Confronting the Evil of the Day - Judges 20:1-17 Steven Long 9/04/13

^{This is the written portion of the sermon preached at Albemarle Reformed Church. The audio portion can be hear here.}

Confronting the Cultural Evil of the Day

Judges 20:1-17

We live in a fallen world. No man or woman can deny that. And as a consequence of our fallen humanity we often encounter the vile and atrocious acts of other men. Just recently, we had a young woman in our area tried and convicted of giving birth to her baby in her bedroom at home, stabbing the newborn to death, and then wrapping the body of the infant in a blanket and hiding it in her closet. What a vile act! We see a tragic incident like this and we shake our heads in disgust. But what of the evil that goes on around us everyday that we remain silent about? All to often we have become a “part” of the culture; not a part in a bad way, necessarily. But a part that has become desensitized to its evil. We move about in our day-to-day lives and never give a second thought or a second glance at what has occurred.

For us Christians this should not be so! We have been commanded by our Lord to be salt and light (Mt 5:13, ff). We have been called to be children of the light and expose the works of darkness (Eph 5:8-11). But if we are too busy with our own affairs how shall we do this? Paul warned Timothy not to entangle himself in the affairs of this world, for one who is a soldier of Christ is concerned about the affairs of Christ (2Tim 2:4). the business of confronting sin is the business of our God. Why? Because Christ came to save sinners. He has instituted the proclamation of His Word, the Gospel, to be the instrument and the means by which He will save souls. The Gospel is good news, but yet it cannot be good news without a person knowing why it is good news. If a person cannot see himself under God's abiding wrath (John 3:36) then he will never know the why of this good news. The only way a person can feel the full weight of condemnation is through the revealing of sin, which comes through the preaching of the Word, which reveals this condemnation.

God gave instructions to Ezekiel to confront the people about their sin (Ezek 3:17-18). If God warned a wicked person that they would die because of their iniquity and Ezekiel failed to tell them then God would hold him accountable for his blood. And if this is true for one man, how much more true would it be for an entire nation? God is merciful and desires to pardon unrepentant and rebellious sinners. He desires to use His own people to confront the evil of their day. In our text this morning we shall examine how the Israelites went about confronting a vicious act of violence. Although their confrontation may have not been perfect, and although their motives may not been pure, they still did what God required; at least in the very minimum of confronting evil.

vv.1-3 1 Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah. 2 And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot that drew the sword. 3 (Now the people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the people of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil happen?”

These first three verses continue the story of chapter 19. In fact, verse 30 of chapter 19 is an echo of verse 7 of our text, this morning. The first thing we notice about the text is the phrase, “from Dan to Beersheba.” This particular phrase is simply a euphemism to say that all available men rallied themselves at Mizpah.ⁱ The entire assembly came together because of the ghastly way in which the concubine had been cut up. It is safe to assume that every available fighting person would indeed gather to find the cause of such a thing. We are also told that they gathered at Mizpah. There are many areas with the name of Mizpah in the Bible, however this particular Mizpeh, according to one source, was commonly used where the people were wont to convene on national emergencies.ⁱⁱ But too, note that we are told that they gather unto the LORD. This suggests that there was still somewhat of a religious influence or leadership at that time. Remembering that Judges is not a chronological book it is not too hard to fathom that after Joshua's death and before the first judge was raised up to deliver them there was still some semblance of Jehovah worship present. The fact that there were Levites among the people make this almost certain.

At verse 3 the author interjects with somewhat of a parenthetical statement that the tribe of Benjamin, the offenders, have gained knowledge of this gathering. By way of this statement, I believe the author to be “setting up” the ensuing battle, so to speak. It is almost certain that they know what is coming and that they should begin to make preparations to meet their kinsmen in battle.

vv. 4-7 4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night. 5 And the leaders of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They meant to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she is dead. 6 So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israel. 7 Behold, you people of Israel, all of you, give your advice and counsel here.”

After all are gathered the Levite is given an opportunity to explain his own actions. Why is that he has sent for the people? What ghastly thing has happened to cause such a reaction as this? The Levite explains the situation that precedes us in chapter 19. He tells how he had been in the company of another when the men of the city surrounded them and demanded that he be put out of the house in order to force themselves upon him. Yet, it was not him that they violated; it was his concubine. Verse 6 describes what the motives of the Benjamites had been: murder! We may look at this and think, “surely, it was not intentional. The woman's death was a result of the abuse but they had no intention of actually killing her.” But the Hebrew word, רצח raw-tsakh, makes it very clear. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible states that the action of this word is intentional murder.ⁱⁱⁱ It is the fact that the men did not care whether the victim lived or died, and that they did nothing to stop it from happening that makes the murder intentional.

Verse 7 then finds the Levite calling for action. The word 'behold' is a word that means to hear and consider of all the things that have been said. In short, he was asking for retribution.

vv. 8-11 8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot, 10 and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, that when they come they may repay Gibeah of Benjamin, for all the outrage that they have committed in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.

