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"Lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me"
(Judges 7: 2).
When victory over Midian was complete, the men of Israel said to Gideon: "Rule
thou over us", but he refused, saying, "The Lord shall rule over you". He, however,
made a request which resulted in the making of an Ephod, which became a snare to
Israel. It is evident that the priests of Israel were lax in their high duties, and as Gideon
had already been permitted to offer a sacrifice, so he ventured to make an Ephod,
probably with the idea that by its means he would, in future, be able to consult the Lord
as to His will.
A great temptation in days of failure is to make do with substitutes, but such
makeshifts are not according to the will of the Lord. Nothing can take the place of the
finished work of Christ, and it is better to walk in a solitary path, without the slightest
external evidence of faith or hope, than attempt the smallest substitution, in matters of
worship and service, for that which the Lord has commanded.
Thus every
"denomination" has been formed in the spirit here exhibited by Gideon. Those who
instituted them meant well, yet they have but furthered the schism of the church and
veiled the supreme glory of the risen Christ.
"Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams"
(I Sam. 15: 22).
Jephthah.
We have already considered the story of Abimelech, and seen how he made capital out
of the degraded character of his birth. Jephthah, too, was the son of an harlot, but, instead
of being allowed to remain to stir up strife, he was thrust out of home by his father's
other sons who said: "Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of
a strange woman" (Judges 11: 2). He then appears to have become an outlaw, and his
followers are described as "vain men". Now the word "vain" means empty, and is
employed to describe the "empty pitchers" of Gideon (Judges 7: 16), but where it is
used of men it always means vain. Such was the type of men hired by Abimelech
(Judges 9: 4), and gathered together by Jeroboam, and they are further described as
children of Belial (II Chron. 13: 7).
Jephthah, by reason of his birth, was classed with the Ammonite and Moabite
(Deut. 23: 2, 3), so that his employment in Israel's deliverance and his acceptance by
the men of Gilead indicate how far the priests and leaders of the people had failed in their
office.
The cause of Ammon's antagonism to Israel was ostensibly the question of the land
that had been taken by Israel at their entry into Canaan.
"Jephthah's argument is one that would be advanced now in a Court of Law. If the
lands are yours, why have you not claimed possession during the 300 years they have
been held by us?" (Companion Bible, Appendix 50/4:).