Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / King of Trees - The Book of Judges

Transcript

King of Trees - The Book of Judges · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: ye anoint me king over you, then come and put
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: your trust in my shadow. And if not, let fire
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Judges 9.15 Dear Heavenly Father, Today, as the story of
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Abimelech plays in my ears, I will take heed to
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the lessons that are being spoken to my heart. Unlike
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: the children of Israel, I will not rush to place
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: individuals over coveted positions in my life without first checking
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: to see if they carry the heart of God within them.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: I will not be swayed by the multitudes simply because
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: of popularity and influence. Instead, I will rely on discernment
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: to be the guiding factor in whom I choose to
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: partner with. Holy Spirit, Give me the boldness, like Jotham,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: to stand up for what is right when others are
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: drunk with persuasiveness and wonder. Give me the words to
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: speak that will realign the hearts of others when they've
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: gone astray. When a battle is inevitable, thank you for
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: securing the victory and for showing those who are watching
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: that you honor integrity and humility. I declare that I
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: am free from tyrant relationships that don't serve me and
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: only take in selfish ambition. I thank you, Lord, for
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: kingdom-minded relationships that empower and uplift your cause in my life.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for praying with me today.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Continue listening for an incredible Bible story brought to you.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: King of Trees In our last story, we witnessed the
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: rise of an unlikely hero, Gideon. With the bravery of God,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Gideon led Israel's people into victory over the Midianites with
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: only 300 men. Peace reigned in the land for over
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: 40 years. In this story, we will learn about Abimelech,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: son of Gideon. Abimelech's ambition clouded his judgment and conscience.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: He became evil and killed his siblings in the pursuit
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: of power.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book That's yours
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: slash stress. In our previous episode, we saw how God
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: used an Israelite army of only 300 to fight against
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: a great army of Midianites and to defeat them, proving
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: that God, not their own strength or their own power
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: or military might, but God himself gives great victory. This
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: was a miracle from the hand of God. In the
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: midst of this great victory, God's name was glorified and
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: peace was restored to the people. So in today's reading,
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: we learn that how Gideon rightly refuses the people's request
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: for him to be their king, as he reminds them
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: that God is the only king of his people. But
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: we're also going to see tragedy at the end of
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: this story, as one of Gideon's sons, Abimelech, will allow
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: selfish ambition to creep into his heart, which leads to
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: betrayal and murder. So, listen now to today's reading.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: With all good things, evil lurks around the corner seeking
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: to destroy it. Like the serpent in the Garden of Eden,
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: ambition and lust for power lies dormant, waiting to strike.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: Gideon judged over the Israelite people for forty years, and
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: there was peace across the land. They begged him to
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: be king over them. Yet he refused, saying, Neither I
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: nor my children will be rulers over you. God alone
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: is your king. Gideon was a righteous and good man.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Yet even he struggled with his own darkness. For all
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: his righteousness, Gideon was gripped by an unquenchable lust. He
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: had many wives and concubines and bore many children. Over
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: seventy sons were accounted to him. When Gideon passed away
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: at an old age, his choice to sow his seed
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: too far would end up hurting the people of Israel.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Abimelech was the bastard son of Gideon, born from one
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: of his concubines. He had more passion, zeal, and ambition
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: than all sixty-nine of his other brothers. Yet he had
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: a sinister spirit about him. He lusted after a throne
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: to sit upon. He sowed seeds of deception among his
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: mother's people and Shechem. Which is better, Abimelech began to inquire,
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: that seventy sons bicker and fight among one another and
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: rule you, or that one strong king rules over you?