The people agree that action must be taken! While we may ask of the motives of the actions taken we still keep in mind that there was some form of justice and religion in the land. Dr. R. A. Watson, one of the contributors of The Expositor's Bible, states this:

It may be asked how, while polygamy was practised among the Israelites, the sin of Gibeah could rouse such indignation and awaken the signal vengeance of the united tribes. The answer is to be found partly in the singular and dreadful device which the indignant husband used in making the deed known. The ghastly symbols of outrage told the tale in a way that was fitted to stir the blood of the whole country. Everywhere the hideous thing was made vivid and a sense of utmost atrocity was kindled as the dissevered members were borne from town to town. It is easy to see that womanhood must have been stirred to the fieriest indignation, and manhood was bound to follow. What woman could be safe in Gibeah where such things were done? And was Gibeah to go unpunished? If so, every Hebrew city might become the haunt of miscreants. Further there is the fact that the woman so foully murdered, though a concubine, was the concubine of a Levite. The measure of sacredness with which the Levites were invested gave to this crime, frightful enough in any view, the colour of sacrilege. How degenerate were the people of Gibeah when a servant of the altar could be treated with such foul indignity and driven to so extraordinary an appeal for justice? There could be no blessing on the tribes if they allowed the doers or condoners of this thing to go unpunished. Every Levite throughout the land must have taken up the cry. From Bethel and other sanctuaries the call for vengeance would spread and echo till the nation was roused. Thus, in part at least, we can explain the vehemence of feeling which drew together the whole fighting force of the tribes.^iv

So we see that the situation was definitely one that needed to be dealt with. The people refuse to go back to their homes. They have come gathered and made themselves ready for war. And in making preparations, all the elders gathered send out the battle call to muster the fighting men. And we are told in verse 11 that all the men were united as one man against the Benjamites.

vv. 12-17 12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you? 13 Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. 14 Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel. 15 And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. 16 Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. 17 And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war.

The fighting men begin their march on Gibeah. The elders do what is expected. They first appeal to the Benjajmites' sense of justice. They demand that the violators be handed over in order that the would purge evil from Israel. This phrase is in keeping with the Law of God as it is used 11 times throughout the book of Deuteronomy outlining the form of capitol punishment that was to be imposed for certain crimes. The idea behind this type of punishment was that those who witnessed the deaths would fear the LORD and know that the same fate could come upon them if they committed the same crimes. The Israelites' demand is noteworthy of two things:

1. The word translated as 'worthless fellows' in the ESV is actually 'sons of Belial.' The Hebrew word itself means to be worthless, however it has a little stronger connotation in this context. What the Benjamites did went beyond worthless and into the realm of complete and utter ungodliness. In 2 Corinthians 6:15 the apostle Paul connects this same word with one of the characteristics of Satan. The strongest sense of the word in this context, then, should be the proper rendering.
2. The Word 'purge' in verse 13 is a Piel verb. A Piel stem actually intensifies the verb's meaning. It is the difference between 'run away' and 'flee.' The idea here, is that the Israelites plan on carrying the Law to its full extent. We can easily see this motive when they tell the Benjamites that they offenders must be punished by death, as the Law required. (Deut 22:25-27).

Even after being reasoned with, the people of Benjamin, as we are told, would not listen to the voice of their brothers. This ties in with verse 3 as the author now reveals the motives of the Benjamites upon their hearing that the people were gathered at Mizpah. It seems that they had suspected this very thing, which makes this incident all the more tragic. Instead of dealing with the offense in the proper way they chose to harbor and even protect the guilty parties. And so the end of our text finds the two opposing forces squaring off against each other. The Benjamites with 26,000 men and 700 who were proficient with a sling; and the rest of Israel with 400,000 men, all who are said to be men of war; that is, they were experienced warriors. They had seen battle before and they were going to see it again. Sad indeed that this confrontation of sin would result in a full-blown blood bath!

Application:

The Israelites confronted the evil of their day. I reiterate the point that their motives may have not been perfect and their methods may have been less than ideal. But they did do something. We too, are called to confront the evil of our day. There is no shortage of it as we see it all the time. However, how do we go about it? What is the best way to do this. I can only point to two things this morning that we should keep in mind:

1. Expect resistance. Just as the Israelites met with resistance when they confronted the evil of the Benjamites, we too should expect no less. Sin is always ready to justify itself and those who practice it will, like Benjamin, harbor and protect it. They will revile you, and curse you, and mistreat you. Just as our Lord said, If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign⁵ those of his household. (Mt 10:25) Too often, we flee in the face of resistance. But there are times when we must stand our ground, stand firm, and not waver in order that God's will be accomplished.
2. Our battle is spiritual. While the Isrealites were about to fight a physical battle, Christians will always be engaged in the spiritual war. We have been given the Word of God which is mighty to tear down strongholds (2 Cor 10:4). Spiritual wars call for spiritual tactics. The tactic we have is the gospel. The gospel is, as Romans 1:16 states, the power of God unto salvation. I think that we often times overlook or brush over that statement. It is the POWER of God. The pure gospel has the power to raise a dead soul to life! You don't get much more powerful than raising the dead. So many people are so wrapped up in the physical side of miracles that they completely forget that, as believers, God has given them the mandate to raise the spiritually dead through the power of His Word! And the reason we have that power is because it is the only thing that can break the resistance of sin.

Let us, as the Israelites, muster ourselves together under the banner of the gospel. And let us boldly go forth and confront sin in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen.

iSee Barnes' Commentary on the Whole Bible (Electronic edition, courtesy of theWord Bible software, http://theword.net/

ii McClintock, John, and James Strong. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol 6, pg. 389.

iii Benner, Jeff. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, pg. 448. Jeff A. Benner, 2005.

iv An Exposition of the Bible: A Series of Expositions Covering All the Books of the Old and New Testament, vol 1, pg. 830. S. S. Scranton, 1907.

The Beginning of the End - Judges 18 Steven Long 8/25/13

^{This is the written transcript of the sermon preached at Albemarle Reformed Church on August 18, 2013. The audio portion can be heard here.}

The Beginning of the End

Judges 18

This morning we are to take a look at the entire 18^th chapter of Judges. It stretches 31 verses, and it is not my usual habit to expound upon an entire chapter. But having read it through several times I saw no reason to split it up, as it all sums well together.

