This Lengthy chapter contains the account of Abimelech, one of Gideon’s 70 sons (he had many wives, see 8:29-31). This wicked man rises up and kills all of his brothers, until only he and the youngest brother, Jotham, remain. After killing his brothers he becomes king of Israel for 3 years, and continues his reign of terror and bloodshed.
“…Jotham… went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud… ‘Listen to me… that God may listen to you. …if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with [Gideon] 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, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech… king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative – … 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-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” (v7,16-20 abr)
Because of Abimelech’s evil deeds, and the evil deeds of the leaders of Shechem (which was the first capital city if Israel), God punishes them all. God turns them against each other, so they basically kill each other – evil destroys evil.
There are too many points of interest in this chapter to cover them all, so I’ll mainly focus on Jotham – the remaining son of Gideon who honored his father’s legacy and helped bring balance and peace back to Israel. Jotham has this moment where he speaks a parable to the leaders of Shechem (v7-15), and prophesies that Abimilech and the leaders of Shechem will destroy each other if they were not in alignment with God’s leading (which of course, they were not) (v16-21).
Why would God prompt Jotham to make this speech to the rulers of Israel if their fate was already sealed? Why bother? Isn’t Jotham just wasting his breath speaking to a lost cause? Well, the scripture doesn’t spell it out in this chapter, but I think God reached out through Jotham to give Israel a chance for repentance before it was too late. On multiple occasions God relents in punishing His people because they repent (see the books of Jonah or Numbers for example).
I think Jotham’s’ plea to Israel has a similar purpose to king Hezekiah’s plea: ” ‘O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel… Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord… and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. … For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.’ ” (2 Chr 30:6-9 abr)
My encouragement to us, and the entire world, is that it isn’t too late to return to the Lord. This virus isn’t wiping out the entire planet overnight, so we still have time. If we repent and return to Him, He will be gracious and merciful. Who knows – God may even wipe this virus from the face of the earth or provide the cure/vaccination. By turning to Him we have everything to gain (an eternity with God) and nothing of value to lose (misery and suffering in this life and eternity).
I’m not suggesting this virus is a Revelation-level event (because it isn’t) – what I am suggesting is, like Jotham’s and Hezekiah’s pleas, this virus is a wake-up call. We are being reminded that we as a human race need to return to the Lord, throwing ourselves at his feet, pleading for mercy, and not wasting this opportunity to spread the gospel message.
Father God, our gracious and merciful King, You are truly worthy of our praise and prayers. Father we plead with You for the eternal salvation of our world. Please Father, soften the hearts and minds of the people, before it’s too late. Father please open their ears to Your voice, so they may hear Your call and return to You, the one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Father we leave the well-being of our world and the people in it to Your capable hands, for we are powerless to do anything else. Father we fully trust in You, our Sovereign King. In the name of our Lord ans Savior Jesus, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training