Consequences - Judges 9

Actions have consequences. Some are immediate consequences (like getting speeding ticket, being picked up for a D.U.I., or getting injured). Others are lingering or long-term consequences: the impact of Court rulings (often not seen for years), moral choices, parenting decisions, who you marry, the house you choose to buy etc.

Last week it seemed we finished the story of Gideon. We read about his life as if he was the King and the idol in the form an ephod (a priestly vest) in his own hometown that led people right back into idolatry.

The story of Abimelech that we read in Judges 9 requires the last verses of chapter 8 to help us understand.

29Then Gideon son of Joash returned home. 30He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives. 31He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32Gideon died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father, Joash, at Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer.

33As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. 34They forgot the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. 35Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good he had done for Israel.

Gideon had 70 sons who were Jewish and he had a Canaanite concubine (mistress) who had a son who was named Abimelech. Abimelech's father was Gideon, but he was the outcast of the family. He was not a true Jew. And I suspect, he wasn't accepted fully as a Canaanite because he was Gideon's child. This left Abimelech as a man without a country, and outcast. He resented his situation. I suspect he hated his dad for excluding him.

Abimelech's Power Play

Abimelech hatched a plan. He came to his hometown of Shechem and asked his family if they would rather be ruled by the 70 sons of Gideon or "one of their own?" As it is today, people will generally select a leader who they think will give them what they want. It is short-sighted, but it is human nature.

Abimelech's uncles became his campaign managers and convinced the people to agree that Ahimelech should be King and they gave him 70 silver coins out of the treasury of the temple Baal-Berith.) Abimelech used the 70 coins to hire some mercenaries and they gathered up all the sons of Gideon. Abimelech executed them, likely one at a time, on the same stone (which could have been some kind of altar). It would seem Abimelech wanted people to know he was one bad dude that should not be messed with. One author wrote,

Abimelech is a prototype of an abusive leader. He leads for his own benefit. He needs power because it masks his own insecurity. He uses power because it is the way he can accomplish his selfish purposes. He proclaims his altruistic agenda, but behind the empty promises is the promotion of his own agenda. He knows the insecurities and aspirations of followers and exploits them for his own ends. (Gary Ingrid, Heart of Iron, Feet of Clay loc. 3129)

What he didn't know was one of the younger boys by the name of Jotham was able to hide and escape. He climbed on a mountain by the town and talked to the people. The mountain and town formed a perfect amphitheater which made it possible for him to be heard and also stay a safe distance away.

Jotham stood on a mountain and shouted down to the people, In essence he said the people wanted a king and were turned down by worthwhile candidates. Finally, they settled on Abimelech; a last resort. Jotham said their confidence was misplaced in this man. He ended things with a pointed question and a curse. The question was: did you honor the memory of Gideon? The curse went as follows:

“If you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Gideon and his descendants today, then may you find joy in Abimelech, and may he find joy in you. 20But if you have not acted in good faith, then may fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leading citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and devour Abimelech!”

Abimelech did rule for three years. Perhaps the words of Jotham were forgotten. However, we are told God sent a spirit that stirred up trouble between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem (22). This likely was not a demon as much as an attitude of conflict that God caused to grow. The Bible tells us God was punishing Abimelech for his murders and the city of Shechem for being complicit in the murders.

A guy by the name of Gaal and his brothers moved to Shechem and tried to orchestrate a coup ousting Abimelech. He said Abimelech was unfit to rule. He said Zebul, Abimelech's deputy, was a nobody. Zebul was furious and tipped Abimelech off and told him to attack Shechem by coming at night and then attacking in the morning.

The next morning Gaal thought he saw men in the shadows but Zebul kept telling him he was seeing things. Finally, Gaal did see the men and Zebul said,

“Now where is that big mouth of yours? Wasn’t it you that said, ‘Who is Abimelech, and why should we be his servants?’ The men you mocked are right outside the city! Go out and fight them!” (v. 38)

Abimelech captured the city and defeated the army. He leveled the city and put salt all over the ground (it was thought that would keep things from growing.) Some of the residents went and took refuge in the temple (which has been discovered by archaeologists in 1927). Abimelech and his men gathered up some branches and then and set them and the temple on fire. 1000 of the citizens died in the fire. God used Abimelech to bring judgment on the people of Shechem.

