Snare

In Judges 8 we read about the last moments of Gideon’s life. Most of the attention goes to Gideon’s death and the unfortunate reign of Gideon’s son, Abimelech. If you don’t pay attention to what happens just before, it is very easy to miss.
In Judges 8 the men of Israel say to Gideon “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also.” They want a leader, a king just like the other nations. Gideon responds with orthodoxy: “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” His subsequent behavior doesn't really jive with this however. He asks every Israelite to donate gold objects. From the spoils of war, the Israelites give earrings and bracelets, pendants and gold shekels. The massive amount of gold is then made into an ephod.
The ephod is an exquisite garment normally associated with priestly leadership. In Exodus 28:2 Aaron has such a garment for glory and for beauty. It reminded them of the glory of the Lord who is present in the midst of his people. Artisans would craft the colorful torso, the skillfully woven waistband, embedding it with precious stones and exquisite gold pieces. A jeweler would engrave signets and stones with the names of the sons of Israel. The ephod represented consecrated priestly leadership.
After the ephod has been manufactured, “all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.” (Judges 8:27 ESV)
The ephod, that beautiful garment, wonderfully crafted, universally admired, became a snare. A trap. A noose around Gideon’s neck.
This phrase is telling for us:

• Prey doesn’t usually see the snare coming. A snare is concealed, strategically placed, using the elements of surprise and deceit. Gideon may have made the move towards official leadership in good faith, but it was essentially a kneejerk response to popularity.

• A snare is usually baited. It goes along with something enticing that arouses inordinate affections within you. For an animal a snare or a trap can be baited with eye-catching food. For a human being a snare can be baited with eye-catching image, popularity, money or success.

• In order to extricate yourself from the miserable complexities of your snare, you probably need outside intervention.

• An item that is morally neutral but has very strong appeal can become a snare. The Ephod was morally neutral. There wasn’t anything originally wrong with having an ephod and carrying out consecrated priestly leadership. The item and the idolatrous motivation behind it, carried it with it unintended but tragic consequences. It is a Trojan horse.

• A snare is an object that has very high symbolic value. The gold gathered from the people represented their victory, their powerful independence and success. Beyond the current market value of the gold, it had even higher symbolic value. The ephod was a symbol of the manly leadership the people desperately craved. Beyond being a beautiful garment it also had powerful symbolic value for Gideon and his identity as the people’s leader.

• Unless a snare is discovered and exposed for what it is, it will become a recurring source of trouble.

• A snare is a stratagem aimed at your spiritual and moral downfall.

What in your life, or mine could be a snare? What hidden object, technology or image leads to self-deception? What arouses inordinate affections? What snare makes your life complicated with obsessions, addictions and unhealthy attachments?

I suppose we each could have a variety of snares. For one person it might be the pressures of popularity and fame. For another it could be a new job or a project undertaken for all the wrong reasons. It could be a ministry strategy that carries unintended but tragic consequences. For another person it could be a technological device, like a television or a computer. It might also be a relationship or an addiction that does not lead to your flourishing, but instead contributes to your misery.

Do you know what, if anything, your snare is? Sometimes it is hard for you to discern what your particular snare is? Maybe you know, but perhaps you don’t want to know, or perhaps you can’t know because it is so perfectly disguised as something good and wonderful.

Maybe you need help getting extricated out of the complicated mess. A close friend or a spouse or a listening pastor might be able to help. Whatever it takes, get out now, so that you are not outwitted by the Enemy; for we are not ignorant of his designs.