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: The people agreed that only one person should lead, and
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: they paid Abimelech to be their king. A sly grin
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: came across Abimelech's face as they tossed silver into the
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: chalice in front of him. They hailed him as king
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: and took up arms to the other sons of Gideon.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: Abimelech rode in violently with his band of crazed followers
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: behind him. They stormed the town of Ophrah where the
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: other sons of Gideon dwelled. Torches lit up the town
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: streets as the men raided and killed every brother in sight.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: Abimelech stabbed, slashed, and strangled his half-brothers. With every death,
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: Abimelech was closer to becoming the king of Israel. The
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: youngest son of Gideon, Jotham, woke up in a panic.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: The cruel laughter of Abimelech and his followers echoed across
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: the town. He heard them approaching and hid himself underneath
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: some straw. He held his breath. watching the boots pass
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: by him. He waited there until it was silent. Jotham
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: arose from his hiding place and snuck to the outskirts
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: of town. He hid in the bushes near the great
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: oak pillar. There, Shechem and his followers celebrated. The heads
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: of the other brothers were tossed into the fire. Jotham
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: turned white and did not move. There they placed a
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: crown on Shechem's head and made him king. Jotham did
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: not know his father well, since he was the youngest,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: but he did know that Gideon refused to be king
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: several times out of respect for God and the people
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: of Israel. Righteous anger built up inside him. Jotham, in
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: a moment of pure indignation, arose from his hiding place
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: and planted himself firmly on top of a small mount
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: for everyone to see. The people were silent. Jotham stared
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: at them, waiting for the right words to come to him.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: Listen to me, Jotham shouted. Listen, followers of Shechem. Listen
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: to me so that you may not perish. The trees
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: were once in need of a king. They grumbled and
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: complained for someone to rule over them. They went to
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: the olive tree and said, Rule over us. But the
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: olive tree was too blessed and filled with abundance to
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: leave and rule. So they went to the fig tree,
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: yet it would not leave its sweetness and good fruit.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Then the trees went to the vine and and asked
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: if it would be king of trees. But the vine
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: yielded wine and was too busy entertaining people to rule
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: as their king. So the trees went to the thorn bush,
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: and the thorn bush gladly accepted. Yet it said in
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: its cruelty, Come take refuge in my shade, and if
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: you do not, let fire come out of my thorns
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: and devour all the trees of the land. The people
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: listened to Jotham in silence. Jotham yelled passionately, and Abimelech
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: brooded in silence, not wanting to make a scene and
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: lose the people's trust. Jotham continued, saying,' My father risked
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: his life for you, and you repay him by slaughtering
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: his sons? And now you make the son of his
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: concubine your king? If you have done so with integrity, fine,
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: you shall have your reward. But if you have not,
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: you all shall burn with him as your king.' The
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Bimelech could take no more of Jotham's rambling. He called
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: for the men to seize him. They pursued him with
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: swords and ropes. Jotham dodged them and tumbled down the
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: hill he was standing on. He escaped their grasp and
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: fled to Bir to hide. Three dark years had passed.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: A Bimelech ruled as a tyrant, not a king, and
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: the people of Shechem began to resent him for his
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: cruel nature. The men of Shechem sought to sabotage Abimelech
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: by robbing the trade routes. In spite, they choked out
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: Abimelech's wealth. A man named Gal entered into the land.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: He was a friendly, entertaining, and persuasive man. The people
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: of Shechem enjoyed his company and hung on every word
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: he said. They would get drunk and host parties all
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: night long and reviled their king, Abimelech. They would sing, dance,
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: and make fun of their tyrant. As they danced and drank,
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: they would boast of what they would do to Abimelech
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: if given the chance. Zibal, the governor of the city,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: sent word to Abimelech of Gaal's influence on the people.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: Together they devised a plan to ambush the city and
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: invoke their wrath upon their insolent servants. Abimelech marched his
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: army at night towards Shechem. As the sun rose, they
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: ambushed the city. The rising sun was at their backs,
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: and the bright lights cast a shadow in front of them.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Gaul woke up in a hungover daze. He looked into
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: the horizon and saw hundreds of men on horseback coming
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: towards them. Gaul ran to Xibal, the governor, and said,
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: People are coming from the mountains. Xibal brushed him off
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: and said, You're drunk still. Those are just shadows. Xibal
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: broke a smile, looking forward to what would happen next.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Gaul kept looking and said, No, no, no, look! People
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: are coming to attack us! Gaul panicked and shook Xibal
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: to do something and protect them. Zabal grinned and pushed
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: Gaal to the floor. Where is that sharp mouth of
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: yours now? Aren't you the one who said you could
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: easily defeat a Bimelech? Look, now is your chance. Gaal
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: went to go fetch his relatives and the rest of
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: the men. Unfortunately, they had all been drunk the night before.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: They sloppily rose up to fight and were easily taken over.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: Shechem showed no mercy. He wounded many. Lims lied near
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: the gates of the city like driftwood on the shores.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: The next day, the warriors of Shechem went to ambush
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: Abimelech and take him by surprise. Abimelech divided his people
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: into three companies to surround the incoming insurgents. They crumbled
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: like breadcrumbs underneath his fist. Abimelech was not yet satisfied.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: He had his army surround the city, and one by one,
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: Abimelech and his men began to slaughter the women, elderly,
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: and children too. Innocent screams scratched against the ears of
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: God as Abimelech painted the city in blood and ash.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Some were able to retreat to the tower. Abimelech rode
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: towards the tower and looked up. He could see their
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: frightened eyes peering through the windows. Abimelech dismounted his horse
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: and picked up an axe nearby. He swung it around,
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: whistling as he nonchalantly paced the base of the tower.
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: He then took the axe and swung at some nearby brushwood.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: The people looked down at him, trembling and screaming for help.
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: Abimelech did not hear their screams. He hummed and whistled,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: enjoying every second of his bloodlust. He stacked the brushwood
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: against the tower and started a fire at the base.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: The sun began to set and the fire began to rise.
