DAILY?READINGS: Numbers 8; Proverbs 5 to 6:19; Mark 15:24-47
Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house. Judges 8:27
Gideon answered God’s call. He pulled down Baal’s altar, destroyed his images, and then erected an altar for Jehovah (Judg. 6:25-26). God then used him to destroy an invading army. As a result, Israel requested that Gideon rule them. He accepted, but asked for the gold earrings of the spoil, which he fashioned into a gold ephod. The ephod became a national idol, and Ophrah, not Jerusalem, became the place of worship. Like Gideon, we too may remove some evil from our lives only to replace it with a less conspicuous idol because it is a work of our own hands. —W. A. H.
Until the race is run, until the journey’s done,
Until the crown is won; teach me Thy way! —B. Ramsey