Scripture
Read: Judges 8:1-3 Then the men of Ephraim
said to him, “What
is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight
against Midian?” And they contended with him vigorously. But he said
to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of
Abiezer? “God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb into your hands;
and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him
subsided when he said that.
Application: Jealousy is an interesting emotion.
Here instead of being delighted that their kindred had been used by God to
begin the breaking of Midian’s power over Israel and celebrate that God
privileged the men of Ephraim to be the ones that captured the two kings and
slay them, they are jealous of the fact that God chose Gideon to lead this
effort. Gideon certainly did not volunteer for this task! Why do we become
jealous? What drives that emotion? There are many reasons, but they all have
their roots in pride. In this case it may have been two fold. Gideon was from
the tribe of Manasseh and it was Manasseh and Ephraim that were the
two leading tribes in the central sector of Israel, so Ephraim may have
resented being left out of what was now a glorious victory – we cannot say the
emotions would have been the same if Midian had thoroughly destroyed Gideon’s
forces. That might be a different matter then, however, this was a victory and
perhaps Ephraim felt threatened of losing position.
Also, reputation might be
an issue, after all this was the tribe that produced Joshua (Numbers 13:8,
16) – the judge of all
judges...next to Moses...so the reputation of being the leader may have been a
part of their fabric. In any case Ephraim was jealous and confronted Gideon as
though he had done something wrong. How can we discern between a sincere issue
that should be raised versus that ole nasty emotion of jealousy? For example,
if God had told Gideon to have the men of Ephraim lead in the battle, then this
complaint would be valid. So how do we discern the difference? The best way is
to ask some hard questions. Consider them:
a. Authenticity of complaint: If the
men of Ephraim felt they should be involved in breaking the hold of Midian over
Israel, why didn’t they step up to the plate sooner? Why didn't they do
something before now? When we complain about something, have we made sure our
complaint is legitimate?
b. Motives: Did Ephraim really want
to help Israel to be free or in reality help themselves to the booty and the
fame? When we feel we have been slighted, what is our motive. When we see
someone that has something that we have or believe we should have had, what is
the reason we feel that way?
c. Issue: What is the “bottom line”. For Ephraim -
Free the land or Feed the ego. Should it not be viewed that what is important
is that it got done - not who gets the applause? Doesn’t all applause
belong to God? When we come together and no one cares who gets the credit...a
lot can get done! We must ask ourselves “what was the issue
that needed to be dealt with?” That answer should be our bottom line. If what God desired
was accomplished, why do we have emotions of resentment or envy, instead of joy
and contentment?
Meditation
Questions: Consider these questions personally. When you complain
about something, have you made sure your complaint is legitimate? When you feel you have been slighted,
do you check your motive? When you see someone that has something that you don’t have or believe
you should have had, why do you feel that way? When you succeed you get the
credit, is that fair? Why? Why not? What is the difference between credit and
glory? Doesn’t all applause belong to God?
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