Abimelech for some reason then went and attacked the city of Thebez. All the people gathered in a strong tower and barricaded the door. Abimelech decided to set fire to the tower. While he was getting ready to set the tower on fire a woman dropped a millstone (a stone the women would hold to grind the grain) from the top of the tower and it hit Abimelech in the head and crushed his skull.

Abimelech started his reign of terror to gain a measure of dignity. Now he was about to die at the hand of a woman so he asked one of the soldiers to run him through with his sword so he would not die at the hand of a woman. So the curse was fulfilled. God punished the people of Shechem and Abimelech for the way they treated the sons of Gideon.

Conclusions

The fact that this story is in the Bible makes us scratch our heads. What is the point? This is like reading your kids a bedtime story and in the middle of the story telling them about Jack the Ripper! What is the point of this story? I think there are some very practical lessons we can learn.

We all have scars given to us by others. Abimelech carried his wounds for a long time. He was the outcast, the forgotten son. Perhaps some people made fun of him throughout his life. Those wounds hurt. Most people carry significant wounds,

The physically or sexually abused who wonder what they did wrong to deserve such treatment.

Divorced people who wonder why they were not "good enough" for their partner.

The person fired from their upper tier job to cut costs/

The person who has always been told they were unattractive, scholastically impaired, athletically awkward, or good for nothing.

The one victimized by a criminal act.

The one who was slandered by things that have no basis in the truth.

The one looked down on because of their income or family situation.

Though we feel life has not been fair to us the reality is: everyone has scars they carry. It is not the scars that define us, it is how we respond to those scars that matters. We must always remember: the truest thing about us is what God says about us. It is not what we think or what others say . . . it is what HE says.

He says you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

He says you were worth dying for.

He says He has loved you since the creation of the world.

He says you have unique gifts that He gave you so you can make an impact in the world.

He says He is preparing a place for you.

He says He will never leave you or forsake you.

He says He bends low to catch your tears and will one day wipe them all way.

The best way to deal with our scars is to bring them to Jesus. He died to set us free from the pain of the past. He calls us to be 'born again;' He says we can begin again cleansed of the sin we have committed and the sin that has been committed against us. To do this we must bring Him our hurts, fears, and failures and turn to Him as our Savior and our Lord and leader in life. It is the most significant and powerful thing you can do to find healing.

Revenge is a poor motivator for life. We talked about this a little in the life of Gideon. The downside of revenge is illustrated very well in the life of Abimelech. He stewed about his treatment by his family for years. Chuck Swindoll has written,

These folks are walking time bombs. Festering bitterness searches for and usually finds ways to explode. Often, those who suffer the brunt of another's revenge are innocent bystanders. They just happened to be in the way when the volcano erupts. Since revenge fuels such an enormous and uncontrollable fire, it is a wonder more aren't hurt by it. (Swindoll DAILY GRIND Vol 2 p.436)

We saw Abimelech explode. It happens all the time. People are so filled with hatred that they ooze anger even when they are around those whom they love. Studies have shown that the emotions vengeful people experience, often create a chemical imbalance in their bodies that can have dire consequences both physically and emotionally.

The desire for vindication (getting your name cleared as innocent) or the desire for payback both can consume us. We have all struggled with these desires at one time or another. It might be the result of childhood bullying, an abusive parent, a painful divorce, an ugly rumor, a promotion you were denied or even a personal and private secret that was shared. We understand the emotion because it is something we have felt.

The Bible tells us the best way to deal with feelings of revenge and bitterness is to entrust the wrong or the injustice to the Lord. we know this is what we should do, we just don't know what it looks like in practice.

