From Sampler to Sower

Weekend Teaching Series: Heroes

Message Title: The Judge Who Wasn’t

Sermon in a Sentence: Be careful which voices you allow to have influence in your life.

Text(s): Judges 8-9

Weekend Scale of Difficulty: 6 out of 10, There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary in tonight’s service.  The only difficulty was the normal and enjoyable task of exegeting a passage of scripture and learning to hear and speak its message to a new generation.

Message Summary:

Our Heroes series based on the book of Judges for Junior High continued this week.  However, for the first time in our  series we talked about someone whom the Bible never calls a judge.  Abimelech, son of Gideon, is sometimes listed among the judges of Israel, but he neither saved Israel from any threat, nor was he called by God to this task.  His tale is just the end of the story of the judge Gideon.

We started where we left off last week with Gideon, the not-so-certain, often-scared, yet still-mighty Warrior God called to rescue his people from the hand of the Midianites.  Gideon had gathered up an army of 32,000 men, narrowed it down to only 300, and as our story last week ended, those 300 men had set the Midianite army on the run.

What comes next?

We’ve heard enough of these stories by now to know, right?   All of the judges stories follow the same pattern.  Israel sins.  Israel suffers.  Israel calls out to God for help, and God raises up a judge to lead his people.  Rebellion, retribution, repentance, redeemer and rescue.

After the judge defeats the enemy, all of Israel comes together and enjoys a time of peace and prosperity, until finally they begin to fall back into sin again.

Only this time it’s different.  And the difference shows up right away.

Gideon has just defeated the Midianites.  Two of the Kings of Midian –Zebah and Zalmunna — have escaped and Gideon is trying to hunt them down before they get away.

The Israelite army chases them all the way across the Jordan river.  By this time they are tired, exhausted and hungry.

They come to the Succoth, an Israelite village in the territory of the tribe of Gad.  Gideon asks for bread for his army so they can continue the chase.

But the people of Succoth aren’t so sure.  They’re on the far side of the Jordan, cut off from most of Israel.  If the Midianites retaliate, their village is right on the front line.  So they ask: have you already captured Zebah and Zalmunna?  When they find out Gideon is still chasing the Midianite kings, they refuse to give him and his troops any bread, lest the Midianites find out and retaliate.

Gideon threatens, “This isn’t over.  I’ll be back.”

The next town he comes to is Peniel, the place where Jacob wrestled with God on the shores of the Jabbock river and had his name changed to Israel.  When they too find out that Gideon’s victory isn’t yet complete, they too hesitate to offer their support.

It’s the first sign of problems for Gideon’s leadership; instead of uniting Israel, he is causing divisions and hard feelings.  And those hard feelings will only get worse when after capturing Zebah and Zalmunna he heads back to those two villages to get even. He captures the 70 leaders of Succoth and whips them with thorns and briars, and then he goes to Peniel, tears down it’s tower and kills their men.  Hardly the unifying leader that Ehud or Deborah were…

Once Gideon’s victory over the Midianites is complete, he returns to Israel a hero.  The people want to make him King.  “You have rescued us out of the hands of the Midianites.” They proclaim.

(Now remember, the whole reason God narrowed the army down to 300 was so they wouldn’t take credit for the victory.  “In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her… (Judges 7:2)” Despite this, Israel is still wanting to take credit for the victory themselves.)

But when the people want to make him king Gideon has the right answer, at least at first.

“I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you. (Judges 8:23, NIV)”

I’m not in charge here, God is.  Trust him to be your king, not me or any other human.

It’s the right answer.  Gideon says all the right things.

But then he goes and does something completely different.  Gideon says he doesn’t want to be king, but then he immediately begins acting like one.

1. He accepts tributes from the people. “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder (Judges 8:23, NIV).”
2. He builds himself a way to tell the people what to do. “Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town (Judges 8:27, NIV).” An ephod is a vest worn by priests to discern God’s will in various situations.  Ask it a yes/no question, reach into the pocket, and pull out a stone that will tell you what to do.  A kind of divine magic eight ball.  But Gideon doesn’t want the poeple to go to the priests any more.  He wants them to come to him, so he can tell them what to do.  “All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family (Judges 8:27b, NIV).”
3. He has a big family. And not just five kids big.  More like: “He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. (Judges 8:30, NIV)” This isn’t the family of a simple farmer from Manasseh.  Only kings had families of that size.
4. He names his son Abimelech. “His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech (Judges 8:31, NIV).” Not only did he have several wives, he had at least one concubine (a slave he slept with) who lived in another town.  And just to make sure you don’t miss the significance, he names his son by her Abimelech, which means “My father is the king.”  Not very subtle . . .

