to Judges chapter nine as we continue to work our way through this very ancient but very contemporary text. Up to this point in the book of Judges, we have seen Judges rise up over Israel because God had called them this morning we see a king, Abimelech, who takes his rule by force. From Judges chapter 9, I'll begin at verse 1 and printed for you, if you don't have a Bible, we'll be printed for you in the bulletin there, beginning at verse 7. Hear the word of God, Judges chapter 9. And I think I'll read Judges, not Joshua. Now Abimelech, the son of Jeroboam, went to Shechem to his mother's relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family, say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, which is better for you, that all 70 of the sons of Jeroboam rule over you or that one rule over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother's relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem. And all their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, he is our brother. And they gave him 70 pieces of silver out of the house of Belbereth, which Abimelech with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows who followed him. And he went to his father's house at Opera and killed his brothers, the sons of Jeroboam, 70 men on one stone. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jeroboam, was left, for he hid himself. And all the leaders of Shechem came together and all Bethmilo, and they went and made Abimelech king by the yoke of the pillar at Shechem. 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. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them and they said to the olive tree, reign over us. 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? And the trees said to the fig, you come and reign over us. But the fig tree said to them, shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees? And the trees said to the vine, you come and reign over us. But the vine said to them, shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the branches? over the trees? Then all the trees said to the bramble, you come and reign over us. 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. Now, therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jeroboam and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved, for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, and you have risen up against my father's house this day and have killed his sons, 70 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. If you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jeroboam and his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth Milo. and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth Milo and devour Abimelech. And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Ba'ir and lived there because of Abimelech, his brother. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, open our ears to hear and understand your word. Father, by the work of the Spirit, reveal the truth here set before us, that we might learn of you and learn to walk with you, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. If Hollywood were to decide to do the Book of Judges, I think the MPAA rating from here on out would be R. And so the challenge is to preach G or PG. As I say, it's a challenge. We can't do the Veggie Tales versions of the Book of Judges and we aren't going to do a Hollywood version. They would never understand what's going on. They wouldn't get it, because apart from the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit, neither would we. And so we pray that the Spirit would open our ears and our eyes today. As I said, what we see here in chapter 9 is the rise of Abimelech, not chosen by God, but chosen by men. We go back to the end of chapter 8, and we find there the death of Gideon, a man who had many wives and had 70 sons, but he also had a concubine in Shechem who bore him a son who Gideon called Abimelech, my father is king. And it seems that Abimelech took that really to heart. Gideon was It appears in the text remembered as a good judge in spite of his obvious flaws. At the end of chapter 8, we read how God delivered them from the hand of their enemies on every side through Gideon. But they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jeroboam in return for all the good that he had done to Israel. And of course, we just read in Chapter 16 that he was to be remembered for the good works that he had done. It seems interesting. These people haven't even remembered their own history, their own heritage. Shechem, that town, it should ring a bell for us, brothers and sisters. It's where God met Abraham in Chapter 12 of Genesis to say, you see this land, this is the land I will give you. He was in Shechem. Jacob, as he meets with his brother and now moves into this land, comes back to the land of his father's, buries all of the idols. They put away all of the idols that they had brought with them because Jacob would put his trust in God. Genesis 35, that was Shechem. Joshua 24, we see covenant renewal at Shechem. You can read it. Chapter 24, begin at verse 1. Joshua chapter 20, Shechem is named as a city of refuge as opposed to what it becomes. So Abimelech comes after the death of Gideon and says, do you want 70 men to rule over you? You know, one after another, there's never going to be any coming out from under their hand. He steps into what we might see as a gap in power when Gideon dies. And he comes, as I said, with no real standing. His mother was a concubine from Shechem. He's not in line for any transfer of power if that's