14 May Judges 09: The hidden hand of God

Judges 9:1-10:5

Judges 9:16-21 – ¹⁶ “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved— ¹⁷ for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, ¹⁸ and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative— ¹⁹ if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. ²⁰ But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” ²¹ And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.

I have watched enough Korean dramas to know that it almost never ends well when chaebols have illegitimate children. And let me clarify. By chaebols, I do not mean people who are very short. A chaebol is a super-rich South Korean business family. You know how it goes. It is hard enough to find a successor from within the immediate family. There would be rivalries between siblings over who should inherit the company. And when there are illegitimate children in the mix, it becomes a lot messier, a game of thrones. So, here is what we know. Ruin does not only come from without, but it can also come from within. And that’s what we see in Judges chapter 9. Let me refresh you on where we left off last week. When Gideon knew that he was weak, he relied on God’s strength. But when Gideon thought that he was strong, everything fell apart. After Gideon defeated the Midianites, he flirted with kingship. He never declared himself as the king of Israel, but he lived like one. And here is the irony. A judge is supposed to turn people from idol worship to the one true God. But Gideon led them to idol worship. And as soon as Gideon died, Israel went wild. They did not remember the Lord their God who saved them from their enemies, and they whored after other gods.

Until this chapter, there has been a familiar sequence of events: Rebellion – Oppression – Distress – Rescue (the Judges cycle). But now, we have a complete departure from the sequence. For the first time in the book of Judges, Israel will face an enemy not from the outside but from within Israel. Their enemy is none other than Abimelech, the illegitimate son of Gideon. How many of you have ever heard a sermon on Abimelech? I’ve been in church all my life and I have never heard a sermon on Abimelech. And I can understand why not many preachers preach on Abimelech. His story is extremely unpleasant. One commentator refers to him as the son from hell, and we will see why. As the story unfolds, we will see a man who is determined to get whatever he wants through his own strength. Judges chapter 9 is a very dark episode in Israel’s history. But I want us to bear in mind that everything that happens in this chapter does not come out of nothing; it is a result of Gideon’s sins. These are the consequences of Gideon flirting with kingship and living like a king when God is their king. So, the story of Abimelech is the continuation of the story of Gideon. Parents, let this be a warning. The way you live your life has massive consequences for your children. Do not think that your life and your sins have no consequences for the future of your children. Gideon’s sins impacted his own family in ways that he could not have predicted. Israel is about to experience one of her worst nightmares because of Gideon’s sins.

So, as we are about to read, remember that the context of the story is Israel is no longer faithful to God. That is why God’s personal name is not mentioned at all in chapter 9. What we have is the generic word for God, Elohim, instead of God’s personal name, YHWH, or the Lord. And Gideon is referred to as Jerubbaal, his pagan name, instead of Gideon. Why? The author is trying to make a point. Here it is. Judges chapter 9 is a picture of a society that tried to push God out of the picture completely. It shows us what happens when the people of God rejected God. So, let’s get into the story. And heads-up, we are going to read a lot today. My sermon manuscript is usually about 6000 words long. And for this sermon, almost 2000 words are Bible verses. So, we are going to spend one-third of the sermon reading the Bible.

I have three points for this sermon: Unworthy leader; Unseen judgement; Undeserved kindness.

Unworthy leader

Judges 9:1-6 – Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family, ² “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.” ³ And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” ⁴ And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. ⁵ And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. ⁶ And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

Abimelech is very ambitious, intelligent, and treacherous. He knows that when his father died, it is the perfect opportunity for him to strike. So, he goes to his mother’s relative at Shechem and tells them and everyone in the city, “Listen. I don’t want to scare you, but do you know what is going to happen now that Gideon died? His seventy sons will rule over you. Think about it. Seventy rulers. That’s not good, right? You don’t want seventy men to rule over you. Isn’t it better if you just have one ruler? And it’s even better if that ruler happens to be your relative. Oh, wait. I think I know just the right person. It’s me. I am related by blood to you. What do you think about having me as your ruler?” And the leaders of Shechem say among them, “What he said makes sense. He is our brother. Let’s have him rule over us.” So, they give money to Abimelech, and he uses it to hire thugs to kill Gideon’s other seventy sons. But the youngest son, Jotham, escapes. And then the leaders of Shechem made Abimelech king. Notice what happened. If Gideon killed fellow Israelites; Abimelech murdered his own family. If Gideon flirted with kingship; Abimelech forced kingship. What Gideon crafted, Abimelech perfected. Abimelech repeated Gideon’s sins but in much worse ways. And the leaders of Shechem should have known better than to appoint someone who murdered his own family as a king. But they close their eyes to Abimelech’s moral deficiency because it benefits them to have their own brother as a king.