The last five chapters of Judges, 17-21, is the summation of a nation quickly forgetting its roots. The book opens with Israel conquering the surrounding nation under Joshua's leadership. Each tribe is given an inheritance of its own; they are to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD had given them. However, we read several times in the first chapter that they did not drive out all the inhabitants of the land (1:21, 27, 29). This would be the start of the downfall of Israel. These three verses specifically name the tribes of Benjamin, Mannaseh, and Ephraim, respectively. When we come to chapter 18 we read that the tribe of Dan was still seeking their own inheritance. Some of the land had been settled, as we see further in this chapter that they are already settled in Zorah and Eshtaol, Samon's home towns. But we also read in Judges 1:34 that the Danites were defeated by the Amorties and forced back into the hill country.

Dan is the tribe that the author hones us in on in this chapter. And it appears, by reading through the entire chapter, that the tribe of Dan is one of the major causes of the beginning of the end for the nation as a whole. “Why?” you may ask. It appears that the Danites introduced idol worship to the tribe. We are told in the text two things: (1) that the Danites eventually conquer the town of Laish, and (2) that Shiloh is the capitol of Israel during this time. When viewing a map, Shiloh is a good distance from Laish and one commentator hones in on the fact that because of its distance it would have been easy to engage in idolatry without the rest of then nation being privy to this.ⁱ Whether this is conjecture or not is not known, but it does make sense seeing as how those who desire to do evil, at the first do it in secret and then slowly introduce it to the rest of the people. Nevertheless, the actions of the Danites lead to unintended consequences for the entire nation.

The incident that occurs here gives way for the events of the next chapters. It is this episode that launches the Benjamin tragedy, which ensues in a battle of all Israel against one tribe. It is this very incident that marks an almost utter loss of the smallest of the nation and causes the totality of the people to grieve. As Moses had warned the people before his death, be sure your sin will find you out (Num 3:23). It is the beginning of the end for the nation of Israel when Dan re-introduces idolatry to their brothers.

vv.1-2 The Danites' Mission. We first read here that the Danites were seeking an inheritance in the land. This may seem a bit confusing as we are at the end of the book of Judges and the inheritance was given at the beginning. But as has been pointed out previously, the book of Judges is not chronological. John Gill places this incident after the death of Joshua but before the first judge, Othniel. These final chapters are an appendix of sorts to show what kind of state Israel was in and their continual depravity into idolatry. We read at the first, “In those days, there was no king in Israel.” This signifies the lack of leadership among the nation. Joshua is dead, and unlike the death of Moses, God does not intervene to appoint a new leader. The people are left without human rule and as people without rule will do, they do what they think best, as the book has stated so many previous times before.

The Danites send out five men from their home-bases in the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. It appears that the author appending this incident right after Samson's life is no accident, as the audience would be familiar with the places mentioned in the text. We must not think this strange at all as we consider that even the ancients had their own style of writing to trigger queues to their audiences. As the explorers journey the author skilfully ties in chapter 17 with chapter 18. We read that the men came upon the house of Micah and were offered lodging there.

vv.3-7 The Oracle of the Priest. Something quite odd happens at this juncture: we are told that the Danites recognize the voice of the Levite priest. Many commentators (Barnes, Gill, K & D) try to explain that the accent, and not the voice, was what was recognize. However, it is important to remember the narrative given to us from chapter 17, that this Levite had been a wandering Levite. It is not unimaginable to think that he had once resided within the tribe of Dan and had even been in the company of the same men that were now present there. John Lange agrees, and commenting on this text says,

Dr. Cassel renders “sound,” see his explanation below. Keil and others understand it of dialectic pronunciation or other peculiarities of speech. Bertheau thinks that inasmuch as the envoys had to “turn aside” from their way in order to get to Micah’s temple, they could not have been near enough to hear the Levite’s voice or note his pronunciation. He therefore assumes that what they recognized was the “tidings” that were told them of the sanctuary near by. But why not take the words in the sense in which any man would naturally take them at the first reading? The Levite had been a wanderer; some one (or more) of the five envoys had met with him, and now recognizes his voice, as they lie encamped near by.ⁱⁱ

The men question the Levite as to how he ended up at Micha's home, and the Levite explains that he has been treated well and hired as the man's priest. The Danites say nothing in reply but only ask the priest to inquire of the LORD whether their journey will be successful or not. Of course, we find further down in the text that they are simply masking their true motives.

We are next told that the five men leave and come across the town of Laish. It is a Sidonian. It is a town that is described as quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth. These people basically had a good life. They had access to all the natural resources and lived comfortably within their borders. Of the location the author tells us that it lay far enough from the Sidonians so as not to arouse suspicions or calls for help when it was attacked. It lied in an area that was not easily journeyed to; in other word, it was kind of in the sticks! The Danites saw this and were about to make full use of its advantage.

vv.8-12 Preparing for War. The Danites return to their homeland and make a report to the elders there that the town can be taken easily enough. The tribe rally 600 fighting men together and begin their journey. Not much of importance is expounded upon in this section. They camp at Kirath Jeraim the first day, and we read that by the second day they encounter the same house, and not by accident, as assumed, of Micah and the priest.

vv.13-25. The Beginning of the End. The next seven verses I view as the solidifying of idolatry in the nation of Israel. The five men inform their brothers about the idols within the house of Micah. Their statement, consider what you will do, is in essence telling them that they must seize advantage of the opportunity. One might question their motives behind this until he calls to remembrance that Israel is in the midst of a leaderless, human or theocratic, society and must do what they deem necessary to ensure their future. To the Danites, their mission was critical, for they could not all dwell in the small area that they were presently in. It only made sense that they have some kind of divine power to assist them, whether it be Yahweh or the false Canaanite deities. It only seems reasonable to them that they should now possess that which will give them victory over their enemies. And while they may be superstitious it is also important to keep in mind that the nation as a whole is not steeped fully into idolatrous worship as of yet. Yet these few verses will lend their telling of what is to come.