what was supposed to be taking place. But more importantly, what we understand is that he was not called by God to that role, to that position. And so when he appeals to his brothers, to his kin, it is not on the nature of his character or his calling. It's simply on, you want 70 of them or do you want me? I'm your brother. My mother is from Shechem. I'm a Shechemite. And apparently, that makes more sense to them. And so they strengthen his hand. pay him, out of the coffers of Baal Bereth, out of their idol, they pay him 70 shekels to go and take care of those other 70 men. And so he hires ruthless, wicked men to accompany him. We should be getting a picture of the character of Abimelech at this point. which was probably already known to the men of Shechem. This would not be a surprise that his intention is to eliminate any possible rival. And so, he takes his buddies whom he pays to murder the true heirs, if heir is the right word. They were sacrificed, I think. It tells us they were all killed on one stone. That's a sacrifice. That's not an attack. A sacrifice to Baal? Likely. But it was selling one's soul to the devil. So the Shechemites get what they pay for. Not a deliverer, but a tyrant. They pay for a thug because that's what they've hired. And Shechem would learn the hard way that what matters, what is more important than blood, is character. They make a wicked choice. The only qualification that he gives them is that his mother was a Shechemite, but he quickly shows his character. It's interesting, isn't it, that the most important thing in regard to the individuals that God would raise up is character. Now, David was not a perfect man, but he was a man whom God said was a man after his own heart. His character mattered. It was a man who could sin and a man who would repent. When God raised up Isaiah, what did he do? He brought him before himself and he was convicted of his sin, of the depth of that sin, and he was purified by the righteous fires of God's judgment for him. Men of character. We've called a congregational meeting for this morning. That's our Sunday school today. Because we want to see the Lord raising up leaders, elders, deacons, leaders within the church. What's going to matter most in regard to those men and others? Their character. It's what the scripture spends, the New Testament particularly, spends considerable time outlining. Because the fine points of theology we can teach. Character must be taught. It must be nourished. They got a character all right, but not a godly one. One of those sons they missed. He escaped. He hid. Jotham, whose name means Yahweh is blameless or Yahweh is is perfect. Abimelech's henchmen missed him. And so he goes to Mount Gerizim. That's known in Israel as the Mount of Blessing because the promises of the blessings of God's covenant were spoken from Mount Gerizim. You can go back to Joshua chapter 8, verses 30 and following. It sits near Shechem. To this day, There is a ledge about halfway up that mountain facing Shechem that's called Jotham's Pulpit. And you can walk up to it and hike up to it today. Jotham delivers a parable, a fable, basically to declare you have chosen the fruitless one. The olive tree wasn't going to give up its abundance. The fig tree was not going to leave its sweetness and good fruit. The vine, why leave what cheers God and man? But the bramble's response, sure, come sit under my shade. Now, a bramble is a weed. It's one of about 70 different varieties of thorns in Israel. in that country. And it will not provide any shelter nor any shade and you are not going to get any provision. There's no fruit that comes off a bramble. It is, however, very good at blowing up and growing up against things out of which it can choke the life. Like those thorns that grew up and choked the good seed in Matthew 13, 7. As I said, I think the Shechemites knew what they were getting, but tribe mattered more than trustworthiness. Maybe blood beat out brains in this case. They invested in a bramble, which as the bramble in that parable or fable declares, well, if you are in earnest, Wonderful but if not fire will come out from the bramble and it would be like a brush fire. You know those uncontrollable things that have started in California and wreak such havoc. It would be that kind of vengeance. It would be a fire of judgment for treachery against the servant of God and his house. The bramble is good for one thing and it's still used for it today. The Bedouins gathered them so that they can burn them to cook. They picked leadership that lacked character. Now, it's nothing new and it didn't happen just once. If we look around the world today and see who stands in the leadership of many of the nations of this world, from Venezuela to North Korea to who knows what's happening in India right now as they're trying to rewrite the entire history of the country in order to oppress those who have not fallen or have not accepted the new history or the turmoil in Africa or in the Middle East. Leaders who have risen to power who are unfortunately very much like a Bimilac. who is a law unto himself, and who cares not about those over whom he rules, other than as chattel to be used as he sees fit. Now, I'm not going to read all, because it would take up the remainder of our time, all of verses 22 through 55, where we see the rain of the bramble, the rain of thorns. But it tells us at verse 22 and shortly following, Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. These were dreadful years. God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech that the violence done to