He Foolishly Gratified The Superstitious Humor Of His People Series

Chapter 33

He Foolishly Gratified the Superstitious Humor of His People

[Judges 8.24-8.27]

Scripture: Judges 8:24-27 (KJV)

24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks.

27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

Commentary

24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings because they were [1]Ishmaelites .) (Judges 8:24; KJV)

24 Then Gideon said to them, “Do me a favor. Each of you give me the earrings from your loot.” (Their enemies, the Ishmaelites, wore gold earrings.) (Judges 8:24; GW)

And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you,...Which he thought they would not deny him since they had offered him a crown—they wanted him to be king over them—and so now was the best time to make the request: and the favor he asked was,

that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey;...or, as Abarbinel interprets it "an earring of his prey", since the expression is in the singular; every man should give him one earring even though they might have more, yet only one earring is desired from every man. The earrings are spoils taken from their enemies in the recent warfare against the Midianites. This is a transaction very similar to that between the Israelites and Aaron; when they brought him their golden ear-rings, out of which he made the molten calf [2](Exodus 32:2), for an instrument of worship, or merely as a trophy, is not very clear. But here, it is most likely that Gideon had intended to establish a place of worship at Ophrah, where the gold earrings would be used to produce the proper priestly vestments, and he would show himself thankful for this victory by restoring religion, which because it was not according to God’s command, eventually caused their destruction.

In verse 26 it is revealed that Gideon gained a fortune from his request:

a. It didn't seem like much to ask for; just the earrings from the booty received from the Midianites, who were gorgeously adorned with gems and gold (an immense amount of such valuable booty had fallen into the hands of the Israelitish soldiers.); yet when it was all added up, it came to more than 50 pounds of gold, which was quite a fortune.

b. It is hard to say that Gideon did not deserve this huge fortune, yet it was inappropriate because it lifted him far above the level of the people he would lead, and at their expense. A general rule of thumb is that Christian leaders who make a living from the gifts of God's people should live at the level of their own people - not below or above. Of course, it is a different matter if that leader has an income or assets from another source.

For they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites;...so the Midianites and Ishmaelites are spoken of as being the same; they were united and living together, or very near each other [3](Genesis 37:25, 28, 36). Kimchi explains it this way: The reason the Midianites were also called Ishmaelites is that they were the sons of Keturah, and Keturah was Hagar the mother of Ishmael.

Those who were defeated by Gideon were called, "Midianites," and here it is clear that they were also identifiable as "Ishmaelites." This passage refutes the critical enemies of Genesis who allege "multiple sources," "contradictions," etc., in [3]Gen. 37:27-28, where the company of people to whom Joseph's brothers sold him is referred to in those verses both as "Ishmaelites," and as "Midianites."

The Targum calls them Arabians, who it seems, used to wear earrings; actually, many men in the eastern countries did; see [4](Genesis 35:4). Pliny says that in the east it was considered ornamental for men to wear gold in their ears.

The "ear-ring" mentioned here might have been a "nose-ring", “finger-ring”, or “ear-ring” or any combination of them (compare [5]Genesis 24:22 ). The custom of wearing nose-rings prevails in Eastern countries to the present day; actually, nose-rings are worn by some in many, if not all nations today. The circumstance of Job's friends each contributing a nose-ring of gold [6](Job 42:11) is a remarkable parallel to the incident in Gideon's history. Rings of gold were also used as money by the Celts, and in Egypt, as documented on several early monuments.