The five spies enter the house while the rest of the armed men remain at the gate. Upon entering the house they find the priest and ask him about his welfare. The Hebrew, Sha'al shalom seems to indicate that they are genuinely concerned for the well-being of the Levite, as the word 'shalom' was used as the totality of a person's life. The LXX translates the Hebrew as και ηρώτησαν αυτόν εις ειρήνη: and they interrogated him about his peace. The LXX substitutes the word 'shalom' with the word 'erenes,' peace, which is the equivalent.

After they inquire of the Levite they proceed to take the household gods. Upon doing this the Levite asks their motives and is rebuked to remain silent. The question is then proposed to him a second time, as was the case upon first coming to Micha's house: come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Their reasoning is that it is better for one to be priest to an entire tribe than the household of one man. And whether the Levite was not content to stay with Micah or that there was some conflict there is unknown. But the author tells us that the man was glad and willfully went with them. Micah and his men come out to meet them, as it seems to stop them. The Danites threaten Micah, in so many words and Micah, knowing that he does not have the strength to overpower them returns home.

vv.26-31. The Idolatrous Priest. And so the Danites continue on to Laish and conquer it, and burn it, and rebuild it, and rename it Dan, after their patriarch. And the conclusion of this chapter sets up for us the depravity into which the entire nation would be subjected to. We are told that the Danites set up the gods and the ephod and for the first time we are introduced to the name of this previously unnamed Levite. We discover that he is Johnathan, a descendent of Moses. There are some commentators who doubt that the named priest is the same as the priest named here, but most agree that he is. It certainly would make no sense that the author would, at the end of this chapter, introduce suddenly another character, who just also happened to be a Levite. And J. E. Cook, one of the contributors to The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges speculates that for us that then entire chapter may built upon this very thing:

The object of the whole story has been to trace the origin of the famous sanctuary at Dan. In this and the next verse the setting up of Micah’s image is told twice over, and a double note of time is given. The repetition suggests that we have here the two conclusions of the two narratives which have been woven together in the story. Moore thinks that Jdg 18:30 belongs to the narrative which alludes to the man—the Levite—the priest (Jdg 17:8; Jdg 17:11 a, Jdg 18:12 b, Jdg 18:3 b, Jdg 18:4-6; Jdg 18:18 b etc.), whose name now turns out to have been Jonathan, a grandson of Moses, and that Jdg 18:31 closes the other document, of which a characteristic feature is the young Levite (Jdg 17:7; Jdg 17:11 b, 12a, Jdg 18:3; Jdg 18:15 etc.).ⁱⁱⁱ

This idolatry is carried out, as we see, until the captivity of the land. Again, I must make a side-note that most commentators do not believe this captivity to be the Assyrian invasion, but rather the captivity referred to is that of 1 Samuel 4:1-11, where the Philistines conquer the Israelites and the ark of God is carried away.

It is not really important to which captivity the author is pointing. But the important thing to note is that this Levite, who was supposed to be a spiritual leader of Israel was now introducing idolatry for the second time—and not just to a family, as at the first, but now to an entire tribe. What is sadder still is that this young man had such a rich, spiritual heritage in his grandfather Moses. Cooke adds this about the fact that this Levite is the grandson of Moses:

The Levite and his descendants, the priests of Dan, claimed descent from Moses. The margin notes another reading; in the Hebr. text the letter n is ‘suspended,’ or inserted above the line, thus turning Mosheh (משה) into Manasseh (מנשה). The Jews admit that the text was altered in order to repudiate the Levite’s claim; he acted, not like a son of Moses, but like the impious king Manasseh, to whom the Rabbis apply the principle, ‘every corruption is fastened upon (i.e. is named after) him who started it’; Talm. Bab. Baba Bathra 109b^iv

How sad the plight of this Levite! Twice, opportunity gave him a chance to do right and twice he squandered it. But sadder still, will be the fate of the nation as we will read in the last three chapters. Their sin and depravity will only be outmatched by Sodom and Gomorrah. And the people of God, those who were supposed to possess and understand the Law of God turned completely away from their Redeemer.

Application:

As God's people we are given opportunities everyday to represent Him to the “Canaanites” in our lives. The Levite priest had a marvelous opportunity but compromised for the sake of comfort and acceptance. Instead of leading Dan into true worship he indulged their need to run after false deities. As priests in the Kingdom of God, it is every believer's privilege and honor lead these Canaanites into worship of the true God and His Son, Jesus Christ. He had redeemed us through His blood on the cross in order to make us His people; He has been resurrected from the dead in order to secure our justification; and He has sanctioned us with the high and holy calling of proclaiming His Word throughout the world in order that His sheep might hear, come, and be saved. Like the Levite in this story we are faced with the decision of compromising our duty of pointing them to the Savior by giving in to the comforts of this world, or going against the tide of ease and being counted as faithful stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

i Jamieson, Robert, Andrew Robert Fausset, and David Brown. A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, vol 1, pg. 171. S.S. Scranton & Company.

ii Lange, John Peter. Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, vol 4, pg 232.. Scribner.

iii Barnes, W. E. Judges Contributor, Cook, J. E. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges The Book of Judges, pg 170. CUP Archive, n.d.

ivIbid

Benevolent Chastisement Steven Long 8/12/13

Benevolent Chastisement

Judges 16:21-31

This is the written transcript of the sermon preached at Albemarle Reformed Church on Sunday, July 28, 2013. The audio portion can be heard here.

At last we come to the concluding event of Samson's life. The mighty has been seized and his enemies mean to make sport of him. He is in the throes of misery as he is no longer the “top dog” in his own world. The consequences have taken their full effect and he is left helpless to face the Philistines on his own. His ego has been cut in half and his captivity has now shattered his pride and boastfulness. The man who could do anything physically was now as 'human' as the rest of his peers.

