Benjamin West, who had painted several portraits of King George III, was talking with the king after the Battle of Yorktown. Since West had been born in Pennsylvania, the king asked him what he thought General Washington would do, since the Americans had essentially won the war.
George Washington, after all, was easily the most popular man in the United States. And he stood at the head of an army that could easily have allowed him to seize power. And that is in fact what George III’s own ancestor Henry VII had done after winning the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
But West told George III that Washington would probably just go back to private life as a Virginia planter. Astonished, the king said that giving up such a chance at absolute power would make Washington the greatest man in the world.
After defeating the Midianites, Gideon faced the same choice. It would have been easy to do what Henry VII did, because it’s exactly what the people wanted Gideon to do (Judges 8:22). But instead, Gideon took Washington’s path, insisting that it is the Lord that should rule over His people, not a human king (Judges 8:23).
Of course, that didn’t stop Gideon from assuming many of the trappings of kingship. He had many wives and 70 sons (Judges 8:30). And he made a golden ephod, a priestly garment, from the spoils he received from the Midianites. And so, instead of worshipping God, the people eventually began to worship the ephod, the trappings of power (Judges 8:27). As a result, they eventually fell again into the hands of their enemies.
And although George Washington didn’t become king, he did assume great power when he became our first President. And many Americans continue to put their faith in the Federal system of government he and the rest of our Founders set up. Will this faith draw us away from the devotion to God to which Gideon encouraged us (Judges 8:23)? Only time will tell.
But there was one Man Who steadfastly refused any worldly power or authority, even when Satan offered it to Him (Matthew 4:8), even when the crowd He had fed tried to make Him king (John 6:15), and even when all the people of Jerusalem hailed Him as the Son of David (Matthew 21:9). For instead of grasping a crown, Jesus laid down His life on a cross, purchasing the pardon of all who would trust in Him. In doing so, He truly became the greatest man in the world.
And George III’s grandfather seems to have shared this opinion of Jesus. Legend has it that when George II first heard the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah, the king rose to his feet, acknowledging the presence of an even greater majesty. May we join him, humbling ourselves before the King of Kings today.
Judges 8:22-30 (NASB)
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.”
24 Yet Gideon said to them, “I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil.” (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they said, “We will surely give them.” So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil.
26 And the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels’ necks.
27 And Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
28 So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was undisturbed for forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.
30 Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives.
