When Evil Men Reign 2/10/13

^{The following is a transcript of the sermon When Evil Men Reign  preached at Albemarle Reformed Church on Sunday, February 10, 2013}
The saga of Gideon’s family continues. Gideon is dead, his sons are grown, a nation is turned back to idolatry, and a brother is hell-bent on coming to power at all costs. It sounds as if it were the plot to a Hollywood movie. Yet the characters and their stories are very real.

            Chapter 9 is the beginning of the brief rule of Abimelech, the son of Gideon by one of his many women. He is a man that wastes no time in trying to obtain what he feels is rightfully his: the kingship! His father named him rightly, for his name means ‘my father is king.’ This alone seems to indicate that Gideon was indeed establishing a monarchy against God’s will. He is a man of great treachery and little conscience; he does the unthinkable gain power. No politician in our time could compare to the vile act that Abimelech purposed within himself to do. Yet in all this, unthinkable as it is, God had a purpose in allowing this man to excel in evil.

            The first six verses of chapter 9 cover the plot of Abimelech while the rest of the chapter deals with the succeeding consequences of his actions. I would like to deal only with the former, examining the subject of what happens when God allows evil men to reign.

            v.1 – At the very opening we find Abimelech going to his mother and her relatives in Shechem. As a side note, it’s important to understand that Shechem was an important city. It was one of the towns of refuge given to the Levites for a city of refuge (Josh 21:21). It was also the place where Joshua re-establishes the covenant between Israel and Yahweh. We are talking of no small town when we mention Shechem. This implies that Abimelech knew exactly where to go and what to do in order to carry out his plan.

It was previously discovered in chapter 8 that Abimelech is the son of a concubine rather than a legitimate wife. In the culture of Israel it was not uncommon for a man to have many wives as well as concubines. Sometimes a concubine was used whenever a woman was barren and could not have children. This was the case for Sarah as well as Rachel. But usually, a concubine used “legally” to gratify a husband’s lusts, for whatever purposes.

            As a result of the relationship between the husband and the concubine children were born. They actually became an integral part of the family, assuming responsibilities. However, they were not usually included in the inheritance of the father, which was passed down to the firstborn and then the remaining portion being divided up among the other sons. For example, we see Sarah’s reaction to Ishmael as she is concerned that he will take some of Isaac’s inheritance (Gen 21:10-13). A generous father would give gifts to the children of his concubines but usually not an inheritance (Gen 25:6). Abimelech probably understood that his fate would also be the same. This, more than likely, fueled his desire to be king.  

            v.2 – He arrives in Shechem and begins hatching his plan. He is very crafty in the way he pursues it. He gathers all of his relatives together and pitches the idea the idea that it would be better for him to rule over them because he is their relative, their “bone and their flesh.” This phrase is particularly revealing as he is disconnecting himself with his father’s kindred and allying himself with his mother’s kindred. His subtlety in declaring that it is better to have one ruler that seventy rulers could have suggested a couple of things to his relatives: (1) perhaps they thought that Abimelech, being their own relative, would be much more sympathetic to their cause; with a family member in charge they were sure to be heard fairly and swiftly. Surely, their own relative would not neglect them. (2) and perhaps they even feared Gideon’s sons. This is feasible speculation. We are told nothing of their character, whether good or bad, nor are we told how they carried on their father’s business. It is not unlikely that Abimelech’s fear of his brothers spilled over onto his own relatives. Then again, it could have just been the plain evil desires of this man.