Judges 9:7-15 – ⁷ When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. ⁸ The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ ⁹ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ ¹⁰ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹¹ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ ¹² And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹³ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ ¹⁴ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹⁵ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

When Jotham hears what happened, he comes out of hiding and tells an interesting fable. It is about how the trees in the forest decided that they want to have a king. So, they go to the olive tree and say, “Why don’t you be our king?” And the olive tree says, “Sorry, can’t do. I am too rich with my olive production to be bothered with being your king.” So, they go to the fig tree, “Why don’t you reign over us?” The fig tree replies, “I don’t want to. I am doing well with my business. I am too busy to reign over you.” So, they go to the vine tree. But the vine tree also does not want to be their king. So, the trees finally go to the bramble. Now, let me be honest. I did not know what a bramble was. I had to google it. Look at this picture. A bramble is pretty much a thornbush. They are very small and useless. So, the trees go to the bramble and ask, “Will you be our king?” And the bramble says, “Of course. Come and take refuge in my shade.” And this is funny. Because the bramble is only a few centimetres off the ground. I mean, how can the much bigger trees take refuge under its shade? Now, do you see the point of the fable? The point of the fable is not how dumb it is for the olive, fig, and vine to reject kingship. The point of the fable is how dumb it is for the trees to ask the useless bramble to be their king. The trees have chosen the worst possible candidate to be their king. The bramble is good for nothing. It is unqualified to be the king of the trees. It is like asking a five-year-old to be your Uber driver. That’s a recipe for disaster. And this is Jotham’s point. He is saying to them, “You have chosen the most unqualified, useless, worthless person to be your king.”

Judges 9:16-21 – ¹⁶ “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved— ¹⁷ for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, ¹⁸ and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative— ¹⁹ if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. ²⁰ But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” ²¹ And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.

Essentially, Jotham says, “If you have been just to Gideon’s family in making Abimelech your king, and let’s face it, you haven’t, but if you have, then may you find great blessing in the rule of Abimelech. But if you haven’t, and let’s face it, you haven’t, then you will get what you deserve. This will come back to you. You will reap what you sow. You will burn each other.” So, Jotham pronounces a curse upon them. If the people of Shechem have not acted right, may they and Abimelech devour each other with fire. And poof, he disappears from the pages of Scripture. His only role in the story is to pronounce a curse.

There is an important lesson here for us. Dale Ralph Davis writes, “People have a strange tendency to accept bramble-leadership, a fact which continues to baffle us.” Isn’t that true? Let me say it in a different way. We are often far too easily impressed by leadership qualities that are unimportant to God. Let’s put it in our church’s context. What kind of leaders or pastors do we want for our church? Which one comes first when we choose leaders? Gifts or characters? Let’s say there are two people: Bob and Ben. Bob is extremely popular with people. He is funny, he is intelligent, he is a people person, and everything he does turns out well. If he leads worship, he can make the Presbyterians lift their hands. If he preaches, he can make the Reforms shout amen. If he teaches Bible study, he can make the Charismatics love doctrines. If he ministers at Sunday school, he can turn little Lucifers into little Gabriels. If he ushers, he can make the Atheists feel welcome at church. Bob is just incredibly gifted. He makes everything work. Ben on the other hand does not stand out. He is socially awkward. But he loves his family. He is patient and kind. He welcomes others into his house. He disciples people around him. And He is a faithful teacher of the Bible. If we must choose between Bob and Ben to be a leader in the church, which one do we choose? Theoretically, we say Ben. But in reality, we are often swayed by Bob. Am I right? Why? Because choosing Bob works. Choosing Bob is the pragmatic choice. I am not saying that it is wrong to be very gifted. We also do not want pastors who specialize in putting people to sleep when they preach. We do not want worship leaders who sing in the key of G when the music is in the key of D. That’s horrible. The pastors and the leaders must be gifted at what they do. But our priority in choosing them must always be characters, not gifts.

