From Bad to Worse
Judges 9-10
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/Bad2Worse.html
We began last week looking at Abimelech, a truly bad leader, and we continue with more about him and the next 2 judges after him, and it goes from bad to worse...not because they were more evil than him but because God gave them everything they needed to recover as a nation and they piddled it away and did nothing with it. And America in her prosperity has been given much but done so little with it...and now it appears God may be taking it away as well.
Politics is often a quest for power, and power can corrupt. What's the old saying? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely! We all know of individuals who’ve been seduced by power and do whatever it takes to get to the top. It’s been said that politicians are only concerned about the next election, whereas statesmen are concerned about the welfare of the next generation.
Abilelech was one of Gideon’s 70 sons. Abimelech was an opportunist who usurped power through violence and treachery. Nowhere does he even acknowledge God as Lord of Israel. If he were in America today he would probably say, "We are not a Christian nation, but we are a nation of Jews and Muslims, Christians and Hindus, and people who don't believe. [Obama quote]
The Jews had been fighting external enemies; now they’re burdened from internal corruption, far more insidious than invading armies. And America's wars seem to be on her own soil today like never before. From healthcare to jobs, the fight is more at home than usual. And even when it comes to terrorism, the top of the news is about trials of terrorists here at home...our eye is so far off the ball on terrorism that soon we'll be fighting the real terrorists back here on our soil once again!
Abimelech vs. his 70 brothers -- We hear of sibling rivalry from the beginning of time—Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers—and now Abilelech against his 70 siblings. He convinced the people of Shechem, his hometown, to crown him king. He promised to look out for their best interests when he consolidates power; what we call “political favors”.
The outcome of allowing the ungodly to assume public office is aptly described by William Penn: “If we are not willing to be governed by God, we shall be ruled by tyrants.”
Abimelech’s claim to the throne was on the basis of being a son of Gideon, who had been offered kingship. The motive for his ambition was not to serve his people, but to gain power. As a son of Gideon, his name meant “my father is king”, and Abimelech felt he might take the throne his father declined. But there were many other potential contenders. With ruthless efficiency, Abimelech rounded up his 70 brothers, and had them brutally and publicly executed. He was inspired by his father to lead Israel, yet revealed hatred toward his father by murdering his brethren. His atrocity went far beyond what we might categorize as “dirty politics”.
Last time we looked at the parable of 3 valuable trees, native to Israel, which are offered kingship but refuse—however, the thornbush accepts with a provision, vs 15: “If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade.” That would be quite impossible—there is no shade, comfort or protection from a thornbush, which is Abimelech. Jotham drove home the point of his fable with a curse, vs 20—fire will come from Abimelech, who will also be consumed. It was folly for the people to make such a wicked man their king—they would reap consequences and suffer ruin under his rule.
Why did the people let this happen? God’s people had become Canaanite in their character; rather than stand for God, they broke their covenant and adjusted to the values of the godless culture. We have to guard against being shaped by our culture, especially when leaders do not model godly behavior.
In the days preceding the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin declared, “Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God.” God raised up opposition to Abimelech, and He can use human means to oppose all leaders who refuse to live for Him. In Jotham’s prophetic fable, he stated that fire will come from the thornbush and consume the people—when the people of Shechem finally had enough of Abimelech and rebelled against him, he and his forces took branches and set fire to the walls of the city temple, and a thousand men and women perished in the flames.
Proverbs 21:1
1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
God allows people to attain public office, and He can remove them.
Political historian William Shirer has observed the baffling tendency of nations to accept (and put up with) corrupt leaders. Perhaps people identify with flawed candidates, which is why they don’t tend to elect saints to public office. The main issue for Israel is that they refused to be governed by God, so they turned to Abimelech, who turned out to be the natural consequence of their apostasy.
Daniel 4:17
17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
Even today when a good ruler comes into office, many folk say, "God raised him up." What about the wicked ruler? God permits him to come to the throne also. Do you know why? Because the principle is "like priest, like people." That is, people get the ruler they deserve. The people of Israel wanted this boy Abimelech to rule over them; and they got the caliber of man they deserved. Friend, when we look around our world today, we find this principle is still true.