So Gideon says all the right things, and then goes and lives a totally different way.  However, as long as he is alive, Israel enjoys peace (as long as you don’t count those thorn whippings or town slayings as unpeaceful.)  But the full consequences of Gideon’s attitudes will be seen during the life of his son.

After Gideon dies, his son by the Shechemite concubine, Abimelech, decides that it’s his turn to take over.  To consolidate his power he first goes to the people of Shechem, his home town and a non-Israelite city, and appeals to them for help.

“Would you rather have to serve the whims and wishes of all seventy of Gideon’s sons, or would you rather choose just one person to serve?  And if you want to serve just one person, why not me, your brother and fellow non-Israelite?”

Because they saw Abimelech as one of their own people, as one of their brothers, they took up a collection from the temple to Baal that they had in their town and gave Abimelech the money to go and hire a posse of “reckless adventurers” or “out of work mercenaries” to go and sieze power.

Abimelech took his new army and went to Gideon’s hometown of  Orpah and, as the Bible puts it, “on one stone murdered his seventy brothers.”  At least most of them.  One brother, Jotham escapes.

When word gets back to Shechem about how Abimelech treated his brothers, you’d think the people who gave him their support because “he’s our brother” would have been a little concerned.  But instead they all gathered at one of the local idols’ temple and crowned Abimelech as their king.

Now remember, in crowning Abimelech king, they’re not just choosing a human leader.  Gideon told them he would not be king becauce God was supposed to be their king.  By crowning Abimelech, they are not just choosing him, they are rejecting God.

As all of this is happening, word reaches Jotham about what is happening in Shechem.  He goes to Mt Gerazim, site of some famous blessings in Israelite history, to pronounce his “blessing” on Abimelech’s kingship.  He starts by telling a story, and it went something like this:

One day the trees decided they needed a king.

So they went to the olive tree (because hey, everyone loves Olives) and asked him “Be our King.”

But the Olive tree said “I’m too busy making oil to honor the kings and the gods themselves.  I can’t stop to be your king.

So they went to the Fig tree (because, hey, everyone likes figs) and said “Be our King.”

But the Fig tree said “I’m to busy making fruit which is good to eat and sweet to the taste.  I can’t stop to be your king.”

So they went to the grapevine (because, hey, everyone needs grapes) and said “Be our King.”

But the grapevine said “I’m too busy making grapes to cheer up everyone who drinks of them.  I can’t stop now to be your king.”

So they went to the bramble patch (because, hey, by now they were really desperate and running out of options) and said “Be our King.”

And the bramble patch said “OK.  I’ve got nothing better to do.  If you want me to be your king, then come, rest in my shade.”

Of course, bramble patches don’t offer a lot of shade.  They’re skinny, and dry, and short, and not good for much but starting fires.  But the trees didn’t have any other king.  So they all gathered in the meager shade of the bramble until lightning struck, the bramble caught on fire, and the trees all burned.

The moral of the story is to be careful who you choose to be your leader.  Just because someone is willing to tell you what to do, that doesn’t mean they are qualified.  Choose to follow the wrong influences just because they’re available, and you will be led to your own destruction.

Then Jotham said “Did you really treat me and my family fairly?  My father Gideon laid his life on the line to rescue you from the Midianites.  And how do you thank him?  You murder his children and choose Abimelech, his son by the slave woman, to be your king just because he comes from your hometown.  Well, if that’s how you want it to be, more power to you.  You two deserve each other.  You elected him king.  I hope you get the king you deserve.”

And with that Jotham ran for his life and hid from Abimelech.

It wasn’t long before the people began to understand just what his parable meant.

Unlike the other judges we’ve talked about who lived long lives and brought a generation of peace to Israel, Abimelech’s self-made reign was quick to end.

It wasn’t long before the people of Shechem began to resent the rule of Abimelech.  Rather that choosing someone who had the character to be a leader, they gave power to the power hungry.  That’s rarely a good decision.  Such people tend to abuse rather than use power.

And so resentful of the way Abimelech was abusing his power, resistance movements began to spring up among the people of Shechem.  Rebels began to attack villagers in the countryside mocking Abimelech’s ability to maintain order.  One in particular named Gaal even went so far as to publically badmouth Abimelech – daring Abimelech to send out his army to silence him.