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: Screams of fear turned into screams of pain. Over a
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: thousand men, women, and children melted into the stone, and
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: the tower crumbled to the ground. Abimelech loved the pain
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: he had caused. He couldn't get enough of it. He
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: was hungry for more power and to invoke fear upon
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: his servants. He took his army to Thebes and camped there.
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: Early in the morning, he rose against them to capture
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: the city and burn it to the ground. The men
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: of the city fought to hold him back, but could not.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: They fled to the tower, which was much larger and
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: more fortified than the one in Shechem. Abimelech cut his
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: way through soldiers. One by one, they fell at his
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: feet as he sliced through them. He was bloodthirsty and
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: could not wait to watch the tower burn. Abimelech drew
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: closer to the tower. He looked up, eyes red with
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: the sleeplessness of war. A woman met his gaze from
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: up above the tower. In a moment that seemed too
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: anticlimactic to be real, She shoved one of the millstones
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: off the side of the tower and crushed Abimelech's head.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: The tyrant lie there motionless. He was dying slowly, painfully,
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: and alone. A servant boy passed by his body.' You there,'
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: Abimelech said, coughing up blood.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: Kill me.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Take my sword and kill me, lest they say I
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: was crushed by a woman.' Even near death Abimelech was
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: filled with pride. The boy took the blade and thrust
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: it through Abimelech's heart. The tyrant king of Israel breathed
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: his last. God righted the wrongs of Abimelech and brought
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: a curse upon those who made him king. The Israelite
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: people were so quick to seek out a king for
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: themselves that they did not start to think of the
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: king's heart. The people of Israel would still seek after
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: a king. And they would fail again. But God would
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: choose for himself a king unlike any other. A king
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: that shared the faith of his past heroes, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: and Joseph. A king that, although flawed, sought after the
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: heart of God.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: Today's story begins with Gideon as the judge over Israel.
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: A deliverer, a powerful leader. As we've come to expect
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: by now, this too would be a short-lived peace for Israel.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: But before the bad news, we heard how Gideon responded
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: to the people's call for him to be their king.
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: When the people approached him and asked him to rule
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: over them, he refused, saying, That's not my place. Only
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: God can rule this nation. Listen to what is written
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: in Judges 8.23. Gideon said to them, I will not
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: rule over you, and my son will not rule over you.
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: The Lord will. will rule over you. He understood that
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: it was not God's will for them to be like
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: the other nations around them. Their king was God, who
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: is the only good and perfect ruler of all people.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: When we choose God to rule in our lives and
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: allow him to take his rightful place of preeminence, we
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: also know his power and his presence. He is the
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: perfect king and Lord. But Gideon was a complicated character.
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: He had a number of failures and failings, and one
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: of those was his desire for many women. God's design
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: has always been for one man and one woman. That
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: was the very beginning and the promise and the principle
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: that God established. One man, one woman committed to each other. Gideon, however,
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: did as so many men did in his own day.
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: He took many wives and many concubines. Gideon, therefore, had
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: 70 sons with many women. And when he passed away,
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: a son of one of his concubines saw an opportunity
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: to seize power. His name was Abimelech. Abimelech used clever
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: tactics to trick the rulers of Shechem into following him.
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: But his heart was very evil. And when evil takes power,
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: you can expect more and more evil to follow. So
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: with his army of followers, Abimelech went to his father's
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: house and ruthlessly killed his brothers. All but one of
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: the 69 sons are put to death by Abimelech. The
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: only one to survive was Gideon's youngest son, Jotham. Jotham
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: stood before the people and spoke in a parable about trees,
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: explaining that if they appointed Abimelech in good faith, then
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: they would have peace, but if not, they would experience
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: pain like a fire that consumes. Jotham then fled to
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: safety and Abimelech ruled for three devastating years. The people's
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: foolishness to follow Abimelech, who was evil, led to unspeakable
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: horrors as none were spared this tyrant's wrath. Young and old,
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: men and women, were killed by the king and his men.
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: It was now too late for the people to realize
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: their terrible mistake, and they discovered that once evil is
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: given power, it is very hard to take it away.
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: But God moved on behalf of his people. And Abimelech
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: was unceremoniously defeated by a woman who threw a stone
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: onto his head. His pride persisted to his last breath, though,
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: as he asked a passing young man to kill him
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: with a sword so that he wouldn't be killed at
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: the hands of a woman. Today's reading reminds us that
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: choices matter. The choices you make today have consequences in
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: your life and in the lives of your family. The
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: people would still search for a king, and God was
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: going to give them one who despite his failings would
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: have God's heart like no other. Dear God, help us
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: to make choices that honor you and that obey your word.
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: May we live by your truth and give us strength
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: and courage to allow you to be the Lord and
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: King of our hearts. In Christ's name, amen. Thank you
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. Before
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: we go, I want to let you know about a
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today. It's
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is that
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: it will help you conquer the daily tasks and pressures
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download your
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by visiting
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.