What do we do when leaders show they are not persons of integrity?
Our first response is to go “over their heads” and pray for them—Scripture commands us to uphold our elected officials in prayer, regardless of how corrupt they may be. We should pray that God would protect our nation, in spite of flawed leaders, and lead us to repentance and revival. Next is to respect the office, even if we cannot respect the person. We are then obliged to appeal to authority—to contact our officials in an attempt to influence their thinking and decisions. We enjoy the freedom to participate in the political process, meaning we can be a voice within political parties, even agents of change. With freedom of expression, we can articulate our views through letters to the media. We can help campaign for issues, supporting individuals and political parties we believe will be positive agents of change. Ultimately we can vote, a tangible means letting our desire for change be known.
Prophets have spoken against kings, and at times it may be appropriate to speak out against issues. It is wrong to be silent in the face of injustice—yet we must be careful as to how we respond. We are compelled to speak the truth—in love, even when we’re riled up by something a politician has said or done.
God promises to deal with evil, but in His timeframe, not ours. Now we find that God judges Abimelech for the awful thing he did, and He also judges the men of Shechem for making him king and starting him out on such a course. Civil war ensued because there were many people who did not want Abimelech, of course.
Read about it...Judges 9:52-57
God is still on the throne and in full control!
Chapter 10
Tola, The Seventh Judge (Judges 10:1-2)
Maybe you have never heard of Tola. If you haven't, it is perfectly all right. He did nothing noteworthy.
What did Tola do? He died and was buried in Shamir. Not one thing is recorded about any achievements. Although he was a judge in Israel twenty-three years, there is not one thing that can be mentioned about the deeds of this man, from the day he was born to the day he died. All you have here is what is on his tombstone: "Born -- died."
And even when America has had some rare good leaders in the last 30 years, it seems we have gotten so little accomplished. I believe God has raised up some good men for the purpose of saving this nation. Our best opportunities for overturning Roe v. Wade seem to be behind us, and we failed. Not that we will give up, but we should have been able to do that. We have had the chance to confront many social issues and take Biblical stands for morality, but even our best leaders have chosen politically correct and safer stances to govern from ... "dancing to the middle" is the new wave in politics ... no wonder their legacy will be like Tola -- he lived, he governed, he died.
Jair, The Eighth Judge (Judges 10:3-5)
All that we are told about this man is that he had thirty sons and he bought each one of them a little donkey. He did not get them a Jaguar, Mustang, Pinto, or Cougar, he gave each boy a donkey. What a sight it must have been to see these thirty boys ride out of Gilead!
In Jair's story I can see three things: (1) prosperity without purpose; (2) affluence without influence; (3) prestige without power.
America has been given so much and done so little with it. And God holds us responsible for what we do w/ the great prosperity He has blessed us with, and now it appears He may be taking that prosperity back from us.
In that day a donkey was a mark of prosperity. That was the thing that denoted a man's wealth. For example, Judges 5:10 says, "Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way." This verse speaks about the upper echelon, or the establishment. The donkey was a mark of wealth and was the animal that kings rode upon.
In Scripture the little donkey is the animal of peace and the horse is the animal of war (the horse was imported into that land). But the little donkey was actually the mark of prosperity and the mark of a king.
You remember that the Lord Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a little donkey. We misinterpret Zechariah 9:9 which says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." Zechariah does not mean that the Lord Jesus is humble because He is riding on a little donkey. He is humble in spite of the fact that He is riding upon an animal which only kings ride. If He had not been King, it would really have been a presumption to ride into Jerusalem on that donkey as He did and receive all of the adulation and hosannas from the crowd that day.
Jair was obviously a man of wealth and prominence to be able to afford thirty donkeys. He gave each one of his sons a donkey, so he must have had a thirty-car garage! This was the mark of a benevolent father. He was generous, and I think he spoiled his sons. He got them what they wanted. They lived in the lap of luxury and with golden spoons in their mouths. Donkeys probably came in several models, and Jair bought each son the latest thing. But did these donkeys bring glory to God? Did they make Jair a better judge? Did they bring blessing to the people? Did any one of these boys go out as a missionary? No. They lived in Gilead.