The tragedy of Samson's life was not so much that he squandered what God had given him. It was that he failed to recognize, at least until the very end of his life, that God was Supreme Ruler and that he himself was not the captain of his own destiny. God had set him apart from the womb to be a Nazarite and God's plan could not, nor would not be led off course by a selfish, sinful, and fleshly man. In fact, God directed Samson exactly where he needed to be. Though Samson believed he was his own man and doing what he thought he wanted to do God still controlled is path and caused him to be the deliverer of Israel—despite his sin!

But we see a much different Samson, now. Because he is brought low he now realizes that he must rely on the very God who gave, and took away his mighty strength. Just as it will be for all who rage against their Creator, so Samson also bowed his knee before the God of Heaven and Earth. But it was not maliciousness on the part of God that brought Samson to this place. No! It was His wonderful plan to bring His servant, who had gone far astray, back to repentance. Though we may be low; though God may crush us; though our very bones feel the weight of sin, it is God's good intention to bring His sons and daughters to a place of peace and safety in order that they might give Him glory and honor that is due. When God deals with His people it is always to their profit. Even in the midst of chastisement it is because His plans are “for good and not for harm; to give [us] a hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11) Sometimes the benevolence of God comes in the form of chastisement. It is this benevolence that is most times successful in leading His children back to the path of holiness. As we will see this morning, it is this very thing that leads to Samson's repentance.

v.21 The Mighty Has Fallen. We have previously read that Samson played his little games with Delilah for some time. He tricked her on three different occasions as to what the source of his strength was. Delilah played the victim by whining and moaning to Samson that he did not really love her. Samson finally gives in and tells her about his Nazarite vow. Delilah puts him to sleep and has his hair shaved. When Delilah calls Samson believes that he will be able to free himself just like the other three times. But we read the tragic phrase, he did not know that the LORD had left him.

We are now left with him seized and shackled. At last the Philistine lords have the enemy in their hands. And they do with him what was common to do in that day: they cut out his eyes! This practice was done to ensure that the enemy, even if escaped or set free, would be helpless. He could no longer fight or retaliate against his captors if he had no eyes with which to see. It is clear what the intention for Samson is: the Hebrew word 'gouge' is a Piel verb which, according Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, serves to strengthen the actual verb.ⁱ It is much like the difference in intensity between the words 'break' and 'smash.' Clearly, one is stronger than the other and conveys a much more vivid picture. The same is true here. The Philistines did not just put out his eyes. They probably indulged and inflicted as much pain as possible during the process. And after having put out his eyes they then led him to Gaza, one of their chief cities. And there in Gaza they set him to grinding at the mill. This was a menial task; the lowest of low jobs, and it was their intention to do this in order to show the people how the mighty man was now reduced to this slaves task. Keil and Delitzch, Old Testament commentators enlighten us by saying,

The Philistines then seized him, put out his eyes, and led him to Gaza fettered with double brass chains...There Samson was obliged to turn the mill in the prison, and grind corn (the participle טֹחֵן expresses the continuance of the action). Grinding a handmill was the hardest and lowest kind of slave labour (compare Exo 11:5 with Exo 12:29); and both Greeks and Romans sentenced their slaves to this as a punishmentⁱⁱ

After being the mighty and strong man he is now reduced to the menial task of the lowest slave. How the mighty has fallen!

v.22 Not Forgotten. But God has not forgotten him. The author reminds us of this one thing: but the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. It is easy for us to overlook such a simple statement. More so, it is easy for us to assume that Samson's hair was the cause of his strength. True, he had lost his strength when his head had been shaved, but was he not mighty in his youth before his hair had reached it current length? It was because God had set him apart from the womb to be mighty, that he was, and no other reason! To think that God left Samson simply that his head had been shaved, or that He would return to him after his hair had grown back is to miss the entire point. The Nazarite was only holy because God made him holy; he was only fitted for the task that God had fitted him for. Though Samson may have shirked his task as a judge God's purpose for him was still as a judge. God would fulfill it even at the cost of His servant's own life. Hence, the hair on his head began to grow again.

vv.23-26 A Grand Party! Now that the evil Samson has been caught the Philistines can rejoice! They gather themselves together, as the author tells us, to offer sacrifices to their pagan god, Dagon. But their guise is not really worship as much as it is a party; a chance for them to engage in drunken revelry and commit atrocious fornication. Canaanite worship was always accompanied by such things and there is no reason to believe that this celebration would have been any different. Notice, too how they falsely attribute Samson's capture to their deity. At the height of their festival, probably when they are the drunkest (as the author tells us that their hearts were “merry”) they call for Samson out of the prison in order to entertain for them. The author does not reveal how or what Samson did to entertain them. It could not have been any feats of strength for at this time he was as weak as any other man. Quite possibly, it simply could have been for him to stand their, helpless, so that they may have gazed upon him to laugh and jeer at him. We know that Samson could not have done much more than stand in one place, as the text tells us that he was led by a young man, and that his request to the young man was that he be led to rest, as it were, on the main pillars that held up the house. This may seem like an odd request and we may at once suspect that this could not be true, lest the Philistines become suspicious. But Bible Scholar, John Lange comments about this:

Much has been written concerning the architectural style of the building in which the occurrence took place. Bertheau is not wrong in saying that it is impossible to come to any particular determination in this matter. It was not essential to our narrator’s purpose to give an architectural description...The hero [Samson] would be visible to all, only if he stood in the lower space, between the pillars on which the house was supported, the gallery extending around the sides of the, house, and fastened to them; and there is nothing at variance with this in his request to the lad to be allowed to lean upon the pillars.ⁱⁱⁱ

Lange points out that it was actually quite common for Samson to stand between those pillars, as that would have been the prime spot for all the people present to view him.