the 70 sons of Jeroboam 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. And from day one, that enmity plays out in Abimelech's reign. The men of Shechem were robbers and thieves against, it says, Abimelech. It was against him. And so they were in the country on the pathways and the roads and anything that was going to Abimelech, they were stealing. They were taking everything that they could get. absolute rebellion against Abimelech from the start. At verse 26, we see another self-declared king rise up, Gaal, son of Ebed, who moved into Shechem with his relatives and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. Why? Well, because he was of the line of Hamar, the father of Shechem. And so he claims, well, you think Abimelech is one of yours. Who's his father? His father is that Gideon, that Jeroboam. He's no Shechemite. Now me, I'm from the line of Hamar. I'm the real thing. And so he sets himself up and brags in the hearing of all that Abimelech should raise his army and come. because he would happily take him on. And unfortunately, that boast is heard by Zebul, who is loyal to Abimelech in Shechem. He goes, alerts Abimelech, tells him, here's a plan. Abimelech gathers his army. And the next morning, when Gaal comes out as he's going into the fields, he looks up and he says, oh, it looks like men coming down the hillside. And Zebel goads him, oh no, you need glasses, buddy. That's just a fog rolling down the hill. And he comes back a few minutes later, no, there are men coming down from the sides as well. And he says, yeah, okay, now where's your boast? You who said you would rule and reign. Look, people coming down from the center of the land. And Zebel said to him, Where is your mouth now, you who said, who is Abimelech, that we should serve him and these people whom you despised? And so they go out and fight. And Gaal is defeated soundly. And those who were with him, and he's driven away, never to come back. And we think, OK, that's been settled. That's taken care of. But no, it's not over, not by a long shot. Now you see the revenge of Ebimelech, first against Gaal, but then against the whole town of Shechem. The next morning, when things have calmed down, the people go out into the fields. They're going to bury the dead. They're going to get back to work. But his anger and his vengeance has not been satisfied. And so he goes and kills everyone in the entire town, raises it, salts it, Those who would put themselves up in the tower, the stronghold, he burns them to death. He gets his men, they go up to the hills, they gather those brambles and that brush and they lay it there and kill them all. Because things were never going to go back to, well, these things were normal with one like Abimelech. And even then, his rage wasn't complete. We see that he then attacks Thebes. Now, why? It doesn't, the text doesn't tell us. Were they the people of the house of Milo? Possibly. Did some of them take some folks from Shechem in as refugees? Was Gaal somehow related to them? Or was he just demonstrating what happens when you anger a brute and he'll teach them a lesson? He was ready to burn that tower down as well. And so verse 52, Abimelech came to the tower, now of Thebes, and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. And then he called quickly to the man, to a young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, a woman killed me. A fate worse than death. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his own home. It was like suddenly they said, what are we doing? What has happened to us? And it ends. And they go home. Now that was an enterprising woman, wasn't it? We are on the run. It's anything we can do to save ourselves. But she's thinking ahead. Grab the microwave. We're going to be able to need to cook when we get out of this, if we do. And she takes not the millstone that a town would use, but one that was small to be used in a home and finds good use for it. We read that, I would encourage you, I want you to go back and read that story from 20 through to the end. Because the question that comes just pressing upon us is, where is God in this? In these horrible events, first of all, letting someone like a Bemelech come and rise up. What is going on here? And then the battle that goes on for three years and the death and the destruction. Where is God? He's not mentioned. When God is absent in the minds and the hearts of his people, what comes forth? No concern for the things of God. There's no mention of the Lord, serving the Lord, following the Lord in these verses. And yet you and I read this and there's no sense. that, well, this couldn't have happened. This was a made-up story. Because we see it acted out in the world around us over and over and over again. And we cry out, where is God? When an ungodly people rise to positions of power, there is abuse at every turn. I was at the shelter Friday night, and I don't know if some of, how many of you met Thien? Thien was born around 1970 in Cambodia. And those of you who remember your history, the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot rose to power in 1975, lasted to about 1979. In his zeal and in his rage to create a new communist, pure agrarian society, he slaughtered over 25% of the population of Cambodia. And Thien's mother and father were educated and so executed. And his aunt and uncle got him and escaped that terror. Oh, we can name them, can't we? We know the ungodly people in power who have risen up over the years, not always people who are strong enough to conquer the nations around them, but they can abuse and