The Bible is a Mirror (Judges 8:33–9:51)

One thing we can say about some stories in the Bible is that no attempt is made to sanitise them. Instead we are informed about a wide range of sins that marked the society at the time of Gideon’s death. Of course, a description of a situation depends on the purpose of the author. And we can see from this account that one purpose of the author is to show the power of various sins. In order to see the relevance of this, perhaps we should imagine different reports that are made about our society. What would the social services say or what would the educationalists say or what would the criminologists say? I suspect that when we start probing we will discover that some of the sins evident in this account can be found around us and perhaps within us. So what are some of the sins that are mentioned?

Departure from God (8:33-34)

The author states a simple but sad fact when he writes that after the death of Gideon the Israelites ceased to worship God. They did not remember the amazing things he had done for them and they replaced him with something else in their devotions. Now we may look at that description and say that it has nothing to do with us. Yet I would suggest that it mirrors what some of us may be doing at this moment.

First, do we remember the good things that God has done for us? Here are some of them. He is our Creator who has given to each of us our individuality. Although we are sinners, he has told us what his Son did for sinners when he came into the world. In the gospel we are given a lot of information, but it is information that is easy to remember. All we have to say about ourselves is that we needed to obey God perfectly and we needed to pay to God the penalty for our sins. In the gospel we are told that Jesus has provided both of these requirements on behalf of sinners by offering to us his perfect life as our standing before God and by offering to us forgiveness for our sins when we depend upon him. Moreover, Jesus is now alive, risen from the dead, and has ascended to heaven in order to prepare a place there for sinners. The question is, do we remember the good things that God has done for us or are we imitating the people of Israel who forgot what he had done for them?

Second, have we replaced God with something else? The children of Israel replaced their God with an idol called Baal-berith. The word ‘berith’ means covenant or promises and that tells us that the believed in Baal-berith because they thought that he promised them something. Usually those promises were connected to good weather and good harvests and large families. We may smile at the idea of believing a dumb idol could provide these things? Yet we have to ask ourselves if we have replaced God with another form of idol. After all, what is an idol? An idol is anything that takes the place of God. Most of us know the answer to the catechism question, ‘What is man’s chief end?’ The answer is, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.’ If my chief end is not to glorify God, I have become an idolater. If your chief end is not to glorify God, you have become an idolater. That answer does not say that we cannot have other ends in life, but it does state the Bible’s requirement that we put God first in our lives. Sadly, we can replace him with anything, and some of those replacements are good and would have his blessing if we put him first.

So I think we can see that we have one similarity to the people in the story and that is we have failed to remember God and the good things he has done and have replaced him in our lives with something else. But there are more similarities between that society and ours.

Ingratitude

The second sin that is mentioned is ingratitude, and we see it expressed in 8:35: ‘they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.’ This particular failing is very surprising because it concerns recent historical events. Of course, they could not show gratitude to Gideon without also showing gratitude to God because it was the Lord who had equipped Gideon to be their deliverer. I suppose we could say that they did not want to think of Gideon because thinking of him would make them think of God.

Here is a simple test about our sense of gratitude. When we took our breakfast this morning, did we thank God for the food and did we thank him for the range of people who were involved in providing it? That kind of question could be extended in all kinds of ways. Did we go to the shops and did we thank God for the variety of things available and were we grateful to the number of people who contributed to them being there. When we watched the news and saw some of the atrocities taking place elsewhere, did we thank God for our different society and were we grateful to all the people who work together to produce it?

The opposite of gratitude is to imagine that we deserve all that we have and that everybody else are our servants. The people of Israel refused to show kindness to the family of Gideon because they were not grateful to him for what he did. In fact, Romans 1:21 indicates that the first predominant sin was ingratitude to God for all that he done: ‘For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him.’

It is common for people to describe our society as a selfish one. Are we like our society or are we marked by deep gratitude for what we have? If we are not marked by gratitude we are like the people described in this story from the Bible. Maybe we know in our hearts that we have forgotten God and replaced him, and the reason we have done is that we are not truly grateful.

Intrigue to gain power

We can see from the story that Abimelech wanted power and was prepared to do anything to get it, including murder of his half-brothers. Yet despite the terrible way that he reached the place of power it looks as if no one was prepared to do anything about it, which is the point that Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, makes in his address to the leaders of Shechem. Abimelech trampled over anyone who stood in his path.

Of course, we do not have in our society the outrageous behaviour that Abimelech showed towards his family. Yet do we not have circumstances in our society where intrigue and greed by the few affect the many. A few years ago, we had the problems caused by the banks. There are many features of our society that are marked by a determination to crush the rivals.

Why does this kind of thing happen? The basic reason is that we forget that there is a God who weighs the actions of men and women. Abimelech would not have committed his atrocious actions if he remembered that he was accountable to God. And most of the power-hungry attempts that mar our contemporary society would not happen if people reminded themselves every day that there is a God who will yet bring everything into judgement.

What can we say about Abimelech? He is not a judge that was chosen by God. Indeed, his character reveals the exact opposite – he was a cruel man, prepared to do anything to remain in power. Yet he is a reminder that good men can have bad sons. He is not unique in that regard in the Bible. David, the man after God’s own heart, had bad sons. Abimelech wanted his father’s position in the country, but he did not want the grace that his father had received from God. Because he did not want the latter, he did not keep the former.

The hand of God

One of the problems we have in the face of evil is the seeming silence of God. Many people cry out in their distress and wonder where God is. Perhaps some in Israel wondered why nothing was done immediately by God to Abimelech when he committed his terrible sins. Does this chapter give us any insight into this problem?

It does by telling us that although God does not act immediately he will act eventually. In the event described in this chapter, the ones who deserve to be punished are Abimelech and the men of Shechem who conspired together to destroy the family of Gideon. How long did God wait before he dealt with them? Three years is the answer (v. 22). What did he do to bring about the demise of the wicked ruler Abimelech and his allies?

First, he caused them to cease being united together. It is safe to say that when people are united in doing something wrong they will eventually come to a disagreement. Second, he allowed Abimelech to destroy the men of Shechem, and third he arranged for a woman to throw a millstone down on Abimelech, and as he himself realised, he would be remembered as a warrior who was slain by a woman. What had happened? The answer is in 9:56-57: ‘Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy 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 Jerubbaal.’

Does God work in the affairs of men? The answer is yes, and he will deal with them according to their actions. Sometimes he deals with them quickly, at other times he deals with them over a longer period, and he will deal with all of them at the Day of Judgement. From the Bible’s point of view, where is Abimelech and where are the men of Shechem now? They are waiting for the verdict to be passed on them on the Day of Judgement. What does the Bible say about the acts of evil people today? It says that ‘an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered’ (Prov. 11:21).

We need Jesus

We began this sermon by saying that the Bible is like a mirror and that when we read its stories we often see ourselves in them. In this story from ancient Israel, we see a society that forgot God, that replaced God with an idol, that was marked by ingratitude, that included people desperate for power, and in which God was working to punish people for their sins. When we see that list, we can see that our society is not that different from that ancient society. What do we need in light of all these defects? We need Jesus, and we need the forgiveness that comes through faith in him.