            The next part of the plan was crucial for Abimelech to succeed. He convinced his family to go to the leaders of the city and propose the same thing; in short, he needed the leaders to take up his offense. If the leaders got behind him he knew he would have the power to start a rebellion. Once he was able to convince his family to do the talking for him all he had to do was sit back and let the results happen!

            v. 3 – Abimelech’s family carries out his plan. We are told that they go put a bug, so to speak, in the leaders’ ears. The leaders fall for it; they buy into the idea that it’s better to have one leader instead of seventy, and they’re convinced that the one guy who is going to lead them should be somebody related to them in order to ensure their safety and prosperity. The text says that their hearts were inclined towards him. This tells us that there was probably not a whole lot of convincing that needed to be done.

            v. 4 – After the leaders fall hook, line, and sinker for Abimelech they give him money from the temple of Israel’s new god, Baal-Berith. (LXX – Baal-diathēkēs, covenant). The text next tells us that with this money he hired “worthless and reckless men.” The word ‘worthless’ in the Hebrew means something that is empty, and therefore useless. The DBL defines it this way:

i.e., pertaining to a quantity of space which is not occupied (Ge 37:24; Jdg 7:16; 2Ki 4:3; Ne 5:13; Eze 24:11+); 2. LN 65.1–65.16 worthless, i.e., pertaining to not having benefit or utility for an intended purpose, and so not having value (Dictionary of Biblical Languages).

            To put it in more modern terms, Abimelech hired a bunch of mercenaries to do his dirty work! He would certainly need “empty” men for what he was about to do.

            v. 5 – Now is the most vile part of the entire story. He takes his men back to his father’s town and there he kills all but one of his brothers. We are told that he kills all of them on a single stone. What’s the significance of this? Some commentators believe it was a sort of sacrificial offering to Baal:

these were laid one after another upon one and the same stone, as being convenient for the execution of them; or as serving as an altar on which they were sacrificed to Baal, out of whose temple the money was taken to hire the executioners with (John Gill)

This is the first mention of a barbarous atrocity which has, with appalling frequency, been perpetrated in the despotic countries of the East - that of one son of the deceased monarch usurping the throne and hastening to confirm himself in the possession by the massacre of all the natural or legitimate competitors. Abimelech slew his brethren on one stone, either by dashing them from one rock, or sacrificing them on one stone altar, in revenge for the demolition of Baal’s altar by their father. (JFB)

            Imagine the darkness of the soul of this man! Not only did he murder his brothers, but he possibly sacrificed them to a false god.

            v. 6 – After all is said and done the men of Shechem crown Abimelech king. But unbeknownst to them one of Gideon’s sons escapes his fate. He plays a role in the next few verses as he gives a timely parable to his half brother and the men of Shechem. We’re going to see how God deals with this treachery in the coming weeks as we continue on through the chapter.

Application:

            While we may look at this story and see horror in it there is something to be gleaned from all of this. We have to realize first, that God was in control of this entire situation. No matter how evil Abimelech was or how murderous his heart was, God was still in control. He knew exactly what Abimelech would do and he knew how he would do it. That can be a very comforting thought for us. We’re in the middle of some very evil times at the moment. We have rulers and leaders who support the murder of babies; they condone the perversion of licentious and crude behavior of people and they pass laws that allow them to do it! And to top all off they boast about passing those laws as if they have done society a wonderful thing. Ah! But the comfort of knowing God is in control is in the back of our minds.

            Unfortunately, just knowing that God is reigning supreme, even over the evil actions of men is not enough. Believe it or not, God has given us a role to play in all this. Scripture gives believers the role in which we play:

1. Remember that it is God who establishes the authority (Ro 13:1). We cannot deny the idea that God is the one who set up government. He did it with the view that man would rule fairly and justly. But even though those who rule over us be evil and care nothing for justice we must remember that they have still been appointed by God.

2. To rebel against authority is to rebel against God (Ro 13:2). There are way too many people out there raring to start a civil war because they don’t like the politics of our nation. But the apostle Paul tells us clearly in this passage that when we resist the governing authorities we are resisting God Himself. This is not to say that we should never speak out against the evils that our government is committing, or use the liberties that God has given us in order to put those in office who will do right. But unless the government instructs us to do something that violates God’s own commands then we are expected to submit to them. In fact, Paul tells us the consequences in the very next verse if we fail to submit (Rom 13:3-4). We cannot get any clearer instructions from Scripture as to what our role to government should be. Nowhere in Scripture are we ever told to submit to the leaders we like and rebel against the ones we don’t. Unfortunately, our culture replaces Scriptural command with patriotism; or we equate the two. We believe that a “good Christian” should fight the evils of government by refusing to submit. But you will never find God condoning such actions in the Bible—never!