For example, the Bible gives us the qualifications for the kind of person pastors in the church should be. And out of the 14 qualifications of pastors that the New Testament gives us, do you know how many refer to gifts? Only one. That is, they must be able to teach. That’s it. The rest is about characters. The Bible put much more emphasis on characters rather than gifts. We must pay attention to it. Otherwise, we will choose the 21st-century equivalent of Abimelech, leaders chosen for the wrong reasons and the wrong qualities. Jotham is giving us a warning to be very careful in seeking and choosing a leader. Do not choose an unworthy leader, especially a leader of God’s people. But also remember this. Every Christian leader will disappoint. It’s not a matter of if; it is a matter of when. We will never find a perfect leader except in Jesus Christ. So, hear me loud and clear. I will disappoint you. How many of you have ever got disappointed in me? Don’t raise your hand. I don’t want to know. Because if I do, I will resign tomorrow. Every leader will disappoint because every leader is a sinner. So, the kind of leaders we want in the church is not those who never disappoint us, because there are none. But those who are faithful to God and quick to repent when they sin. Let’s continue with the story.

Unseen Judgement

Judges 9:22-29 – ²² Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. ²³ And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, ²⁴ that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. ²⁵ And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech. ²⁶ And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. ²⁷ And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. ²⁸ And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? ²⁹ Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”

So, the story picks up three years after Jotham pronounced a curse upon Israel and Abimelech. Abimelech has ruled over Israel for three years. And God sends an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. For whatever reason, the leaders of Shechem now want to harm Abimelech and Abimelech retaliates. And then comes a man by the name of Gaal, who challenges Abimelech’s right of kingship. He claims to be the descendant of Hamor, the founder of Shechem. And the leaders of Shechem side with him.

Judges 9:30-41 – ³⁰ When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. ³¹ And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. ³² Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. ³³ Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.” ³⁴ So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies. ³⁵ And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush. ³⁶ And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.” ³⁷ Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.” ³⁸ Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.” ³⁹ And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. ⁴⁰ And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹ And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.

I find this part to be quite funny. Zebul, one of Abimelech’s trusted men, finds out about Gaal’s conspiracy and tells Abimelech about it. So, they devise a plan together to take out Gaal. Zebul then takes Gaal out to the entrance of the gate of the city in the early morning, where Abimelech and his men ambush him. When Gaal sees the men, he says, “How come there are so many people coming our way this early in the morning?” Zebul says, “You are mistaken. Where is your eye?” Gaal says, “No. Those are men coming our way.” And this time Zebul says, “Where is your mouth now?” And I thought, “That’s smooth. He must have practised that line all night.” And Abimelech and Zebul drove out Gaal and his men from Shechem. End of story? Apparently not. Let’s continue.

Judges 9:42-49 – ⁴² On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told. ⁴³ He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them. ⁴⁴ Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them. ⁴⁵ And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt. ⁴⁶ When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith. ⁴⁷ Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. ⁴⁸ And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” ⁴⁹ So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.

The people of Shechem think the next day would be like any other day. Most of them are not involved in Gaal’s conspiracy and think that they are safe. But they are very wrong. Abimelech is burned with anger. Fire rages in his heart. He is not content with driving out Gaal and his men, he also holds the people of the city responsible. So, he kills many workers in the field. And he also attacks the city and kills the people in the city. The city leaders escape and hide in the stronghold of the tower. So, Abimelech leads his men to burn the tower. About 1,000 men and women of Shechem died. And remember, Shechem is Abimelech’s hometown. He is destroying his own city and killing his own relative. Can you see why Abimelech is called the son from hell? And this is the fulfilment of Jotham’s curse of how Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem will burn each other. So, is it done? Is the rage finally quenched?

Judges 9:50-55 – ⁵⁰ Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. ⁵¹ But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. ⁵² And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. ⁵³ And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. ⁵⁴ Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵ And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.