vv.27-30 Samson's Prayer. In these next few verses we see Samson's change begin to take place. He is weak, worn, frail, and at the very least, hopeless. He has been reduced to nothing more than a showpiece to be gawked and laughed at; and this by the very ones he was supposed to defeat. All the Philistine lords have gathered for this great feast, and many prominent men and women, about 3,000 as we are told, looking on while Samson entertains. But in the midst of all this we see Samson call out to the Lord in prayer. There are a few notable things about this prayer that I would like to briefly point out:

1. Samson begins his prayer by addressing God by His three proper names. He begins by saying, “Adonai, Yahweh. Remember me this once, O, God” We may be tempted to say that even his prayer was selfish as he prays that he may take vengeance for his eyes, but Charles Hervey, author of Judges-Pulpit Commentary states this about Samson's prayer: The language is very earnest. "O Lord, Jehovah, remember me strengthen me only this once, O God!" The threefold name by which he addresses the Almighty implies great tension of spirit ^iv
2. Samson's plead for God to remember him. Samson is asking for more than a simple remembrance. The Hebrew word is one that means 'to mark.' In essence, to call to mind. If one wishes to remember something or someplace they mark it so as to come back to it. This same word is used by Moses in Ex 32:13 when the people rebel against God and God wants to destroy them. Moses asks God to remember His covenant with His people to make them into a great nation. Perhaps Samson is in fact asking God to remember the Nazarite fulfilling He originally had on Samson's life. If this is true, then Samson has finally come full-circle to his calling.
3. Samson's calling on the Lord. Again, I want to remind us that while we are tempted to think of Samson's prayer as selfish the author himself uses a word that seems to imply genuiness. We are told that Samson 'called out to the LORD. The word 'call,' quara, can mean to cry out in earnest. But it is in the LXX that we really see the intended meaning behind this word. The LXX uses the word 'boao' which means to cry out for help in a tumultuous way. In other words, Samson has reached the point of absolute desperation.
4. He pleads to the LORD for strength. Notice that he no longer relies or boasts in his own strength, much as he did in killing 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. He now surrenders the idea that his strength has all along come from Jehovah, for now he cries out, “Please strengthen me only this once.” It is clear that he is now fully reliant upon God in order to accomplish what he is about to do.

The prayer of Samson, I believe, was a true prayer of penance. But only at the end of his life did he realize what he should have all along. Now, supernaturally strengthened once again, he pushes with all his might, praying that he would die along with his enemies. And with this push then entire building collapses. So much carnage ensues that the author tells us that there were more Philistine deaths in this one event then the entire time Samson was alive. How can we not see this as God's master plan for delivering Israel out of the hands of the Philistines? With the five lords dead there would no doubt be a panic at the least, and chaos at the most. The time was now ripe for the beginning of Israel's freedom.

v.31 Samson's Death & Burial. Samson's family comes to take him away for burial. We are told that he is buried between Zorah, his hometown, and Eshtaol. And then the author adds one more piece of information: he had judged Israel for twenty years. This statement should remove all doubt about whether God fulfilled Samson's purpose in life. Though he did not take on the traditional role of the judge he no doubt, through God's chastisement completed the role of a judge. When God means to accomplish His tasks nothing can stand in the way of it—not even the sinful actions of men.

God's chastisement on us is never out of malicious intent. It is always for the purpose of bringing us back into a place of repentance. Hebrews 12:5-6 says, And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, ​​​​​​​nor be weary when reproved by him. ​​​ ​​​​​​​​For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, ​​​​​​​and chastises every son whom he receives.” ​​​

He must chastise us in order to prove that we are not illegitimate children. The chastisement we receive is nothing in comparison to that which the Lord received: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed (Isa 53:5). It is for our peace and our well-being that when we sin we are duely punished. For in doing so, a twofold purpose is accomplished: first, we are brought back to a place of holiness. The price which Christ paid for our redemption is much too high to allow us to stay the same. We have been bought with a price (1Cor 6:20), and we have bought with the purpose of being conformed into the likeness of Christ (Rom 8:29). In order to be like Christ we must be disciplined so that our souls may rid itself of impurities and be refined in the fires of His perfection. Second, We are saved from the eternal consequences of sin. Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians deals with believers who have been put to death by God for eating the Lord's supper in an unworthy manner: 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. In that church, God's discipline was to show the distinction between His church and the rest of the world. That is why Paul told the Corinthians that they were judged by the Lord. This is not to say that every believer who sins will die! But simply to say that some who stray that far away are judged by God in order to separate them from the rest of the world.

The point in all this is to show that the chastisement of God is not always a bad thing. No matter what sin you have committed, or how far you think you may have strayed, when you cry out to God, “REMEMBER ME!” He will indeed come to visit you and to guide you back into His presences. But be warned! The way in which He accomplishes this may be painful. But also know that pain will ultimately lead to your peace.

​​For his anger is but for a moment, ​​​​​​​and his favor is for a lifetime. ​​​​​​​Weeping may tarry for the night, ​​​​​​​but joy comes with the morning. ​​​ (Psalm 30:5)

iGesenius Hebrew Grammar, pg. 139

ii Keil, Carl Friedrich, and Franz Delitzsch. Joshua, Judges, Ruth, pg 423 T. and T. Clark, 1869.

iii Lange, John Peter. Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, vol 4, pg 223. Scribner, 1886.

iv Hervey, Arthur Charles. Judges, pg 174. Kegan Paul, 1881.