Jonathan Edwards was one of the greatest of minds ever. He, along with John Wesley and George Whitfield was the driving force behind the Great Awakening. During this time the preaching of Edwards (which was monotone and read from his manuscript) completely captivated the people.

One man, however, was offended by Edwards. He set out to get Edwards fired from his job at the Northhampton Congregational Church. He slandered Edwards by planting vicious rumors about him in an effort to undermine his reputation and impugn his character. The public was aroused by the gossip (unfortunately, people then and now, love a scandal).

Things reached a fever pitch and the leaders of the church urged Edwards to defend himself against the lies. He refused.

One of his friends asked him, "Jonathan, what is wrong with you? Do you want to be vindicated of these charges?" He said, "I certainly do. I want it very badly."

"Then why won't you speak in your own defense?" he asked.

Edwards said, "Does not God promise to vindicate His people? I prefer His vindication to my own. Perhaps if I defend myself, God will allow that to be the extent of my defense; but if I remain silent, then God will move heaven and earth to secure my vindication. I am confident that His vindication of me will far exceed any attempts of my own."

It took some time before it happened, but eventually, the guilty man became so troubled by the enormity of his abusive act, and doubly shamed by Edward's silence that he came forward and made a full confession of his lies. Edwards was completely vindicated.[1]

This is a stirring testimony of the faith of Jonathan Edwards and may explain why he was so greatly used by God. If I may be blunt, the reason we are fueled by such strong desires of vengeance is because we don't really trust God. Our manipulations to "make things right" reveal a lack of faith. Vengeance and discipleship do not go together.

God is at work whether you see Him or don't see Him. No one is seeking God in this story. Yet we are told God was the one orchestrating the conflict between the people of Shechem and Abimelech.

People excuse their actions saying, "I don't believe in God" or "MY GOD is OK with this behavior." The True and Living God is the true and living God whether you acknowledge Him or don't. His character is nor changed according to our preferences.

He is the Lord over all. He is the One before whom we must all give an account.

You may not feel God is looking, but He sees everything.

You may think He has turned away, but He has not.

You may think you are beyond his reach but He is actively seeking you and waiting for you to sincerely ask Him to forgive you and make you new through Christ.

You may believe God is going to forgive everyone. But, there is a Day of Judgment and people will go to Heaven or Hell depending on how they responded to Jesus.

Finally, If we reject the true King, we will be ruled by a usurper. If Christ does not rule our lives, our sinful nature will rule it. This will make us vulnerable to every false teacher, fad, and temptation of the Devil.

Every time Israel got into a mess requiring a Judge to save them, it was for the same reason: they had turned from the True and Living God to idols of their own imagination.

We see this all around us. What is good and true is systematically being redefined so we can follow the whims of our desires rather than the dictates of God's truth. People no longer confess to sin, they confess to being "misunderstood." In other words, they blame others for their own wrongdoing. Our greatest defense against the conviction of sin is our own self-deception. We deny, suppress, or minimize what we know to be true. We assert, adorn, and elevate what we know to be false. Someone has rightly said, "We deceive ourselves, and then we convince ourselves that we are not deceiving ourselves."

Our only hope as individuals and as a society is to face our sinfulness without excuses and confess our sin to God. He must be returned to His rightful place as Lord. Once we are honest with ourselves about our sin, we are ready to come to Christ for God's forgiveness and new life.

Both my college roommates were psychology majors. I was a Biblical Studies major. We had (and have) great respect for each other (I have benefitted from the counsel of my counselor former roommate). Occasionally, I would give them a hard time. I'd say, "You know, you are putting a lot of effort into this and I can tell you what the problem is with people right now." They would look at me with disgust and I'd say simply, "Sin! If people would confess and repent of their sin and turn to Christ for salvation and submit to His rule in their lives . . . you wouldn't have many clients."

I know, it's a gross oversimplification . . . or is it?

[1] As told in R.C. Sproul In Search of Dignity p. 55-56