Desiring Earrings of His Prey - Judges 8:24

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule you over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son also: for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-four of Judges, we learn how, Gideon said, “I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey” where we read,

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

The verse reads, “And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey.” The writer began with the words, “and Gideon” whose name means “hewer” and was the “youngest son of Joash of the Abiezrites, fifth judge of Israel who led the Israelites against the Midianites” “said unto them” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed to them, the people of Israel”, “I would desire a request of you” which means “I, Gideon, want to consult, enquire and ask a favor, demand or petition from you, the people of Israel”, “that you would give me” or “that you, the people of Israel, will put, set, grant and ascribe to me, Gideon” “every man the earrings of his prey” which means “each, the whole and all of the male human beings the nose and ear ornaments belonging to his, the men’s, booty, plunder, spoil and gain”. The writer shared how “Gideon” requested that the people of Israel grant that all the men who went to battle with him would receive the nose and ear ornaments from the men they killed. 

The verse continues, “(For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)” The writer added the words, “for they had golden earrings” which means “because, since and on account that they, the men who were killed, owned and possessed nose and ear ornaments made with gold metal”, “because they were Ishmaelites” which means “since and on account that they, the men killed, existed as Ishmaelites whose name means ‘God will hear’ and were the descendants of the son of Abraham and Sarah's handmaid Hagar and the progenitor of the Arabian peoples”. The writer shared how the men who were killed by “Gideon’s” three hundred armed men were “Ishmaelites” who possessed ornament made with gold metal for their noses and ears. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” requested from the people of “Israel” that the “gold metal” nose and earrings belonging to the “Ishmaelites” would be given to the three hundred men who accompanied him in battle against the “Midianites”. God was with Gideon’s valiant men, and now a time of remuneration was at hand. “Gideon” appealed to the people of “Israel” for their reward, and in a similar manner there shall be a reward for all who yield to God’s Son Jesus who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When He rose from the dead after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him as “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and lead us into a life of service in His Kingdom that shall reap rewards when we finally go to be with Him. (See John 3:16; Revelation 22:12)

Next time we learn how the people say, “we will willing give them”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".