It is true that there is nothing particularly wrong with donkeys. On the other hand, there is nothing particularly right with a man who is a judge and spends a whole lot of time with many boys and donkeys. This is important for us to see. Our Lord rode into Jerusalem on a little donkey to fulfill prophecy and to present Himself as King, and the hosannas were sung. Satan was angry and the religious rulers protested as Christ rode through the gate and into the city. But all of Jair's donkeys never lifted one hosanna. When these animals brayed, I think Satan smiled and the mob was entertained. Jair is a picture of prosperity without purpose, and it is a dangerous thing.
We see the same picture in the days of Noah when they were marrying and giving in marriage. This is also demonstrated in the account of Solomon sending out ships to bring back apes and peacocks -- peacocks for beauty and apes for entertainment.
We have prosperity but without purpose. May I ask you what the goal of your life is? Is it pointless? Is it aimless? Have you found life pretty boring? Shakespeare's Hamlet said, "How stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me the uses of this world." What we need today is direction and dimension in our lives. We need a cause, and the cause of Jesus Christ is still the greatest challenge any man can have. Old Jair was some judge, wasn't he?
Jair's days were also marked by prestige without power. He was the outstanding man in the community. The traffic cops probably never gave any of his sons a ticket. But verse 5 does not speak of a monument for Jair. He was buried in an unknown spot. He never performed one conspicuous act. He never did a worthwhile deed. He never gained a victory. He may have had thirty donkeys, but he had no spiritual power. We are living in a day when the church has lost its power. What a picture we have in this man Jair.
eyewitness testimony from J. Vernon McGee:
Right before World War II, the city of Pasadena was having its annual Rose Parade. The float that was entered by the Standard Oil Company was covered with American Beauty roses. It was a sight to behold. The theme of the parade was, "Be prepared." Right in the middle of the parade the Standard Oil Company's float ran out of gas. It stopped right where I was viewing the parade. I couldn't help but laugh. If there was one float that should not have run out of gas, it was that one. Standard Oil Company should have had plenty of gas! As I looked at the float, I saw a picture of many Christians today. They are beautiful, but they have no power in their lives. They have beauty and prestige, but no power. That was judge Jair for you. He did nothing, died, and was buried.
Eighteen Years Of Servitude Under The Philistines And Ammonites (10:6-18)
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him [Jdg. 10:6].
You would think that after all their experiences, the Israelites would learn that when they turned to idolatry, trouble came upon them. Because of their idolatry, they went into slavery again -- they served the Philistines and Ammonites for eighteen years.
It is easier for us to point our finger back to these people who lived about one thousand years before Christ and say, "You did wrong," than it is for us to see what we are doing wrong.
How are we doing today, by the way? May I say that there is a frightful apostasy today in the church. Human nature is like that, and we are in a nation that is in trouble. We have tried every method, political scheme, and political party, and none of them has worked. What is wrong? We have gone to the wrong place for help. Only a turning to God will get us on the right path. I know that sounds square and out of date, but it sounded that way one thousand years before Christ also. The Israelites turned to other gods, refused to serve the living God, and look at what happened.
God can afford to remove His instrument when that instrument fails Him. A great many people think that God has to have the church, even a particular church, and that God has to have America because it is sending out missionaries. May I say to you that God does not have to have any of us. He is not dependent upon us at all. We are, however, dependent upon Him.
Israel was probably at its lowest point at this time. Things were very bad for them.
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim [Jdg. 10:10].
These people finally got so desperate that they turned to God. Here we see the same old story being acted out once again. It is the hoop of history that is rolling, and it is still rolling today. So then what happened?
And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, from the Amorites, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel [Jdg. 10:11-16].
How merciful and gracious God is! It has gone from bad to worse, but next time we'll see what happens next that causes things to get better.
[with helps from J. Vernon McGee and Robert Leroe]
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/Bad2Worse.html
