‘Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”’ (Judges 8:23 ESV).
Gideon, the hesitant judge, would not be coaxed into being king. He recognized that it was the Lord, and not the people, who had called him to be a judge and lead Israel against the Midianites. Therefore, he did not recognize the people’s authority to name him king and rightly refused. He overcame the temptation to accept power that did not belong to him.
However, in this moment of victory over the Midianites and victory over temptation to power, he made the mistake of allowing the spoils of victory to become a snare to him. For the golden earrings that he requested from each of his warrior’s share of the spoils became like the golden calf to him and all of Israel. Gideon stepped over the snare of power only to become entangled in the snare of riches and idolatry.
And so we must pray as the Lord Jesus taught us, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). For even in our best moments we are still vulnerable to sin. None of us are immune to every temptation. As the apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we pray as our Lord taught us. Lead us not into temptation. For we are often weak and blind to its snare. And if we are tempted, strengthen us and show us a way of escape as You have promised (1 Cor. 10:13). In Jesus’ name, amen.