Judges 8:1 “And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.”
There are certain pitfalls that come with success. In fact, victory itself can be a pitfall. These men in Judges 8 “did chide with him [Gideon] sharply.” Later in this same chapter, the people said, “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.” (verse 22) How quickly they forgot that God was the One who gave the victory! You remember the army of only 300, don’t you? Even worse, the ephod that Gideon had made “became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.” (verse 27) The people worshipped an object instead of Who the object ultimately represented.
The second snare is waiting to see what happens before lending support.
This is related to the first snare, but we see the story unfold in verses 4-7. Gideon and his three hundred men were “faint, yet pursuing them.” He asks the men of Succoth for bread for his army behind him. But the men of Succoth did not know if Gideon would win. They did not want to aid and supply Gideon and his men, in case the kings of Midian prevailed and could punish them for helping Gideon. They were waiting to play both sides. You will find the same snare on the heels of victory.Nobody wants failure. On days when things do go well, there are certain snares that you would not have otherwise had. No one will rush to the front for a share of the credit or the action when the situation is bleak. Make sure your cause is right; and if it is, trust God to take care of it and let the chips fall where they may.
Prayer Requests: 1. Revival services tonight in Markleton, PA; Manistique, MI; and Pocatello, ID 2. West Branch Ladies on the Move Conference in Flagstaff, AZ tomorrow(Sat., 4/25) 3. Ranch evangelists preaching this weekend in Three Springs, PA; Lock Haven, PA; Flagstaff, AZ; Liberty, SC; and Lyford, IN
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