Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan, "Ask all the citizens of Shechem, 'Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh and blood."
When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother." They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers. He went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.
When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.'
"But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'
"Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.'
"But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'
"Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.'
"But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'
"Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'
"The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'
"Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves - and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian (but today you have revolted against my father's family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother) - if then you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too! But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!"
Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.
After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech. God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers. In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.
Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech. Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son, and isn't Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelech? If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, 'Call out your whole army!' "
When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, "Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields. In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do whatever your hand finds to do."
So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place.
When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!"
Zebul replied, "You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men."
But Gaal spoke up again: "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree."
Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your big talk now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?' Aren't these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!"
So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech. Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight — all the way to the entrance to the gate. Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.
The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down. All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.
On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there, he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, "Quick! Do what you have seen me do!" So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.
Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women—all the people of the city—fled. They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof. Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.
Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can't say, 'A woman killed him.' " So his servant ran him through, and he died. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.
Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.
Judges 9
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Judges, Chapter 9 begins, Israel has been freed from the oppressive rule of Midian thanks to the leadership of Gideon, hand-selected by the Lord to serve and fight in His name. In return, God gave Midian into the hands of Gideon.
After Gideon’s death, Israel begins to yearn for a different kind of leadership…a king. Keep in mind that all leaders up to this point had been selected by God to carry out His purpose for them. And in each incident, Israel experienced deliverance from the hands of an oppressor. Keep in mind as well that Gideon had told the people of Israel that they were, first and foremost, under the rule of the Lord. (Judges 8:23) Still, we see Israel seek rule from man over God.
For as Chapter 9 opens, we find Gideon’s son, Abimelech, actually petitioning the people of Shechem to make him their ruler. He said “to all his mother's clan”, "Ask all the citizens of Shechem, 'Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh and blood." And so Abimielech’s mother’s brothers do ask the people of Shechem who were “inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, ‘He is our brother.’ " They further paid him “seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith” which Abimelech used to “hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers”. And so Abimelech, with the endorsement of the people of Shechem, “went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers”…the sons of Gideon. All were killed except for “the youngest son”, Jotham, who “escaped by hiding”. After Abimelech had slaughtered all of his siblings, “all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown (him) king”.
Note Abimelech’s ruthlessness in seeking power and authority. Where his father ruled under God’s guidance, Abimelech established his rule by bloodshed and intimidation, not even hesitating to murder his own siblings in order to ascend in power. Additionally, Abimelech gladly took payment from the temple of the false god Baal...a 70 shekel payoff from the people of Shechem who were just as guilty as Abimelech after they endorsed his murderous idea.
Truly, there’s much we need to learn from Abimelech because we too have a tendency to get power hungry or controlling to the point where we are willing to run over anything or anyone who might get in our way as we move toward what we want. We might not murder someone like Abimelech did but demeaning others or back-stabbing or spreading false rumors to make yourself look better than another is sinful nonetheless. In the end, we should never force the issue. For God will always put us where He wants us according to His purpose for us.
Getting back to our scriptures, we see Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son, climb Mount Gerizim and address the people of Shechem as they are ready to crown Abimelech as king. After getting their attention, Jotham tells them a story illustrating the mistake the people had made as well as the consequences that were yet to come.
In the story, note that the trees represented the people of Shechem who were determined to have a ruler over them. The trees first asked an olive tree to lead them, followed by a fig tree and then a vine. All three turned down the proposition to rule. Why? Because God had made them for a different purpose. The olive tree realized that its oil was needed to honor others…for that was God’s purpose for it. The fig tree bore good and sweet fruit that was needed to nourish others…for that was God’s purpose for it. And the vine yielded wine that was used for many functions including religious functions…and that was God’s purpose for it.
Unable to convince the olive tree, fig tree or vine to rule over them, the trees turn to the thornbush…a dried up, jagging tumbleweed that had no real purpose and was very prone to catch fire. As the trees ask the thornbush to rule them, we see it sarcastically tell the trees to come into its shade if they really wanted to anoint it king. And if they didn’t want the thornbush to lead them, then it would just consume the trees with fire. Note that the thornbush had no commitment to anyone including itself. It didn’t turn down rule because it had a special purpose. It also didn’t go out of its way to show it really wanted to rule the people. In fact, it would just as easily destroy the people as it would lead them. And unfortunately, this is exactly what happens when Abimelech assumes responsibility over Shechem.
There’s a lot for us to glean from this parable told by Jotham, especially when it comes to realizing what our purpose is in God. Do you know what His purpose is for you? Have you realized the special gifts and talents that God has given you to carry out His will? We must never ever cease to seek what God wants from us each and every day that He blesses us with. And never forget that God could always reveal a new gift from within you at any time. This is why we should never use the word “can’t” in regard to doing something. Maybe you think you can’t but God can turn that can’t to a can if it’s His will to do so. In the end, we all could be a olive tree or a fig tree or a vine or anything else of special purpose to the Lord. But conversely, we could easily become a thornbush as well if we fail to seek God’s will and purpose for our lives…finding ourselves dried up…void of His spirit…useless and purposeless.
Shechem would end up appointing Abimelech as king and in the end, they would destroy each other just as Jotham had predicted. Abimelech refused to allow God to lead Him and reveal His purpose for His life. Shechem refused to allow the Lord to rule over them and instead opted for a murderous, power-grabbing son of a Gideon who did nothing but commit first fratricide on his own siblings before committing genocide on the people of Shechem. Had only Shechem turned to God for leadership and guidance it all would have ended so differently. Ditto had Abimelech just turned to God as his father had done and sought His purpose for his life.
Today, let us not repeat the mistakes of the past. There have been way too many Abimelechs and Shechems in the world since the days of the Old Testament...people unwilling to surrender themselves to the will of God. We can stop that trend by all doing three things each and every day:
1. Seek God’s purpose.
2. Carry out God’s purpose after He reveals it to us.
3. Remain in His purpose until you accomplish what He wants you to do after which you should go back to step 1 and start seeking again.
For one thing is certain, there will never be a time when God will not have a purpose for you. Believe and trust in that. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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