The God of the Covenant, Not the Covenant of the God

If Gideon's ephod was a little nod in the wrong direction, it set in motion a path that led his family into a snare. The Bible says Israel "played the harlot" with it. That's strong, hard language: they were cheating on God with the trappings and garments of worship. Then verse 33 happens. If you circle anything in your Bible, circle this:

So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. Thus the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. (Judges 8:33–34)

That's been the theme of the whole book. As soon as the judge dies, everybody's right back to the Baals.

I got on the old internet and looked up Baal-Berith. It means god of the covenant. It sounds the same! They had a covenant-keeping God who rescued them because of His promise. When Gideon was gone, they kept the name and put the placard at the base of a brand-new carved statue. Why? Because it's manageable. If you don't like it in the living room, put it in the den. Take it on a trip in the trunk. It's your lucky penny.

So here's what we have to do: return to the God of the covenant, not the covenant of the God. They kept the covenant language. They kept the Promised Land. They just changed gods. That's Christian atheism to a tee.

The land of the promise or the Lord of the promise?

Somebody asked me about modern-day Israel the other day. I believe Israel is Israel and that God gave them that land. You can debate it, but don't debate me. Here's the problem: Israel has always been tempted to worship the land of the promise instead of the Lord of the promise.

We can get that way in church world too. We can worship the building, the property, and the accomplishments God gave us. "God, thank You for the ministries You built in our past. If those go away, start some new ones. Thank You for that work in my heart at camp. Do a work in my heart now. Thank You for southern gospel and for the hymns of the 1700s. But Lord, we need a new song. We need a new victory. You're not done doing."

How you'll know you're getting it right

In your words. Our language has to change from what God did to what God is doing. Anyone can say "The Lord shall rule" while the victory is still fresh. Keep telling the story until people mock you. Then they'll get sick of it: "I'm so tired of hearing Grandma talk about Jesus." Now you're getting somewhere. Don't give up the message for the symbol. Jesus tells me to pick up my cross, and He isn't talking about one studded with diamonds. He's talking about laying down my life for Him.

In your ways. You know those little rumble strips on the side of the road? They're there on purpose. When you hear the rumble and realize something is leading your family toward a substitute for God, pull back. Don't overcorrect into the other ditch, but get back on track.

In your worship. What you worship reveals to your family who your God is. Maybe we don't need to pass along the ritual of how to worship God. Maybe we can just show them how to worship God.

Give the next generation the Lord, not just the language.