Fulfillment Through FailureSteven Long 7/04/13

^{This is the written transcript of the sermon preached at Albemarle Reformed Church on Sunday, June 23, 2013. The audio portion can be heard here: [Fulfillment Through Failure - Judges 15:9-20].}

Fulfillment Through Failure

Judges 15:9-20

Thus far in Samson's life we have not yet seen how he has fulfilled the God-given role as judge and Nazarite. We have had exceptional views of his carnality, especially with women, his hot tempered tantrums, and his bull-raging reactions that led to downright murder. Remember Samson's original calling? His parents were given strict orders to raise him in the Nazarite tradition. He was not eat any unclean thing, nor to drink any wine or strong drink, nor to ever let a razor come upon his head, nor even to touch anything that would cause him to become unclean. In fact, his mother had to keep the Nazarite vow herself for the entire gestation period of her son, thus fulfilling God's promise to them that their child would be a Nazarite from the womb.

We look at the totality of Samson's life and say that he failed; and to a good extent, he did! But the closing of this chapter is a bit different as we will see. We have seen already how God can take our own sinful choices, redeem them, and fulfill His purposes. But what about the purpose that He has laid out for our own lives? Nearly every sermon I have ever heard on Samson went a little something like this: “Samson was a saved soul but wasted his life. Don't waste your life if you're a Christian.” It would seem that the author of Judges would have us learn a little more from Samson than that! Looking at the book as a whole we see the entire menagerie of judges along with their strengths and weakness that God raised up; and we see what God mightly worked through them. Taken as a whole, the book of Judges teaches us what happens when “every man [does] right in his own eyes.” In other words, a society void of any kind of true spiritual guidance.

We should not, then, think of Samson's life any different. Instead, we should focus on the bigger picture of the book and extracting the individual principles from each of the lives of the Judges to shape our own understanding and theology of what our lives would end up as in God-less environment. Samson is one of those many pieces of the whole and as we approach the end of his life we can certainly see how God fulfilled Samson's purpose as Nazarite and judge through his own failures. Let us now take time to examine that very thing!

vv.9-10 The Philistines Raid! Verse 8 leaves us with the vengeful Samson hiding out at the Rock of Etam. He has violently burned the crop of the Philistines and killed many of their valiant men and now flees to take rest from his work. But his rest is soon disturbed. The Philistines catch a whiff of the general area that he is hiding out in and in force march on the areal of Lehi. The text states that they “spread themselves in Lehi.” The word literally means 'to uproot' and suggests that they came in force, hence the word 'raid' is used in some translations. We are not told whether any blood was shed on the townspeople or not, but it is quite possible that in retaliation they would more than likely kill some of the men of Judah for their own losses. The men of Judah are certainly frightened enough to send representatives to the Philistines and ask why they have come up against them. This in itself could be an indication that it was more than a simple “camp out” but without exact details it is only conjecture.

Upon being asked they explain the events of the previous verses; how Samson had burned their standing crops and killed some of their finest men. Their answer is clear: to do to Samson as they had done to them. In other words, to kill him. And if they could not kill the man himself they would be content with killing his people.

vv.11-13 The Men of Judah Confront Samson. The men of Judah now have a clear and concise answer. They know that they must turn him over to the Philistines in order to appease their wrath. But they are caught in a dilemma. Can they very well kill their own kin? And if they do not what will be the next move of the Philistines? They cannot hold off any longer, and so they send 3,000 men to the place where Samson is hiding. We are told that he is holding up at Etam, and more particularly at the cleft of the rock of Etam. According to many, this was a place of natural defense and offered great protection. It only makes sense that Samson would have fled here after his initial encounter with the Philistines. According to Josephus, the town of Etam itself was also a place with a plentiful source of water.

The men of Judah are blunt with Samson: “Don't you know the Philistines are rulers over us?” In short they are reminding Samson of their captivity; of the fact that if the Philistines chose to do so they could squash them at any moment. Samson does not seem the least bit worried, as his previous encounters with them has shown. This is an interesting thing for it seems to point to the fact that he was somewhat aware of God's calling on his life; he seemed to understand that his parents had raised him for this specific purpose. It seems impossible to fathom that he grew up without his mother repeating to him several times the word of the Lord: “He shall be a Nazarite; he shall begin the deliverance of Israel.” Yet, it seems that he cares nothing for the plight of his own people. If he did not care enough to save the life of his wife and in-laws, surely he would not exert too much effort in this task that God had called him to.

But notice Samson's response: “As they did unto me, so I have done unto them.” His response is the same as that of the Philistines in verse 9. Both parties felt justified in their own actions. Samson felt justified in killing the Philistines. The Philistines now want to do to Samson as he did to [them]. The Hebrew construction of both the reasons given by Samson and the Philisitnes is almost identical. The paralled expressions are quite similar and, I believe, intentional by the author. But what does he mean to tell us by this? For certain one cannot say, but I believe it is to show the actions of Samson, a man set apart to do God's work, were no different than the uncircumcised nation that God had intended to drive completely out of the land!

But then it seems that Samson has a change of heart. He agrees to surrender to the men only if they do not kill him. The men agree and assure him that they only intend to bind him and hand him over to the enemy. It seems to be a fair deal. Samson will answer to the Philistines for his own actions and the Philistines will leave with him quietly, allowing the land to be at peace once again.

vv.14-17 Heaps upon Heaps. The deal is struck and the men of Judah bind Samson. We are told in the previous verse that they bind him with two new ropes. More than likely, these new ropes were of the utmost strength, and them men, knowing of Samson's strength probably felt secure binding him with the strongest material that was available to them. Another interesting parallel is that Samson divulges to Delilah that “new ropes” would cause him to loose his strength. Perhaps he was thinking of this incident when he fooled her. It seems that the author makes it a point to tell us that the ropes were new; they were strong; something that no ordinary man would be able to break. But then again, Samson was not really an ordinary man.

Upon hearing that Samson is captured and bound the Philistines come running out in a victorious manner to take hold of their captive. Josephus goes as far to say that within the Philistine camp there shouts of joy and shouting, and actually coming out running to take hold of himⁱ But their victory is short-lived. We are told that at this scene the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon him. The description given next is quite amazing:

the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.

