It is in our hearts to want some of the glory for ourselves. The Ephraimites had their pride hurt for merely being used as backup soldiers, even though their involvement was crucial and resulted in them killing two important parties, Oreb and Zeeb. But that was not enough for them. They wanted more glory, and so they accused Gideon fiercely. Their appetite for glory made them angry. And we should not be totally surprised at this, since the judge himself led the way with this appetite for glory, kicking things off with his battle cry, For the Lord and for Gideon.
And it is a desire that only grew after the initial victory; he wanted to one-up his Ephraimite brethren. Gideon wants the popularity. He wants the recognition. It is no different for us. Do we not want recognition for the work we do for the church and for the kingdom? It is the same in relationships. We tend to be glory-seekers, in our marriages, in our families, in our work environment. We want to be recognized for our achievements, our talents, our contributions, our success.
We want our slice of the glory, glory that never really belongs to us in the first place.
Why is it that we are glory seekers? It has to do at least in part with the fact that we can think so little of the Lord and his glory. Gideon’s interaction with the Ephraimites helps us see this. He thinks so little of the Lord, in spite of the fact that the Lord just accomplished the greatest victory in Gideon’s life. Gideon basically tells the Ephraimites that their gleanings, their killing of Oreb and Zeeb, was of greater glory than the vintage, the harvest itself, that is, the routing of the camp by Gideon’s forces. In other words, Gideon thinks that the routing of the Midianite camp—actually accomplished solely by the Lord—is of less value than the capture of Midian’s leaders by the Ephraimites. God got the vintage, the Ephraimites got the gleanings, of greater value; Gideon himself was planning to get the highest honour and greatest glory in the battle, by killing the kings of Midian. Do you see what pride and glory-seeking do? God must decrease, I must increase. Gideon’s earlier success, which was really the Lord’s success, caused him to forget his gracious God, the one who had called him, equipped him, reassured him, and won the battle for him.
We are no different. Like Gideon, we too want our slice of the glory in the victories, the successes that God gives. We find it all too easy to forget that everything about our good works, our holiness, our repentance, our seeking first the kingdom of God, it is all of God’s doing, God’s equipping, God’s accomplishment in our lives, and not of our own successful striving. But we want at least some of the honour, the glory, for our successes, our victories, big or little, spiritual…or otherwise. We forget the glory of him who calls, equips, strengthens, guides. The Lord loses out on the glory and worship that only he deserves. For the glory is never ours, but his alone. To glory in him alone is to truly enjoy success.
16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars.