Leaders But Not Kings

 People who don’t really trust God tend to put too much emphasis on the leader.  Some, like the leaders in Succoth and Penuel refuse to get involved until they are sure the leader will succeed.  Others put their trust in the man himself, depending on him to fix all the problems.  Gideon’s success led many of the Israelites to decide he should be king, as Judges 8:22-23 describes.  “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.  And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.”

 

While God had chosen men to lead Israel, he never intended them to become kings, and Gideon recognized that.  Two hundred fifty years later, when they demanded a king, in I Samuel 8:7, God told Samuel they were rejecting him by demanding a king.  “And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”  Samuel tried to talk them out of it but they refused to listen.  God instructed him to do as they demanded, but before he did Samuel warned them what they were doing was wrong, in I Samuel 10:17-19.  “And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us…”

 

Gideon refused to disrespect God by becoming their king, but he did request a favor from them, in Judges 8:24.  “And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)”  Each culture tends to adopt a particular style of dress, making them easy to identify, and Ishmael’s descendants made a point of the men wearing earrings. 

 

The Israelites had saved the earring of the dead Midianites.  And they readily donated them to Gideon as he asked, in Judges 8:25-26.  “And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.  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.”  The people appreciated Gideon’s service and willingly donated the earrings, which totaled about fifty pounds of gold. 

 

Wanting to honor God and remind people of him, Gideon made a copy of the ephod the High Priest wore, in Judges 8:27.  “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.”  Unfortunately, our efforts to remind people of God can themselves become idolatrous, with people focusing on them instead of on God himself, and the more prestige a person earns, the worse the problem becomes.   Even the best Leaders make mistakes, and must be recognized as being human like everyone else. They must not be exalted as kings or demigods.

 

Despite the effect Gideon’s ephod had, Israel was free for the next forty years.  Gideon’s defeat of the Midianites so weakened them that they would never again invade Israel, as Judges 8:28 tells us.  “Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.”