3. Lastly, we are to make supplication for our leaders (1Tim 2:1-2). The one thing that God is going to use to bring about change in our leaders is prayer! Instead of us whining about the next bill that was passed to ban this or ban that we need to be falling on our faces before God Almighty and fasting and interceding on behalf of our nation’s leaders and asking God to change their hearts. Evil men rule because God puts them there; sometimes in judgment but sometimes so that it will cause His people to cry out to Him. It will be the leaders that bring persecution and it is for these same leaders that we are commanded to pray for. If believers don’t intercede form them then who will?

            At this moment in our nation we have evil men that reign. But God has them there for His purpose and His plan. Unless and until the time comes when they force us to obey them rather than God, we are to willingly submit to their authority. And at the same time we are to intercede for their repentance and faith in Christ. 

Gideon's Snare: A Lesson in Theocracy of the Soul 2/06/13

_{This is the transcript of the sermon I preached on February 2,2013 at Albemarle Reformed Church.}

Chapter 8 of Judges introduces us to two last episodes of Gideon’s life: His final defeat of the Midianite oppressors and his spiritual defeat! Though greatly used of God to deliver Israel and an exhibitor of great faith in the face of immeasurable odds, the last of this man’s life is marked by spiritual decay and idolatry.

The man who had once faced opposition of an entire town by the cutting down of a family shrine raised to Baal was about to create another Baal for the very people he had just delivered. Gideon’s life serves as an important lesson for the church. While God raised up men and women to deliver His people, His intention was to be the sole ruler over them nationally as well as individually. But the people forsook God’s decrees and His covenant in order to be like the nations around them. They starved for an earthly king rather than the Heavenly King; they desired the fleshly gratification of worship with the cultic prostitutes rather than the lasting joy of serving Yahweh; and they exchanged human wisdom for the counsel of the very One that designed and laid out the Heavens in their vast array.

And while the book of Judges reports the continual apostasy of Israel the story of Gideon leaves an even blacker mark during that period—for Gideon is the only judge mentioned to deliver Israel and then lead them back into idolatry before his death!

A Brief Walk Through Chapter 8

The opening of the chapter continues the battle between Israel and Midian and the peoples of the East. Gideon’s victory no doubt came with the three hundred men who accompanied him on the quest, but there was still much to be done. We find Gideon and his band pursuing the enemy all throughout the night (7:22-23). As the enemy flees in the hill country of Ephraim Gideon sends messengers to rally to their aid in capturing the scragglers. Ephraim responds by capturing and killing Oreb and Zeeb, two of the chief princes of Midian (7:25). 

vv. 1-3—The men of Ephraim come to Gideon afterwards and are irate over the fact that Gideon waited till the last of the battle before calling them to arms. We are given no real reason why this is so. We are only informed in chapter 6, after his calling from Yahweh, that he summoned the tribes of Manasseh, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali. Perhaps it was because Manasseh and Ephraim were considered one tribe as per Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 48. The author has not cared to enlighten us on the details of the reasons of the conflict, but only that tensions between them existed. Whatever the reason, Gideon squelches their anger by reminding them that they played one of the most important parts in the battle by capturing the two princes. This explanation suffices the men and they leave in peace.

vv. 4-9—Gideon and his band continue their pursuit of the remaining army of Midian, focusing on the two kings, Zeeba and Zalmunna. They come to the town of Succoth, and Gideon, seeing that his men are exhausted, ask for provisions so that they may continue their pursuit. The men speak harshly to Gideon, even taunting him and refusing to help. Observing a map we learn that Succoth resides in the territory of Gad. Again, the author is silent as to why they men of Gad respond in this way. Gideon chides them and promises retribution to the town once his mission is complete. He then treks to the town of Penuel, receiving the same kind of greeting. Again, he promises to return with punishment and carries on his way.

vv. 10-21—Gideon finally achieves victory and captures the two kings. He returns to Succoth and Penuel as promised with his captives and reveals them to the men. He is true to his word and whips the men of Succoth with thorns, while tearing down the tower at Penuel and killing the men of that town. He then orders one of his sons to kill the kings and we are told that he was afraid to do it because he was still young. Gideon takes the sword and puts the kings to death, bringing peace to Israel for the next 40 years.