Flax was a plant common to that region and was often planted and cultivated for its many uses, one of them to retrieve the fine threads from the plant to make and twist linen together. The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature says this of the flax plant:

Few plants are at once so lovely and so useful as the slender, upright herb, With taper leaves and large blue-purple flowers, from which are fashioned alike the coarsest canvas and the most ethereal cambric or lawn the sail of the ship and the fairy-looking scarf which can be packed into a filbert shell. It was of linen, in part at least, that the hangings of the. tabernacle were constructed, white, blue, and crimson, with cherubim in woven; and it. was of linen that the vestments of Aaron were fashioned. When arrayed in all his, glory, Solomon could put on nothing more costly than the finest linen of Egypt; and describing "the marriage of the Lamb," the seer of Patmos represents the bride as." arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." ⁱⁱ

Basically, the author is telling the audience that the ropes which bound Samson became as weak and fragile as the plant which they so commonly used to weave the thread for their clothes. In fact, it became like one of those plants that had caught flame, making it even weaker. Imagine the pure strength that God had empowered Samson with! Very few men could have broken an old, rotted rope let alone one that was freshly made and still had its original strength. But this is exactly what happened. And upon being free, Samson discovers the jawbone of a donkey and immediately thinks to use it as a weapon against the oncoming Philistines. He slaughters an incredible 1,000 men. The only other time we are told of a feat that even comes close in Judges 3:31 of Shamgar who killed 600 Philistines in one battle. Samson then goes on to make up a little poem about himself. Commentator of the Scriptures, John Lange, gives an interesting insight into the literal translation of the Samson's poem.

With the jaw-bone of an ass I slew two armies: With the jaw-bone of an ass I took vengeance on a thousand.For in the clause בִּלְחי הַחֲמוֹר חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם the paronomasia is to be noted between חַמוֹר, an ass, and חֲמֹר, a heap, which latter is here poetically used of an “army.”

In other words, he is waxing poetic and in a sense "rhyming" or "paralelling" Philistines with an animal, a donkey, no less which was a beast of burden. Quite fitting as the Israelites were the ones bearing the burden of the beast. And now that he is done with his little game Samson finally throws away his makeshift weapon and rests.

vv.18-19 Samson's Boast and Humility. Josephus records a very interesting thing at this point in Samson's victory and I think it is quite worth a look. He states of this very battle,

Upon this slaughter Samson was too proud of what he had performed, and said that this did not come to pass by the assistance of God, but that his success was to be ascribed to his own courage, and vaunted himself, that it was out of a dread of him that some of his enemies fell, and the rest ran away upon his use of the jawbone; (302) but when a great thirst came upon him, he considered that human courage is nothing, and bare his testimony that all is to be ascribed to God, and besought him that he would not be angry at anything he had said, nor give him up into the hands of his enemies, but afford him help under his affliction, and deliver him from the misfortune he was under. (303) Accordingly God was moved with his entreaties, and raised him up a plentiful fountain of sweet water at a certain rock; whence it was that Samson called the place the Jawbone, and so it is called to this day.ⁱⁱⁱ

At first, Samson boasted in his own strength. But then we see God humble him in the human need and weakness for water. Note how Josephus tells us that he considered nothing of his victory could really be ascribed to Himself that God heard his prayer and opened the rock for him to drink from. In the moment of his greatest strength God brought him to his lowest point (1Pe 5:5). And the text tells us that he entreats the Almighty not to fall into the hands of the “uncircumcised.”

It seems now that the man who once wanted to be a part of the people of the uncircumcised was now coming to the realization that they were the enemies of God's people and that he was the one God had chosen to begin the deliverance of them.

v.20 Fulfillment Through Failure. This is the verse that I want to focus on. We are told that Samson judges Israel for twenty years. Why is this important? I think it is important for two reasons:

1. This is the first indication we have of Samson fulfilling his God-given role. It seems that after this event that Samson was finally living up to what God had called him to do. Some may argue that he was indeed fulfilling this role prior to this incident and that the author is “combining” it with this episode. In either case, it is still the first time mentioned. Until now. We have seen a selfish, ruthless, uncaring, unloving, and fleshly man trapped in a little boy's body. Honestly looking back at Samson's life can we really see the Biblical definition of what a man is supposed to be? I think not.
2. This is the culmination of God fulfilling Samson's purpose for Samson's life. I certainly don't mean that in a seeker-friendly, God-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life, kind of way. But let's face it. If we are believers, true followers of Christ, God has intended a purpose for us. God set Samson apart from the womb, just like He did Jeremiah, just like He did Paul, and just like He did you and me, if we are in Christ. This is not to say that God's will for all His people is to be a Peter, Paul, James, etc. It is simply to say that God has purposed in Christ Jesus from the foundation of the world to buy and own a people that would live out His will here on earth. God's purpose is to place those people in the body, fitted together, in order to build up His spiritual house. Some people waste so much energy trying to “discover” what God's will is for their lives that they miss this entire purpose; or else they trade in what they know God wants them to do just to do what they desire. Either way, God always has a way of bringing it back around, just like He did Samson.

     Despite what you do to avoid the responsibilities that God has given you; despite any childish decisions or actions that you do, God will work out His plan to fulfill your purpose for your life; even it means that you have to go through a lot of pain to get there. And as we'll see at the close of Samson's life, he had to go through a lot of pain to ultimately allow God to fulfill his purpose through his own failures.

i Josephus, Flavius. The Antiquities of the Jews, pg. 105, Echo Library, 2006.

ii McClintock, John, and James Strong. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol 3, pg 591. Harper, 1894.

iii Josephus, Flavius. The Antiquities of the Jews, pg. 105, Echo Library, 2006.

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.