Life's Inanities and Ironies

In the closing verses of Gideon’s remarkable life, the Holy Ghost records a tragic turn that serves as a solemn warning for every fundamentalist believer. After refusing the throne offered by Israel, Gideon took the golden earrings from the Midianite spoil—seventeen hundred shekels of gold—and “made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went a whoring after it there: and it became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house” (Judges 8:27). What exactly was this ephod, and why does its symbolism pierce the heart of every generation that follows? Let us explore its meaning directly from the preserved Word of God, without the fog of modern scholarship or liberal reinterpretation. The Biblical Ephod: God’s Prescribed Garment of Worship In Exodus 28, the LORD Himself commanded the high priest to wear a sacred ephod—an intricately woven garment of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen, adorned with onyx stones bearing the names of the tribes of Israel. It w...

We live in a day when many so-called Christians chase after the latest fads, the biggest platforms, and the softest messages. Yet the preserved Word of God—the King James Bible—pulls no punches. It shows us the raw truth about one of the greatest judges in Israel’s history: Gideon. The man who destroyed Baal’s altar, who routed the Midianite horde with only three hundred men, and who once trembled at the winepress, fell prey to three subtle but deadly temptations in his final days. These are not the temptations of a fearful youth. These are the senior temptations that come after victory—after the applause, after the battle is won. Fundamental Christians, take heed. The devil never retires; he simply upgrades his tactics. The Biblical Record (Judges 8:22-35, KJV) “And the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall ...

In the closing verses of Hebrews 5, the Holy Spirit rebuked the sluggish believers for remaining on spiritual milk when they should have been feasting on solid food. The very next paragraph launches the remedy: **Hebrews 6:1-3** (ESV): > “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.” The call is urgent and forward-looking. The writer does not say, “Stay where you are and feel better about it.” He says, **“Let us go on.”** Maturity is not automatic; it is a deliberate, Spirit-empowered advance into the deeper truths of Christ. The Elementary Foundation (What We Leave Behind) The six “elementary doctrines” listed are not bad—they are the ABCs of the faith: 1. Repentance from dead works   2. Faith toward God ...

We live in a culture that celebrates perpetual adolescence—where staying “young at heart” often means refusing to grow up. Sadly, this same spirit has crept into the church. Many of us who proudly identify as conservative, Bible-believing Christians have mistaken familiarity with doctrine for actual spiritual maturity. We attend church faithfully, defend the inerrancy of Scripture, and stand firm on moral issues, yet the author of Hebrews would look at much of our spiritual diet and say the same thing he said to the first-century Jewish believers: “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by...