I refused the title of king
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December 4th Early Morning Prayer
Judges 8:13-28
Today's sermon reveals the weaknesses of the great judge Gideon. As we meditate on the Word today, we want to realize our weaknesses in wanting to be used by God, put our weaknesses in front of God and pray earnestly so that we do not make the same mistakes as Gideon.
When Gideon went to war, he sought food from Succoth and the Penuelites. However, they refused Gideon's request, and Gideon retaliated by killing Succoth and the Penuelites for not giving food to his soldiers after winning the war. Certain discipline is necessary for sins not with the community, but harsher punishment than necessary makes another enemy and further destroys the community. Gideon was a great judge, but his personal feelings preceded him, so he acted to obscure God's justice.
Gideon retaliated against Sheba and Zalmunna for slaughtering Israel, as they had done. Gideon took a crescent-shaped ornament from their possessions. This seems natural given the custom of the time when the victor took the spoil, but by taking the symbol of idolatry, which should not be coveted, the seeds of sin were sowed.
The people wanted to make Gideon king, who had saved Israel from the hand of Midian, who had been tormenting Israel. However, Gideon declared that only God was the true King of Israel and refused to become king. The problem is that Gideon refused the kingship, but he actually acted like a king. Relying on his own strength and power, he demanded the stolen gold earrings from the people, and the people gave out a huge amount of gold pieces, which he used for his own personal use. He made an ephod for the high priest and put it in his hometown of Ophrah.
The people worshiped this ephod as sacred because it was made by the great judge Gideon. This ephod eventually became an idol and took the place of God. Gideon's personal and private feelings and blood, because he could not completely put himself down before God, his humility that did not ascend to the throne was just another expression of pride, and he plunged the people into the pit of evil called idolatry. One leader's sins ruin many people.
It's election season. You and I cry out that you are the best leader in this country. Their voices are loud, but if you look inside, you can see a lot of lies. Are they the only ones in the presidential election lying? Are there no lies in our appearance here at this time today? This time can be a time to deeply repent before the Lord by relying on the Word to reflect deeply on whether or not I am not living according to God's Word and distorting God's Word because of what is my false self, what is my weakness. I hope to be there.