Gtcotr/ws042821
A
couple of Sunday’s ago we discussed Jesus going through Samaria and meeting a
woman at Jacob’s well in the old city of Shechem. I showed a few pictures
looking down on that old city from Mount Gerizim. I also shared that many of
the Bible stories, both in the Old and New Testaments, took place in that
place.
·
It
is where Abraham built his first altar to Jehovah in the Promise Land.
·
It
is where Joseph’s bones were buried after the exodus from Egypt and the
conquering of the land of Canaan.
·
It
is where deacon Philip held his first revival recorded in Acts 8.
·
It
is where the Kings of Israel lived as well as many of the prophets including
Elijah and Elisha.
· It is also the setting for our Bible story this evening from the book of Judges concerning the sons of a mighty man of valor named Gideon.
The Setting: Share the story of the Midianites, Gideon, Baal, the fleece, the 32,000 to 300 army, defeat of the 120,000 Midianite army, Jehovah shalom and the forty years of peace in Israel.
There is no better way to tell the rest of the story than to simply read it.
Judges 8
28 That is the story of how
the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the
rest of Gideon’s lifetime — about forty years — there was
peace in the land.
29 ¶ Then Gideon son of Joash
returned home.
30 He had seventy sons born
to him, for he had many wives.
31 He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech.
Judges 9
1 ¶ One day Gideon’s {see
Jud 6:32 } son Abimelech went to Shechem to visit his
uncles — his mother’s brothers. He said to them and to the rest of
his mother’s family,
2 “Ask the leading citizens
of Shechem whether they want to be ruled by all seventy of Gideon’s sons or by
one man. And remember that I am your own flesh and blood!”
3 So Abimelech’s uncles gave
his message to all the citizens of Shechem on his behalf. And after listening
to this proposal, the people of Shechem decided in favor of Abimelech because
he was their relative.
4 They gave him seventy silver
coins from the temple of Baal-berith, which he used to hire some reckless
troublemakers who agreed to follow him.
5 He went to his father’s
home at Ophrah, and there, on one stone, they killed all seventy of his half
brothers, the sons of Gideon. {see Jud 6:32 } But the youngest brother,
Jotham, escaped and hid.
6 Then all the leading
citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo called a meeting under the oak beside the
pillar at Shechem and made Abimelech their king.
7 ¶ When Jotham heard about this, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem! Listen to me if you want God to listen to you!
8 Once upon a time the trees
decided to elect a king. First they said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’
9 But the olive tree refused,
saying, ‘Should I quit producing the olive oil that blesses both God and
people, just to wave back and forth over the trees?’
10 “Then they said to the fig
tree, ‘You be our king!’
11 But the fig tree also
refused, saying, ‘Should I quit producing my sweet fruit just to wave back and
forth over the trees?’
12 “Then they said to the
grapevine, ‘You be our king!’
13 But the grapevine also
refused, saying, ‘Should I quit producing the wine that cheers both God and
people, just to wave back and forth over the trees?’
14 “Then all the trees
finally turned to the thornbush and said,
‘Come, you be our king!’
15 And the thornbush replied to the trees, ‘If you truly want to make me your king, come and take shelter in my shade. If not, let fire come out from me and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’ ”
16 Jotham continued, “Now
make sure you have acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelech your
king, and that you have done right by Gideon and all of his descendants. Have
you treated him with the honor he deserves for all he accomplished?
17 For he fought for you and
risked his life when he rescued you from the Midianites.
18 But today you have
revolted against my father and his descendants, killing his seventy sons on one
stone. And you have chosen his slave woman’s son, Abimelech, to be your king
just because he is your relative.
19 “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.
20 But 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!”
21 Then Jotham escaped and
lived in Beer because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.
22 ¶ After Abimelech had
ruled over Israel for three years,
23 God sent a spirit that
stirred up trouble between Abimelech and the leading citizens of Shechem, and
they revolted.
24 God was punishing Abimelech for murdering Gideon’s seventy sons, and the citizens of Shechem for supporting him in this treachery of murdering his brothers.
The greatest lesson I have learned from this story is the value of being content with what God has given me, where He has placed me, and how He is using me.
The Apostle Paul wrote:
1 Timothy 6:6 ¶ Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
Not every move up the proverbial ladder of success is a promotion. We have all been given special abilities and have a best use to God. Much like the members of our body, each member is fit to the task to which they were created and called.
We cannot afford to allow the world and its ideals to set the course of our lives. It is a wise person who knows their value to God, family, and community.
A second lesson I have learned from Judges 7, 8, and 9, is the importance of honoring those who have gone before us and paved the way for our peace. One of the reasons why the nation of Israel ended up in turmoil again was punishment from God for supporting the treachery of their leader Abimelech. They forgot to treat Gideon and his descendants with the honor they deserved for all they accomplished.
Romans 13 encourages us to give honor to whom honor is due and : Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so.
And
by the way, Jotham means Yahweh is Perfect! Of course He is and He has a
perfect plan for your life.