“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!’” (Judges 8:29, NIV)

In the meantime, the governor of Shechem who was still loyal to Abimelech secretly sent messengers to Abimelech to tell him what people were saying and doing behind his back.  Abimelech, enraged, gathered his troops to silence Gaal.

In the resulting battle, Abimelech not only destroyed Gaal and his supporters, he attacked the village of Shechem that used to be his ally.  He destroyed all the towns defenses, killed the defenseless, and sowed salt into the fields to ensure nothing would grow there for years.  And when the refugees from Shechem fled to a nearby temple and locked themselves inside, Abimelech ordered each of his soldiers to cut down and arm-load of firewood and then they burnt down the temple with the refugees still inside.

Still enraged, Abimelech turned his anger against the next stronghold, the town of Thebez.  Now, to our knowledge, Thebez did not do anything to anger Abimelech.  But Abimelech, already enraged, lashed out against it anyway.  Someone challenged his authority, and he was going to make sure someone paid for it…

The citizens of Thebez took refuge inside the tower of their citadel, locking themselves inside.  But towers were no match for Abimelech, and he marched against it as well.  As he approached the tower, a woman inside dropped a millstone from the roof of the tower.  It struck Abimelech on the head, cracking his skull.

Mortally wounded he called for his armor bearer to come and to kill him with his sword before he died from his head injury so that no one could say a woman had killed him.

And his armor beared obliged.

This sad period in Israel’s history comes to an end with this summary in Judges: “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 8:56-57, NIV).”

Now there is some irony here.  Abimelech, who killed his brothers “on a single stone” dies when a stone hits him in the head.  And despite his pleas to his armor bearer to make sure no one could say a woman killed him, we’re still talking about how a woman killed him some 3000 years later.

But there’s something more important here – a lesson that I think stands behind the reason this story was included in scripture.  The moral of this story seems to be “Be careful which voices you allow to have influence in your life.”

Remember the parable of Jotham about the trees?  Just because someone is willing and available to take the lead doesn’t mean that they ought to.  It’s easy for the leaders you love today to become the leaders who oppress and destroy you tomorrow.

This has some obvious political implications, especially in a nation like the US where we are allowed to elect our leaders.  From town councils to state representatives to senators and presidents, we learn all the time that you get the government that you vote for.  Elect the wrong candidate, and you get a government that does more harm than good.  That’s why prayerful consideration is so important before voting.

But there’s an even more important personal application to this story.

Think about the voices you allow to influence you.  Granted, they may not have the same authority in your life that a king might have, but by making room and giving ear to different voices in your life you give them influence.

Once things begin to influence you, it’s easy to become bound to them.  Experiments today become habits tomorrow.  Things we allow to have access, soon begin to have authority. And we find ourselves trapped by things we thought we could control.

Whether it’s getting caught in a web of deception and having to keep the lies straight to avoid being found out,

Or finding ourselves enslaved to an attitude of materialism that always has to have more because we’ve convinced ourselves that happiness is found in what we own,

Or being pushed around by peer pressure because we’ve tied up our sense of self-worth in what other people think of us so long that we can’t let them think any less of us now,

Or being controlled by an addiction that started out as something we were convinced we could control.

What’s more, a lot of times when we give power to these power hungry influences in our lives, we end up with the leader we deserve.  Rather than guiding us, helping us, defending us, these influences turn out like Abimelech – abusing us, oppressing us, destroying us.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be all bad…

Give influence to a good influence, and it can influence you for the good.

Spend time reading the Bible and see how it begins to shape the way you think.

Develop a habit of prayer and see how a life lived in constant conversation with God can change the way you see your world.

Get plugged in to a small group of other believers and let peer pressure help you make the right decisions for a change.

The moral of the story isn’t a avoid letting there be leaders in your life.  The moral is to make sure you choose to follow the right influences.

We closed by asking students to reflect on the voices they’ve allowed to have access and authority in their lives, and then prayed that God would set them free, free from the harmful influences and free to be led by the voice of God in their lives.

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: In honor of the Hallowtide holidays this weekend, we made sure every student went home with a bag of candy this week.

Worship Set: Trading my Sorrows, Sing Sing Sing, I am Free, Marvelous Light

Favorite Moment: It was a great night all around.  Numbers were up, and I got to reconnect with some students who’ve been missing for a few weeks.