From Bad to Worse.

“Again the Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight. They worshiped images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. Not only this, but they abandoned the LORD and no longer served him at all.“ ­– Judges 10:6 NLT

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the people of God, it did. After their debacle with Abimelech, you would think they would have taken the hint and learned their lesson that God was to be their ruler and nobody else. But the Israelites were a little slow on the uptake. They do seem to get a 45-year break from the constant rebuke and punishment from God in the form of the judgeships of Tola and Jair. We don’t learn a lot about either of these two men, but we do know that while they judged there is no indication of enemies attacking or punishment being meted out by God. But that doesn’t mean that all was well in the land.

Because verse six gives us a glimpse into what was really going on. The people had been busy falling back into their old habit. But now they were not only worshiping Baal and Ashtaroth (who were the female consorts of Baal), but they added a whole slew of other gods to their retinue, including the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon and the Philistines. On top of that, they had completely forsaken Yahweh altogether. This wasn’t a case of adding more gods to their worship of the one true God, they had left Him out of the mix completely.

So once again, God responds by giving them over to their enemies. Instead of victory, they would suffer defeat and humiliation, and it would last a long 8 years. And the amazing thing is, it took the people 18 years to finally call out to God. No doubt they had been calling out to all their other gods the entire time and finally decided they weren’t getting the answer they were looking for. So when all else fails, call on Yahweh. But God responds by reminding them of all the times He has rescued them before. He had saved them time and time again, and each time they had turned right back to their other gods. So this time, God tells them He is done rescuing and encourages them to turn to their other gods for help. “Go ahead! Cry out for help to the gods you’ve chosen–let them get you out of the mess you’re in!” (Judges 10:14 MSG). God wasn’t being mean. He was looking for something – true repentance.

It wasn’t going to be enough to just cry out to Him for help. They had done that before. This time God wanted action in keeping with their words. It reminds me of what John the Baptist had to say to the Pharisees when they showed up asking to be baptized. He told them, “Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God” (Matthew 3:8 NLT). John was looking for fruit in keeping with repentance. So was God. He wanted to see them clean house. To get rid of their other gods. Which they did. We aren’t told how long it took them to do so, but they finally got rid of their substitutes for God and put Him back in the place where He belonged. And when they did, God showed mercy.

But the interesting thing is, their troubles didn’t disappear. Repentance is NOT an elixir to get rid of all our problems. They still had the Ammonites camping outside their door. They had repented, but they weren’t dependent. They were serving the Lord again, but they weren’t looking to Him to solve their problems. They were still looking to substitutes for God. And this time it would be a man, not another god. But it would still prove to be a bad decision. And we’ll see more about that tomorrow.

But suffice it to say, that we can never afford to find substitutes or replacements for God. People, possessions, power, prominence, pleasure … none of these things can deliver what only God can. They will always disappoint and the people of Israel would learn that lesson the hard way.

Father, why do we always feel the urge to find replacements for you? Why can’t we learn to trust You and rely on You alone? I can turn to so many other things other than You. But they never deliver as anticipated. They always disappoint. But You never do. Help me learn to rely on You and You alone. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

The Dark Ages of Israel.

“No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.“ ­– Judges 8:33-34 NIV

The book of Judges records a very bleak period during the history of God’s people. It was a dark time filled with unfaithfulness, immorality, and corruption. At this point, the people of God are scattered across the Promised Land. They have been relegated to their various tribes and clans, with little overall leadership. While the tabernacle had been erected in Shiloh, it appears that the Levitical priesthood had little to no influence over the people. At this point the people had become completely “Canaanized.” They were worshiping other gods and ignoring the one true God. And in spite of all that Gideon had done for them, as soon as he was dead, the people turned back to Baal and away from God. They forgot all that God had done for them.

Once again, the people had no leader and they had rejected God as their king. So they were ripe for the picking. Into this moral void stepped Abimelech. He was one of Gideon’s many sons, but was born to a concubine. So in essence, he was a half-brother to the other 70 sons of Gideon. While Gideon had refused to let the people make him king and had told them that none of his sons would serve in that capacity either, Abimelech had other plans. He arranges to murder 69 of his brothers, eliminating any threat to him taking over leadership of the people of Shechem. Only one brother, Jothan, escapes. The people of Shechem agree to make Abimelech their king, in spite of the clandestine and immoral way in which he gained the throne.

The whole story of Abimelech is a picture of just how bad things had gotten in Israel. And it is clear from the passage that God did not put Abimelech on the throne. Yet He would use Abimelech to punish the Canaanites. That the people of God would allow a man like Abimelech to rule over them is a sad commentary on the spiritual state of the nation. The peoples’ lack of faithfulness to God and constant interaction with the gods of their enemies, had twisted their thinking and perverted their discernment. They didn’t know right from wrong any more. Since God was not their king, they were desperate for someone to lead them and they would turn to anyone, regardless of their morals or lack of ethical integrity.
Yet, in spite of the unfaithfulness of the people, we see the hand of God working throughout this story. One son is spared and he happens to utter a curse on Abimelech and the people of Shechem. God uses this young man as His mouthpiece to pronounce a deadly end to their love affair with Abimelech. God is still in control. He will continue to eliminate the Canaanite presence from the land, even though His people refused to do their part. Abimelech is a picture of mankind’s greed and obsession for power. He will do anything to get to the top and the people will gladly allow him to murder his way into power, as long as they think it will be to their benefit. The greatest threat to Israel’s existence was almost always from within, not without. They were their own worst enemy. Time and time again the nation rebels against God and He sends rebuke in the form of a foreign nation. The people end up in slavery or some other form of oppression, but then finally cry out to God. He rescues and restores them, only to see them rebel yet again.

The story of Abimelech is a reminder that sometimes God allows us to have exactly what we want. It reminds me of the story of king Saul. The people demanded a king. They were not satisfied with having God as their ruler. Instead, they wanted a king like all the other nations. So God let them have what they wanted, and it did not turn out too well for them. The same thing is true of the people of Shechem. They wanted someone to rule over them. But they were not content with it being God. So God gave them Abimelech. And it proved to be disastrous. “Thus, God punished Abimelech for the evil he had done against his father by murdering his seventy brothers. God also punished the men of Shechem for all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Gideon came true.” (Judges 9:56-57 NLT). This was a dark time in the life of the people of Israel. They had turned from God to worship other gods. They had rejected God’s leadership. They had placed their hope in someone or something other than God. And God was going to allow them to learn that there is no substitute for Him. Nothing else can save like He can. No one else can lead like He can. No one else can protect like He can. Nothing else can satisfy like He can. But those are lessons that we still have a hard time learning today. So many of us are turning to other things when we should be turning to God. We place our trust in all kinds of things other than God. And yet, He patiently waits, allowing us to learn those lessons the hard way, until we finally call out to Him for rescue and restoration.

Father, what a stubborn people we can be. We are a lot like the people of Shechem and Abimelech. We are greedy for power and recognition and ready for anyone to provide us with a semblance of hope and leadership. We turn from You and turn to just about anything or anyone in the hopes that they will provide what is missing in our lives. And You patiently wait for us to learn the truth. Thank You for Your patience. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org