So he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that. (Judges 8:2-3 NKJV)
The men of Ephraim were angered by not having been called in the initial attack launched by Gideon and his 300 men that defeated the Midianites. Gideon pacified them by giving them the credit and the praise which the men of Ephraim wanted all along. The men of Ephraim and Gideon had two different perspectives regarding victory. For the Ephraimites, they wanted to be part of the victory because of selfish motives, wanting recognition and praise. Gideon, on the other hand, knew right from the start that he was weak and unfit to lead the army to deliver Israel from the Midianites, but God showed His power and used Gide – on and his 300 men to defeat the strong army of more than 130,000 men, with simple tools of swords, jars, and torches. It is the same in serving God. We should have the right perspective – the right attitude towards victory. We should be aware that we are just instruments of God. God does the work through us. It is not about us succeeding, rather, it is about God saving and delivering us and the others from the hands of Satan. When God uses us to accomplish His will, we should give Him all the glory and not take the glory for ourselves. Without God, we can do nothing. With God, we can do great things. That is why we are commanded to serve one another in silence. Bring others to Christ, not for our own glory, but for His glory
