The Word for Today with Ray

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Midian Subdued - Judges 8:28

In the book of Judges we learned how Gideon said, “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.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 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. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went there a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-eight of Judges, we learn how, “Midian was subdued” where we read,

Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

The verse reads, “Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more.” The writer began with the words, “thus was Midian subdued” which means “wherefore, therefore and on this account Midian whose name means ‘strife’ and was the son of Abraham by Keturah and progenitor of the tribe of Midianites or Arabians, was humbled, bought down and made low” “before the children of Israel” or “in front and in the presence of Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “so that they lifted up their heads” which means “which caused them, the people of Midian, not to carry, support, endure or exalt their, the people of Midian’s, division, company or band” “no more” or “not any longer and ever again”. The writer shared how “Midian” was humbled and brought down in the presence of the people of “Israel”, and their divisions and companies were no longer or ever again strong.

The verse continues, “And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.” The writer added the words, “and the country” which means “and the territory, region and land of Israel” “was in quietness forty years” which means “existed within tranquility and calm for forty annual sets of days” “in the days of Gideon” or “within the time periods and seasons belonging to “Gideon” whose name means ‘hewer’”. The writer shared how the land of “Israel” existed in calm and tranquility for “forty” annual sets of days during the time that “Gideon” was alive.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” and his three hundred men completely humbled the “Midianites”, and the “Midianites" would not raise their “heads” of pride any longer. This allowed the land of “Israel” to enjoy calm and tranquility for “forty” annual sets of days, and this lasted throughout “Gideon’s” lifetime. God had a plan for the deliverance of the people of Israel through “Gideon”, and He fulfilled that plan and brought them back to calm times again. We may remember that the people of “Israel” encountered the oppression of the “Midianites” because they forsook Jehovah God, and we shall see what they do after the “forty year” calm they experienced. For now, let us consider our own lives. God loves us, sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for us and was also raised from the dead after three days. He will bring peace and tranquility into our lives when we submit to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord” as He forgives our sins, grants us everlasting life and puts His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth so we live in peace with God and experience the peace of God regardless of what we encounter. (See Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:7; Colossians 3:15)

Next time we learn how, “Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house”, 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".

Gideon Made an Ephod - Judges 8:27

In the book of Judges we learned how Gideon said, “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.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 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”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-seven of Judges, we learn how, “Gideon made an ephod thereof” where we read,

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

The verse reads, “And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah:” 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” “made an ephod thereof” or “formed, fashioned, accomplished and produced a priestly shoulder-cape or mantle with the golden ornaments and the nose and earrings”, “and put it in his city” which means “and placed, set and established the ephod within his, Gideon’s, dwelling place, habitation, abode or town”, “even in Ophrah” or “also and indeed within Ophrah whose name means ‘fawn’ and was a place in Manasseh, native place of Gideon; probably located close to Shechem”. The writer shared how “Gideon” fashioned a priestly mantle from the golden jewelry and ornaments, and he placed it within his own town named “Ophrah”.

The verse goes on to say, “and all Israel went there a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.” The writer continued with the words, “and all Israel went there” which means “and each, every and the whole of the people within Israel whose name means ‘God prevails” and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob proceeded forth to the city of Ophrah” “a whoring after it” which means “committed fornication and played the harlot for the golden ephod”: “which thing became a snare” or “and the ephod happened and fell out to be bait, a lure and a gin” “unto Gideon” which means “to Gideon whose name means ‘hewer”, “and to his house” or “and toward his, Gideon’s, dwelling place, abode and habitation”. The writer shared how everyone from “Israel” proceeded to Gideon’s city “Ophrah” and began to commit spiritual adultery with the “ephod”, and the “ephod” fell out to be a lure and bait for the dwelling place of “Gideon”.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” took the golden ornaments that he collected and formed a “shoulder-caped mantle” from it. This may have seemed like an appropriate spiritual response to the victory and gain Jehovah God provided, however, the people of “Israel” went to see it in “Gideon’s” town, “Ophrah”, and began to worship it. God alone is to be worshiped by us, and no implement should ever be the object of our worship. God alone sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He rose from the grave after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him as our “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 keep us from worshiping anything other than Him. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 22:12)

Next time we learn, “Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Weighing Seventeen Hundred Shekels of Gold - Judges 8:26

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 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.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-six of Judges, we learn how, “the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold” where we read,

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.

