I have relatives in upstate New York that have lived on their family farms for generations. These relatives have poured themselves into these farms and they have become attached to the land. Walking though houses they would tell stories of people long dead right along with stories of those still living. I hungered to hear stories about my grandmother and grandfather. This was a place where family values and traditions were taught by parents and handed down to the next generation.
Gideon from the tribe of Manasseh grew up on this type of farm. This was the Promise Land, and Gideon’s family was farming the portion allotted to his family by God. He was a man raised on family land in Ophrah, where his father produced wheat and grapes. All was not good though; they were under Midianite oppression. Gideon’s family, and all of Israel, were shown that God would not put up with their worship of other gods.
God heard Israel’s groaning and Gideon was given a task from God to rid his people of the Midianite oppression in Israel. Gideon was God’s man. After God used him to successfully defeat the Midianite army with only 300 men, Israel then wanted Gideon to rule over them. Gideon said this was not going to happen because only God can rule over Israel. Instead, he went back to the family farm and had brought peace to the land for 40 years.
This is a great story revealing the power of God and a man that was faithful to God. However, Gideon’s story was not done there, and it provides a warning. Gideon had the right answer that only God should rule over Israel, but as he is leaving, he had a souvenir made from plunder and gifts from those that would make him their ruler. He had an ephod of gold made that he could display back at his home in Ophrah. This priestly garment was probably made as a way that he could remember what God had helped him accomplish, but the problem was this wasn’t something God told him to do “And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family” (Judges 8:27 ESV). Most of Gideon’s family did not live past another generation because this snare brought worship of something other than God, they worshiped this ephod idol.
Teaching our children God’s ways is not an option, a responsibility that can be delegated to the church once a week, or something covered in a Veggie Tales video. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 ESV). It is not enough to volunteer at church, Gideon led an army, parents must diligently talk of what God expects throughout the day. Not everyone has a family farm, but it is a parent’s primary duty to be teaching from the Bible. Let the next generation be one that honors God.
Comments