to Gideon. It became a snare to his family. And all Israel whored after it And this is part 1 of Gideon s legacy notice v. 33. Gideon could have left a legacy of godliness, an honorable example for his countrymen to follow. When he noticed it becoming a snare to him, then to his family, then to all Israel why didn t he destroy it??? Gideon please finish well!!
The legacy of Gideon-Judges 8:22-35 And now Gideon s legacy, part 2: a kid, from a concubine (which never seems to go well), who he named My father is king (v. 31). Gideon is a direct contributor to the mess of v. 33-35. They were heading there even before his death. He did what was right in his own eyes. And Gideon is a direct contributor to the train wreck that was Abimelech s life in ch. 9, and the trail of wreckage Abimelech left in his wake. Gideon had every opportunity to finish well, but he made increasingly poor, self-gratifying choices. The long-term result was idol worship and many deaths.
The legacy of Gideon-Judges 8:22-35 Notice v. 28 again: the land had rest 40 years That is the last time you will see this phrase in Judges. The LORD withdraws this gift. It is hard to finish well. It takes trust in the goodness of God, though it may not always be apparent Phil. 1:6; Jude 24. It takes perseverance through many trials James 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 1:6-7. It takes deliberate focus on Jesus Christ as the greatest treasure of all 1 Pet. 1:7-9; Heb. 12:1-3 And it takes the help of the body of Christ Heb. 3:13, 10:24-25.