If this was the conclusion of Gideon’s life there would be no cause look further, for he would have done all that God had commanded him. Unfortunately, this is not the case! Verse 22 to the end of the chapter is very candid about the rest of this man’s life. And this is the text that we need to examine this morning.

A. Gideon’s Piety (vv. 22-26)

            After all is said and done the people now hail Gideon as their hero. They ask Gideon and his family, right down to his grandson, to rule over them. In essence, they were asking him to establish a monarchy where the reign would pass down from Father to son. Even after the oppression of all the enemies Israel could not seem to grasp the concept that God did not want them to be like the other nations around them. It was He who was to be their one and sovereign ruler. Further into Israel’s history we learn that the people become so desperate for a king that they nearly force the prophet Samuel to anoint them a king. God complies with their request but with stiff warnings of how their future king(s) would be.

            Our souls naturally crave freedom from that which seeming binding to us; and we desire to be like others that we see around us. The world’s delicacies are truly tempting. Never believe for a moment, dear brother and sister, that you cannot be tempted by them; better still, never believe that you will not cast off the loving hand of God in order to indulge your senses in the world! Though we are children of the Most High and heirs with the Son we still battle daily the passions of the flesh (1Pe 2:11). The great reformer, Ulrich Zwingli summed it up best when he said, “The Christian life, then, is a battle, so sharp and full of danger that effort can nowhere be relaxed without loss”

            This was the plight of Israel. They looked upon the nations and decided that their customs were much more appealing than the holiness that Yahweh had called them to. They refused to abstain from their own lusts. They put their trust in the rule of men rather than the Living God. Their rejection of a theocracy would be their very downfall.

            Yet Gideon was wise in his answer to the people: “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” Such wise and profound words! Gideon seemed to grasp the fact that Israel was in a covenant with Yahweh. This meant that He would be their King; He would have rule and final authority in the direction of the nation. But Gideon’s wise words are followed by a seeming harmless request. Immediately after, it is revealed that he asks for gold from each man. the men comply and it seems now that Gideon’s former wisdom is racing on a crash-course for disaster. It seems to us an odd request but in that culture is was quite common to divide up the spoils of war, giving a large amount to the leader. And we learn from verse 21 that gold was taken from the dead kings as well as from their camels. Gideon would eventually make an ephod from this gold, but whether his intentions were to use it as a means of monetary sustainment for his family is unclear. Commentators such as Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary certainly agree, both honing in on Gideon’s shift to greed:

Again human weakness breaks out in this great man, and we seem to see the effect of great prosperity in stirring up selfish desires in his heart. It was perhaps not without significance that mention was made in ver. 21 of his taking the ornaments that were on the camels' necks in connection with the slaughter of the kings. Anyhow we have now a second instance of a love of spoil. (Pulpit Commentary)

In this desire for gold Gideon falls to the level of ordinary men, and we may see in it the first decline of his glory, leading to a sad tarnishing of the luster of his bright name. The idolatrous honor paid to Gideon's ephod was probably a source of revenue to his house. (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)

            And so it seems that the allure of the spoils of war override Gideon’s desire to complete what is right.