We are not sure how Thebez is involved in all of these. But Abimelech attacks Thebez and it seems like history will repeat itself. It seems like what happened at Shechem will happen at Thebez. Once again, the people hide in the strong tower in the city. And Abimelech thinks what worked at Shechem would surely work at Thebez. He is about to burn the tower when he discovers, a little too late, that a certain woman has a crush on him. She’s been stalking him on Instagram and Facebook and paying very close attention to his movement. And then when the opportunity comes, she throws a millstone from the top of the tower, and it lands exactly on Abimelech’s head and crushes his skull. And I thought, “Nice aim, woman. She must have been in the military or something.” But Abimelech is only half-dead at this time. And he quickly commands his armour-bearer to strike him so that he doesn’t have to endure the shame of being killed by a woman. And so, Abimelech died, and the men of Israel depart back home. Israel is at peace again. End of story.

What a pleasant story. Isn’t it? (sarcasm). What are we to make of this horrendous story? If we do not read the story carefully, it might seem like God is absent in the story. Because God is hardly mentioned in the story. But just because God is hardly mentioned, it does not mean that God is not active. God is not absent in the story; He is everywhere in the story. This story reveals to us God’s hidden hand at work. How do we know? Judges 9:56-57 – ⁵⁶ Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. And do not forget what the author tells us earlier. Judges 9:23-24 – ²³ And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, ²⁴ that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. In other words, this story is a story of God’s judgement. In these verses, the author of Judges lifts the curtain of human history to show us a glimpse of what God is doing. God is not absent. He is in absolute control of everything that happens in the story. The hidden hand of God is always at work whether people acknowledge Him or not. God is the one who set everything in motion by sending an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. And the destruction of Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem are God’s divine retribution for the wickedness they have done. I love the way Timothy Keller puts it. “God may have been silent, but he was not absent. In what seemed like the natural course of events, he was acting in judgement. There was no lightning bolt from heaven but there was justice.” Their destruction is the fulfilment of Jotham’s curse. This tells us that God’s judgement is not only reserved for a future day; it is a present reality.

There are three truths about God’s judgement that we can see from this story. First, God’s judgement is often very quiet. The whole story seems so natural that it is easy for us to miss that this story is about God’s divine judgement. It seems like a story of cause and effect, reaping and sowing. And yet God’s hand is in every little detail. Second, God’s judgement is often not immediate. There is a gap of three years between Abimelech’s horrendous crime and the consequences of his action. In that gap, it is easy to assume that God is absent. But He is not. God is a just God. The day of judgement will come without fail. Third, God’s judgement is often through the outworking of human sin. We see it all over the text. Evil appears to be running rampant in this story. But the truth is that God is sovereignly directing it to accomplish His purposes. God is using evil to destroy evil. Listen carefully. The God of the Bible is the God who is sovereign over evil, and He can use evil to accomplish His judgement. Sometimes if we are not careful, we can give too much credit to Satan and his works of evil, instead of being in awe of the God who is sovereign over evil. Satan is not God’s rival; he is God’s tool of judgement. Evil is not an entity that is outside of God’s control. But no matter how God is related to evil, the Bible is clear that God is never tainted by evil. God controls evil but He is not the author of evil. So, let that be an encouragement to us. We lived in a world surrounded by evil. At the time I wrote the first draft of this sermon manuscript, I just heard the news of another random shooting. It seems like evil is running rampant. It seems like evil is out of control. But it is not so. The God of the Bible is in absolute control of every evil. And He uses evil to accomplish His good purposes. God will not let evil has the last word. How do we know? Look at what happens next.

Undeserved kindness

Judges 10:1-5 – After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. ² And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir. ³ After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. ⁴ And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. ⁵ And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

Because of the chapter break, it is easy for us to miss that the story of Tola and Jair is the continuation of the story of Abimelech. Judges chapter 9 shows Israel that destruction can come from within as well as from without. But no matter where the enemy comes from, God does not give up on His people. He will not leave His people to utter destruction. That is why after the horrendous time of Abimelech, God rises up Tola to save Israel. There is peace in Israel for twenty-three years during the time of Tola. And then God rises up another judge named Jair, and there is peace in Israel for another twenty-two years. So altogether, Israel experiences forty-five years of peace. There is no drama during the time of Tola and Jair. Israel can breathe. We may think that they are insignificant because there are only five verses for the two of them, but they are not. They have a very important role to play in the story of God’s salvation.

