Read:Judges 7:24-8:3 (Can read from 7:9)

What a victory! With only 300 men, Gideon was able to destroy the Midianite army of 135,000 men.

During this battle, Gideon had included men from his tribe, Manasseh, but also men from the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. There weren’t any men from the tribe of Ephraim fighting in the main battle, yet Gideon had sent some of the men of Ephraim to catch the last escaping Midianites as they were fleeing.

Then we read that the men of Ephraim got angry at Gideon. They were annoyed because Gideon hadn’t called them to fight in the main battle. They were jealous. They wanted to share in the victory. They wanted to be seen as heroes. How could Gideon not have asked them to fight? Just catching the escaping Midianites wasn’t good enough for them.

By being jealous and angry, the men of Ephraim were forgetting to thank the Lord for the victory he gave against the Midianites. They weren’t even seeing God’s grace in allowing this amazing victory. They weren’t even thankful that they were allowed to catch the escaping Midianites. Their jealousy made them blind to God’s love in their own lives.

Do you sometimes become jealous of other people in your life? It is possible that someone at school does much better than you do. Maybe she is able to work out the math problems in no time, but it takes you a lot of hard work. Maybe someone else is a much more confident person than you and gives great answers during class. Someone else may find memorizing Bible verses much easier than you do. At times like this you can become jealous: Why can’t I find learning easier? Why didn’t the Lord give me those talents?

But when you become jealous like this, you forget to see the Lord’s blessings in your own life, not only in the talents he has given you, but also in his love and grace in saving you through Jesus Christ. So instead of being jealous, thank the Lord for the blessings he has given you.

Reflection with your child:

Can you think of examples when your jealousy causes you to be blind to the Lord’s blessings in your life?

Source: Sermon by Rev. R. Vermeulen