B. The Nation’s Calamity (vv. 27-35)

            We now realize the intention of Gideon for gathering the gold. He takes the gold and fashions it into an ephod. An ephod is something that only priests wore, and particularly the high priest as he bore the names of the tribes of Israel on stones that were set inside the ephod. Doubtful that this was intended to wear for verse 26 tells us that the weight of all the gold came to a grand tally of 17oo shekels, which would be, according to the standard weight, about 45 ½ pounds. Many commentators believe that Gideon intended to set up a place of worship for the people. Perhaps his intentions were good, but no matter it was still a direct violation of what God had commanded His people (Deut 12:4-5). Gideon was not a priest and therefore had no authorization from God to do the work of a priest. We only need to look at Scripture time and again to see the consequences of those who defiled the priesthood by disobeying God’s commands. For example, we see the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, being burnt up with fire for burning incense in a non-prescribed way (Le 10:1-2). We see again the man Uzzah, though his intentions were to save the arc of God, was careless in touching the forbidden things (2Sam 6:3-7). Holiness is one thing God takes seriously. When He commands that we worship in a prescribed way we ought not to take it lightly. Our culture is very desensitized to God’s holiness. We have profaned His worship over and over without a guilty conscience. We have become laxed in the manner of respect towards God’s holiness and it is only God’s patience and mercy that has kept Him from striking down some of His own people.

            Though Gideon’s intentions may have been to lead the people towards revival his actions actually led them further into apostasy. In verse 27 we see the fruition of this incident: “all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.”  The word ‘snare’ gives us a glimpse into this episode. It is used of trapping and controlling something, usually an animal. This is exactly the thing that happened to Gideon! He became trapped with the rest of the nation, thus becoming the first judge appointed by God that lead the nation into apostasy before his death. What a sad ending for a man, who at the very beginning exhibited such faith. What was it that caused his demise? More importantly, is there a lesson for us in this story? I believe so.

Application.

I believe there are there is one major thing that factored into Gideon’s demise. But it manifested itself in two separate ways: Gideon took upon himself a God-given role.

First, he attempted to take upon a kingly position. Gideon’s words to the people when approached were most timely. “The LORD will rule over you” ring throughout the chapter. In essence he was rejecting a human monarch for a spiritual theocracy. These words signify his unwavering trust in Yahweh’s authority to lead without man’s ability. But somewhere in between his advice and his need for recognition he lost it. It is not directly stated that he desired to rule over Israel but it is very clear from his actions that he also did not refuse. Verses 30-32 describe Gideon’s plush lifestyle, marrying many wives and it can be assumed was monetarily in good shape. This was also something that was strictly forbidden by God for those who would lead Israel, simply because the two things that lead men astray the most are money and women (Deut 17:17). Gideon gave in to his own cravings. He had a real opportunity to lead Israel into a spiritual revival and his need for that recognition caused his downfall.

Second, he appointed himself in a priestly position. No doubt some would argue the point that the text never states that took on the role of a priest. But when you intentionally fashion an object to resemble priestly clothing, which the people would have certainly recognized, what other conclusion can you come to? Maybe Gideon felt like a big shot because God had used him mightily; or maybe he had just concluded that because God had come to him once the he would just continue the role. In either case, Scripture is clear that it is God who chooses the mediator. The role of high priest was especially sacred. In fact, it was so sacred that when Korah and his band of rebellious riff raff challenged Aaron to the office of the priesthood God opened up the ground and swallowed them whole (Nu 16-17). Can you imagine what a sight that must have been? More still, can you imagine the newfound fear that people had of God?

        So what’s the lesson in all this? 

1.        We need to recover the theocracy of the soul. There are way too many people wandering around who are rejecting God’s theocracy for their own monarchy. Our culture is real good at convincing us that we need it our way and that if we get it our way we’ll be loving it. God does not want a partnership in His peoples’ lives He wants a total and complete theocracy. In Malachi God sums up this idea (Mal 1:6). Even more revealing are those religious people who care not one iota for God’s theocracy over them (Isa 29:13). But not surprisingly this concept is carried over into the New Testament where Jesus expresses the same thing

2.       We need to recover the theocracy of the church. This is directly tied with individual theocracy and it cannot be severed. The reason why the individual is forsaking God’s theocracy is because the pastors are forsaking God’s theocracy. The Church has served up a Burger King mentality to their people and duped them into believing that they can have their lives and Jesus too. Pastors have abandoned the sufficiency of Scripture for the popularity of men. They fear man rather than God (Pro 29:25). Because they have become so consumed with church growth and hitting their numbers they made church a cool, relevant, hip place to come and hang out on Sunday morning. Church is no longer about reverent worship but about how you can be satisfied. Throw in a few Christian words and talk the Christian lingo and you’ve got yourself a modern day church. Theocracy is thrown to the wolves and man’s programs and drama and cool music now reign supreme in the church. The church of Laodicea is a prime example of a church with no theocracy. Jesus had a very sobering warning for that church. (Re 3:14-18).