Think about it. By this time, Israel should not have survived. But they did. And the only reason they survived is because of God. God’s people have abandoned God. They have opted to be led by a wicked man they had chosen for themselves. Israel has sunk to the lowest depth, and they are not crying out in repentance. Israel does not deserve God’s help and Israel does not seek God’s help. And no one can blame God if He hit the reset button on His people and start over from scratch. But God does not hit the reset button. Even though Israel does not deserve it, God raises up Tola and Jair to be judges they are not asking for. What we have here is a clear picture of God’s undeserved kindness toward His people. Israel does not cry out for salvation, but God saves them anyway. Listen. God is a gracious God who never allows ‘Abimelech’ to be the last word for His people. Note that we are not told what Tola saves Israel from. And many commentators agree that Tola is saving Israel from Israel. Abimelech’s story is the first story in Judges that oppression comes not from outside Israel, but from within. Abimelech is the cause of all their problems. And after Abimelech’s turmoil, Tola comes and brings order. This is an underserved kindness. Leave to themselves, God’s people will completely abandon God and perish. But praise God He does not leave His people to themselves. Unfaithful people, faithful God.

Listen to the way Jeremiah puts it. Lamentation 3:31-33 – ³¹ For the Lord will not cast off forever, ³² but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; ³³ for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. I love these verses. Friends, do you know what is our greatest problem? Our greatest problem is not out there; it is in here. Our greatest problem is the sin within us. Like the Israelites, we often think that what we primarily need is for God to save us from our bad circumstances. We want God to save us from broken relationships, financial problems, business struggles, etc. But that’s not our primary need. Our primary need is to be saved from the enemy within us, our sinful hearts. We are our own curse. And that is why God often causes us grief to make us realise what we truly need. God does afflict us for our sins. But listen. Though God afflicts us, God will not allow us to be afflicted forever. Because when God afflicts us, He does not afflict us from His heart. Causing us grief is not something that comes naturally for God. Do you know what comes naturally for God? Do you know what is at the core of God’s heart for us? Compassion and steadfast love. That’s God’s heart for you and me. He is the God who is filled with compassion and an abundance of steadfast love for us. But God is also a just God who demands perfect justice. He demands payment for every sin. And that’s why God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ so that he might be just and the justifier of those who put their faith in Jesus.

To save us from destruction, we need a Saviour who can deliver us not only from the enemy without, but also from the enemy within. We don’t just need a Saviour to fix our circumstances; we need a Saviour who can fix us. We need a King who can rescue us from ourselves. We need the total opposite of Abimelech. And the good news is Jesus is the total opposite of Abimelech. If Abimelech is the son from hell, Jesus is the son from Heaven. If Abimelech schemed his way to become a king, Jesus is a rightful king who left his throne. If Abimelech is only interested in serving himself, Jesus came to serve others. If Abimelech killed his brothers, Jesus gave up his life for his brothers. If Abimelech is consumed with the fire of wrath for revenge, Jesus is consumed with the fire of God’s wrath for justice. We are the ones who deserved the wrath of God’s justice. But Jesus took the fire of God’s wrath upon himself, so we don’t have to. The millstone of God’s judgement crushed Jesus, so we may receive God’s undeserved kindness. Jesus is the King that we need. And through Jesus, God is saying to us, “Abimelech will not be My last word for you. Grace is My last word for you.” And when we experience God’s undeserved kindness for us in Jesus Christ, it sets our hearts free from the slavery of sin. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. What struck you the most from the sermon?
2. Why do you think we are often more attracted to gifted leaders than qualified leaders? Explain the danger.
3. Out of three truths of God’s judgement, which one resonates the most with you and why?
4. What is the role of Tora and Jair in the book of Judges? How does it speak to your life?
5. How does Abimelech’s story point to the gospel?