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

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