Now, we can say amen and halleluiah all we want. But until we really examine ourselves and begin the process of recovering theocracy for our own souls we will never go any further. This morning, refuse to be like the latter Gideon and be like the former Gideon. 

What Did the Early Church Fathers Think About Abortion? Steven Long 2/03/13

Barnabas (AD 100 - 1st-2nd century)

The way of light, then, is as follows. If any one desires to travel to the appointed place, he must be zealous in his works...Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain. Thou shalt love thy neighbour more than thine own soul.Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born.  

(Chap 19, The Way of Light)    Commenting on the way of Christian conduct. The practice of abandoning a child to die was common among the Roman-Greco culture, particularly if the child was the wrong gender or was suspected to be frail or sick.

Athenagoras (AD 177 - 2nd century)

And when we say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the abortion, on what principle should we commit murder? For it does not belong to the same person to regard the very foetus in the womb as a created being, and therefore an object of God’s care, and when it has passed into life, to kill it; and not to expose an infant, because those who expose them are chargeable with child-murder, and on the other hand, when it has been reared to destroy it.

(Chapter 35, The Christians Condemn and Contest All Cruelty) Commenting on the charge that Christians are cannibals and support murder for some people.

Tertullian (AD 145 - 2nd century)

Now the entire process of sowing, forming, and completing the human embryo in the womb is no doubt regulated by some power, which ministers herein to the will of God, whatever may be the method which it is appointed to employ. Even the superstition of Rome, by carefully attending to these points, imagined the goddess Alemona to nourish the foetus in the womb; as well as (the goddesses) Nona and Decima, called after the most critical months of gestation; and Partula, to manage and direct parturition; and Lucina, to bring the child to the birth and light of day. We, on our part, believe the angels to officiate herein for God.The embryo therefore becomes a human being in the womb from the moment that its form is completed. The law of Moses, indeed, punishes with due penalties the man who shall cause abortion, inasmuch as there exists already the rudiment of a human being, which has imputed to it even now the condition of life and death, since it is already liable to the issues of both, although, by living still in the mother, it for the most part shares its own state with the mother.  

(Chapter 37, On the Formation and State of the Embryo) Terutullian is giving a defense of the human soul and its relation to God. There were certain sects of false teachings that stated that a soul did not come into being until after its birth. Tertullian's apology expands several chapters on this subject (more than 53 chapters).

Felix - The Octavius (AD 210 - 3rd century)

“And now I should wish to meet him who says or believes that we are initiated by the slaughter and blood of an infant. Think you that it can be possible for so tender, so little a body to receive those fatal wounds; for any one to shed, pour forth, and drain that new blood of a youngling, and of a man scarcely come into existence? No one can believe this, except one who can dare to do it. And I see that you at one time expose your begotten children to wild beasts and to birds; at another, that you crush them when strangled with a miserable kind of death. There are some women who, by drinking medical preparations, extinguish the source of the future man in their very bowels, and thus commit a parricide before they bring forth...To us it is not lawful either to see or to hear of homicide; and so much do we shrink from human blood, that we do not use the blood even of eatable animals in our food. 

(Chapter 30, The Story About Christians Drinking the Blood of an Infant That They Have Murdered, Is a Barefaced Calumny. But the Gentiles, Both Cruelly Expose Their Children Newly Born, and Before They Are Born Destroy Them by a Cruel Abortion. Christians Are Neither Allowed to See nor to Hear of Manslaughter. Felix is refuting several lies told about Christians and demonstrating why they are not true.