The Two-Hundred-Fifty-Fourth (Snares)

I hope you’re doing well!  Remember, when you come upon challenges and things seem to be getting tough, those are the times to call upon YHWH.  This is a common theme throughout scripture, and you would be amazed to see what He does for you!  It’s exactly what we should do if we end up in the subject of this week’s study.

While the imagery of a snare is not the most common in scripture, with only 27 uses of the Hebrew word and five uses of the Greek word, it provides quite a vivid image of what it is used to represent.  You likely haven’t thought too much about it, I know I had not, but I came across it in my scripture reading for yesterday and it occurred to me that it’s something worth looking into.  That, and yesterday we came home to a couple rabbits at our front porch, which is an animal that many people set up snares or traps to catch!

The particular verse I read yesterday was in Judges (Judges 8:27) and it was speaking of an ephod that Gideon made which was a snare to him.  However, this is not the first occurrence of this word in scripture.  The Hebrew word is moqesh, and it first occurs in Exodus where it actually is referring to Moses.  The plague of hail just came upon Egypt and destroyed all the ripe crops, and Pharaoh’s officials were asking him how long he was going to let Moses be a snare to them (Exodus 10:7).  

If you have any experience with snares, also called traps, you know that in order for them to be successful they need to be set up in a certain location and in a specific way.  A snare is a device that operates passively, meaning it just sits there waiting for the prey to come to it.  This is in contrast to someone lying in wait for the prey and actively using a weapon to aim and shoot the animal.

So, in order for someone to catch an animal using a snare, they need to be familiar with the animal’s patterns.  They need to search for a location in which the animal travels regularly, or the snare will not have anything to catch.  They look for well-worn paths that indicate a commonly used route the animal takes to get from one location to another.  

Another key aspect of using a snare to trap an animal is setting it up in such a way that the animal sees no other path but through the snare in order to reach its desired destination.  A well-worn path only shows that the animal goes through that area, but a clever animal will just go around the snare if it’s set up in the open.  A trapper would set up barriers on either side of the snare, or look for a place with natural barriers, to force the animal either to go well out of its way in order to get around it or to go through the snare itself.    

The final important part of using a snare to catch prey is to have it activate in some way once the animal is going through it.  In a more modern and complex trap, perhaps the animal steps on a trip lever that causes the trap to close on a part of the animal (like a mouse trap, for example).  In a more rudimentary trap, perhaps it catches on part of the animal and as the animal continues through it closes on its neck or leg and prevents the animal from escaping.

These three aspects of a snare give us a very detailed image of how it is used metaphorically in scripture.  As you read the various verses that include snares, there are a couple common things a snare is connected to: death and idol worship.  Those verses, and nearly all of the other ones that don’t include death and idol worship, have one main theme behind them: sin.  

Over and over again, the Israelites were warned that if they left anyone alive that was living in the promised land before they began to dwell there, or didn’t drive them all out, or if they left those people’s idols intact, they would become a snare.  Additionally, in the verse I read, the ephod that became a snare for Gideon was created from the gold earrings the Israelites took from people they killed while clearing out the promised land.  In all, it was about 41 pounds of gold, clearly an excessive ornament, and its creation resulted in Gideon and the Israelites worshiping it.

It’s easy for us to read this particular account in scripture and judge Gideon for taking such a foolish action, but when you really think about it, we easily can fall into the same snare today.  While we’re not fighting people in a promised land, there are still things today that seem to start innocently enough but easily become a 41 pound golden ephod.  For Gideon, it all started from him denying becoming a ruler over Israel, and even denying that his sons rule over them, despite the Israelites requesting that it be so.  Gideon stated that only YHWH will rule over them, and it was after that he made the request for the earrings, presumably to create a commemoration of the victory that YHWH had given them.  Remember, the ephod was a part of the priestly garments ordered to be worn by YHWH, so it’s not like Gideon was creating some statue of himself to memorialize leading them to victory.  

Gideon didn’t carry the piece around, or wear it (which probably would have been difficult at 41 pounds!), he displayed it in his city.  So, it wasn’t that Gideon was making it all about himself.  Nonetheless, it still became an idol for them.  

Can you think of anything in Christianity that is similar to this?  Something innocently created as a commemoration of a historical event that ends up turning into an idol?  We need to take a hard look at the things that have been created and incorporated into our lives and our worship as Christians that are actually a snare to us, despite how long they have been in Christianity or how they have been justified to be ok.  And more personally, we need to look at ourselves, and determine if we have created and/or incorporated any 41 pound ephods into our lives as believers.  If you ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify those things and help you get them out of your life, you might be surprised at what He shows you.