The verse reads, “And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold;” The writer began with the words, “and the weight of the golden earrings” which means “and the heaviness pertaining to the ornaments for the nose and ears made with gold metal” “that he requested” or “that he, Gideon, enquired of, asked for and sought” “was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold” which means “existed as seventeen hundred chief units of measure which was about eleven to fourteen grams or .4 to .5 ounces pertaining to gold metal”. The writer shared how the gold nose and earrings given by the people of Israel was around seventeen hundred one-half ounces.

The verse continues, “beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks.” The writer added the words, “beside ornaments” which means “alongside and accompanying round pendants or round tires like the moon”, “and collars” which means “and pendants for the ears or chains especially of pearls”, “and purple raiment” or “and red-purple dyed garments or clothing” “that was on the kings of Midian” which means “that the royal rulers and leaders belonging to Midian whose name means ‘strife’ were wearing”, “and beside the chains” or “and alongside and accompanying the necklaces or neck-pendants” “that were about their camel’s necks” which means “that the beast of burdens known as camels were wearing around their necks”. The writer shared how there was additional jewelry and purple dyed clothing that was collected by Gideon from the royal rulers and their “camels”.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” not only received the golden nose and earrings from the people of Israel that were asked for by him, but also he received other ornaments of gold and purple dyed clothing from the “kings of Midian” and their “camels”. Jehovah God not only gave “Gideon” and his men victory, but He also gave him the spoils. (See Romans 8:37) God wants to make us “more than conquerers” as well, and He provided His Son Jesus to the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead after three days, so when we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and show us the way to be victorious and “more than conquerers” in His Kingdom. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8)

Next time we learn how, “Gideon made an ephod thereof”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Willingly Giving Earrings - Judges 8:25

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 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.)”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-five of Judges, we learn how the people said, “we will willingly give them” where we read,

And they answered, We will willingly give them.

And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

The verse reads, “And they answered, We will willingly give them.” The writer began with the words, “and they answered” which means “and they, the people of Israel, responded and gave the reply”, “we will willingly give them” or “we, the people of Israel, shall voluntarily and freely grant and bestow upon them, the three hundred men who accompanied Gideon to battle with the Midianites, the golden nose and earrings of the Ishmaelites”. The writer shared how the people of Israel said they would freely provide the golden nose and earrings of the “Ishmaelites” to the three hundred men who fought the Midianites alongside “Gideon”.

The verse goes on to say, “And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.” The writer continued with the words, “and they spread a garment” which means “and they, the people of Israel, stretched out and displayed a wrapper, mantle or covering clothes”, “and did cast therein” which means “and hurled, flung and threw inside the garment” “every man the earrings” or “each, the whole and everyone of the male human being the golden nose and ear ornaments” “of his prey” which means “belonging to his, the people of Israel who plundered the Midianites’ spoil, booty and gain”. The writer shared how the people of Israel stretched out clothes and threw the nose and ear ornaments made with gold that they collected as plunder from the Midianites within them.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how the people of Israel were eagerly compliant with “Gideon’s” request for the golden nose and ear ornaments which were taken from the dead Midianites. This was a small price for their deliverance from their oppression. God desires to reward us in His Kingdom work when we surrender our lives to His Son Jesus who was crucified on the cross for the sins of everyone and was raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us live in a manner of service to Him that will be rewarded when we go to be with Him some day. (See John 3:16; Revelation 22:12)

Next time we learn how, “the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Desiring Earrings of His Prey - Judges 8:24

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…

I Will Not Rule Over You - Judges 8:23

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 in chapter eight and verse twenty-three of Judges, we learn how, “Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you” where we read,

And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you:

the LORD shall rule over you.

The verse reads, “And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you:” 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 will not rule over you” which means “I, Gideon, shall in no way or manner have reign and dominion over you, the people of Israel”, “neither shall my son” or “no and not in any way will my, Gideon’s, male progeny and offspring” “rule over you” which means “have dominion and reign over you, the people of Israel”. The writer shared how “Gideon” told the people of Israel that neither he nor his male offspring would reign over them.

The verse goes on to say, “the LORD shall rule over you.” The writer continued with the words, “the LORD” which means “Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “shall rule over you” which means “will have dominion and reign over you, the people of Israel”. The writer shared how “Gideon” told the people of “Israel” that Jehovah God would reign and have dominion over them.

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover how “Gideon” refused to rule over “Israel”, and he would not allow his male offspring to rule over them either. “Gideon” told them that Jehovah God would be their ruler even as He should be. The same is true for us. God is to rule our lives, and because He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead after three days, when we submit our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and to equip us to live under His leadership and rule for all the days of our lives. (See John 3:16; Ephesians 3:19)

Next time we learn how Gideon says, “I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…