Did Gideon really save the Israelites from Midian? By smashing pots and revealing torches with
300 men? Gideon got part of the equation
right, he would not rule over them, the Lord would, but then he messed up by
making an ephod, basically an overgarment which was used by the priests in some
way. Gideon asked for the golden
earrings they had taken as booty from the Ishmaelites (remember him, the son of
Abraham and Hagar). The weight of this
gold was about 42.5 pounds and its value today would be something over a
million dollars. The ephod became a
snare to Gideon and his family but we aren't told quite how. Gideon had many wives and at least the one
concubine in Shechem. He apparently
wasn't particularly interested in restoring the worship of the people to the
Lord and they went back to the Baals quickly.
Can you imagine the broad smile on Jesus' face when
Nathanael says, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the
King of Israel!” It would be priceless
to see that. Nathanael is skeptical
because he never expected anything of value from Nazareth, they were those who
were most assimilated into the gentile world, the outpost of Judaism most
corrupted. That Jesus saw him under the
fig tree, however, trumps his prejudices.
Jesus says that this true Israelite will, like the father of the nation,
Jacob/Israel, see angels ascending and descending from heaven. He would see many other things as well, and
it would be interesting to see how he reacted to all that he saw based on this
first experience.
The transformation of Peter is by the power of the
Spirit. Every time I read these passages
from the first few chapters of the Acts I marvel at his boldness. He was so afraid that night before the
crucifixion and yet now he stands in front of the leaders of the people, the
same ones who tried Jesus, and his own life is now on the line but he has seen
too much to back down. He has seen the
resurrection, the power of death no longer causes him to fear, and he has
received the Holy Spirit, not of timidity and fear but of power, love and
self-control. Peter is a new man and he
knows that these can do nothing to him in reality. His life is no longer his own, but
Christ's. He will not deny Jesus this
day but proclaim Him to all. He has no
power that is his own, this healing was by the power of Christ in him.
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