Death is also associated with a snare many times in scripture.  To me, this is still a connection with sin because ultimately the result of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  It also can refer to the fact that sometimes death comes upon someone suddenly and unexpectedly.  A person may be on their normal path in life, just like the animal being ensnared by the trapper, when all of a sudden they are in an event or situation where they pass away or nearly pass away.  The latter situation, I believe, is what all the Psalms and Proverbs are talking about when they say, “the snares of death encompassed me,” or that someone can avoid the snares of death (Psalm 18:5, Proverbs 13:14, 14:27).

There are other snares referenced in scripture, but other than the reference to Moses mentioned earlier, they are all associated with evil.  In fact, a lot of them refer to evil or wicked people speaking things that become a snare for them.  This is referring to things like lies, gossip, manipulations, etc., that evil people use to try and gain an advantage or cut other people down.  There’s even a reference to “rebellious speech” that traps the wicked (Proverbs 12:13).

As alluded to earlier, the New Testament also includes snares, or traps, as metaphors.  As in the Old Testament, the imagery is related to evil for the most part.  Although, the very first occurrence actually refers to the judgment of the Jews and Jerusalem that culminated in the destruction of the city and temple in 70AD (Luke 21:34).  It was a warning from Yeshua for the believers to ensure they kept watch and didn’t get overcome by the worries of life or they, too, would be caught unexpectedly in what was to come.

So, how can we apply this idea of a snare to our life?  What does it all mean, how does it help us understand the things that we experience, and how does it help us become better followers of Yeshua?  

Part of the application is making connections between how a snare is used and what it does to the prey.  I’m sure you could see that in all the metaphors in scripture, the person is the prey.  He or she does something which results in their being trapped by the snare.

That’s the first huge lesson in this: a snare traps us.  It holds us hostage, preventing us from continuing in life.  And because this is a spiritual snare, it is referring to being unable to continue spiritually in life with Yeshua.  When caught, we are no longer able to grow in Him, and receive the blessings He has planned for us.    

Another big lesson from the snare metaphor is the suddenness with which it operates.  To the animal, they are simply doing the same thing they do every day, going down the same path to and from the places they frequent, when suddenly they are unable to proceed further.  In fact, if you’ve ever seen an animal caught in a snare they don’t really understand what’s happening.  They try and move this way and that, but nothing allows them to continue.  

When it comes to the snares set by evil, we also see a connection to how we live our life.  Satan and his workers know our routines.  They know our predispositions and tendencies.  They know where to set the snare to trap us spiritually.  They put them on our well-worn paths, on the roads we know and travel so often.

Think about it this way.  When you’re on a new road, or just generally when you’re doing something that’s not part of your normal routine, you usually have your senses up.  You’re looking for the next turn, or you’re making sure you’re ready for the next thing you have to do, and you’re more likely to see something that doesn’t look quite right.  

It’s the same for our spiritual walk.  When we’ve got a spiritual routine, we’re content doing all the things in our routine.  We’re essentially on auto-pilot and not looking too hard at things.  On the other hand, if we’re stepping outside of our routine, we’re on the lookout for anything that might be coming our way.

The other big thing we can apply to our lives regarding the metaphor of a snare is the way that it is presented.  Remember how the trapper had to set some barriers up next to the snare to force the animal to go through it?  Sometimes, it’s the same way Satan and his workers set up snares for us.  It may seem like that sin snare is the only way through, like we have no choice but to transgress YHWH.  The barriers preventing us from continuing to be obedient to Him are only an illusion, though.  It may not be the easiest path to obey, but there is always a path to do so.  

That brings us to the last major life application about snares.  There is a reason sometimes, that the easy path is just that, easy.  Yeshua even warned that the path to destruction is wide, and many enter into destruction through it (Matthew 7:13).  The wide, easy path is not always the right path, and could actually be a snare set to lure you to destruction.

There is hope, though!  (obviously ;)  We can avoid the snares and find the narrow gate, and scripture tells us how.  We must remain righteous (Proverbs 12:13, 29:6), be wise and follow the law of the wise (Proverbs 13:14), fear YHWH (Proverbs 14:27), take time to make decisions (Proverbs 20:25), avoid being friends and associating with those that quickly anger (Proverbs 22:24-25), and trust in YHWH and not fear man (Proverbs 29:25).    

How many times do we get caught in that last one, right?  It’s hard sometimes not to fear what someone can do to us and rather to trust YHWH.  At times, we don’t even know if the stance we’re taking is one that YHWH wants us to take a stand on.  Remember though, that YHWH works all things for good for those who love Him and are called by His purpose (Romans 8:28).  If you are a committed, obedient believer and you feel moved to take a stance on something, chances are it was Him who moved you.  I know from experience that He will take care of you, even though the path He has asked you to take might look like a hard one.

I hope this week’s study has been a blessing to you and you’ve learned something new.  Keep a look out for those snares!  Shabbat shalom and YHWH bless you!

-Rob and Sara Gene