brutalize their own people, those who are under their power and authority. Israel didn't need an outsider to bring oppression when they pursued their idolatrous ways. It could be raised up right from in their midst, could easily come within. How many nations around the world face those same circumstances, suffering because of the leadership they maybe chose but can't remove? That abuse of power and authority, it doesn't just happen in nations. And it doesn't always come because of who we chose to be over us. That abuse comes in homes and families by those who abuse their position or their power or authority. It comes in relationships that were supposed to be loving and protective. but instead aren't. In organizations from newsrooms to factories to Olympic trainers, leaving a trail of brokenness, of shame, of grief, of distrust. I'm glad that people are being given now the encouragement and the courage to speak out that justice might be pursued. But I'm very concerned that without the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ being brought to bear in those situations, healing and wholeness again is going to be very difficult to find. For those who have experienced that abuse of power or authority, they may not experience that freedom from guilt and wholeness and peace. And we need to be bringing the gospel there. Because it isn't just out there that it has happened. It's right here. Take courage. If you've been that victim, then share it with someone you can trust, so that that grace and hope might be received. It must happen here, within the body of Christ, under the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're in a difficult position, brothers and sisters. At least as far as the world is concerned, we're going to be looked at, I think, askance. Because those who have harmed others by their actions could never know forgiveness or restoration apart from Christ. The Bible calls us to seek justice for the oppressed and the vulnerable and the broken and the wounded. Absolutely. But Christ came to bring forgiveness and reconciliation and new life to the sinner. not just to those who have been sinned against. And that doesn't mean that justice cannot be and should not be. It must be pursued here. But will we preach the gospel? Rachel Den Hollander, I don't know if many of you saw her testimony against Larry Nassar. She was the woman who started who first came forward and saw them the scores hundreds of of those who would come forward afterward. She came forward to bring justice to plead before the country and the court for the dignity and the lives of all the girls that he abused. And God is just. If that justice is not served perfectly and righteously here it will be meted out justly in eternity. and eternally for we must stand before the judge of all. That woman, I listened to the testimony at his sentencing, pleaded with him to repent, to confess his sin, to plead for forgiveness before the only one who could grant it. to trust in the sacrifice of Christ that he might not spend eternity in hell, though he will surely spend the rest of his life in prison. That's the gospel. And it is in the heart of everyone, brothers and sisters, there but for the grace of God, go I. It is the grace of Jesus Christ. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit that keeps us from being as bad as we could be. So where was God in all this? Well, the author makes it very clear. God was not absent in this affair for one moment. Abimelech acted wickedly in defiance of God. He was justly judged and condemned. And the people of Shechem, who strengthened his hand to do evil, were justly judged and condemned. Many are the plans in the minds of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. God sent that spirit of dissension, of treachery between them. It was the prophetic words of Jotham that would come true. And so at the conclusion of chapter 9, thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his 70 brothers. 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 Jeroboam. Fire came out from one and consumed the other. Fire came out from them and consumed him. God was never absent. He was accomplishing His justice and His judgment. We need what we don't ordinarily have. When we look in the world and wonder, where is God? Is He at work? We have the promise of God that He is at work, that He is accomplishing His purposes, that He will bring justice in the midst of these gross and heinous and awful activities of man. humanity. He is working out his purposes and here we see his providence is revealed. It's the justice of God that will deal with sin. In this life. Surely in the life to come. But in truth in both. Yes God deals with sin. and with judgment and he does so gloriously and savingly in his son Jesus Christ. For we know that apart from Christ the judgment against sin is nothing but our total destruction. Everyone who dies apart from Christ will pay that debt of sin himself or herself eternally. We need a deliverer who's not in this for his own gain but for ours. And praise God that is what we have. We have a deliverer who is not consumed by power but one whose power transforms all that it rules over. Such is the power of Christ. Will you submit. to that power. Father, open our ears and hearts. Set your truth before us. And let us, Lord, look to the glorious and beautiful character of Christ and the saving, redeeming, delivering work of Christ. That, Lord, we would Trust in your perfect judgment. Even Lord, as we rest. In our own deliverance, hear us, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.