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There can only be one - Judges 8:29 - 9:57

Attended SYFC's staff meeting this morning, and the message came from Judges (it's the book they're covering this year)

Judges 8:29 comes after the story of Gideon. Basically Gideon is nicknamed Jerub-Baal by the people of Shechem. Jerub-Baal is a name in insult to the false god Baal - that Gideon can challenge it and defeat it. Basically, it opens with Gideon dying and leaving behind his family of... 70 sons. If he had a daughter for every son (50/50 chance, right?)... He'd have 140 kids!

Now how on earth did this guy get 140 kids? He had many concubines - some of which even from the people of Shechem. One of these sons bore to him by a Shechem woman was named Abimelech - which means "My father is king". From a judge raised up by God... Heresy indeed. Someone has definitely forgotten what good God has done for him in the past! He wants to be King, no longer under God's rule - and we will see more of this.

Not only that, Israel also prostituted herself out to the other gods - they did not remember God, and God, of course, was angry against them.

So came along Abimelech - wannabe ruler of Shechem. Smart, probably charismatic - and went out to his mother's relatives to ask them if they preferred a democracy amongst the 70 brothers, or to have one person rule everything. Very sly, of course, he wins all their respect and allegiance - as well as their offering money to Baal. He hires merceneries and engages the people of Shechem to ritually kill all his brothers on a single stone. He eliminates all his competition - just as in this world, we often claim the phrase "survival of the fittest" or "the ends justify the means". Only one brother, Jotham, escapes.

Abimelech, or man in general, has turned his back on God and will do anything to be his own King. However, today, we often mislabel this as "problem solving", or "aggressive leadership". Seemingly desirable qualities, but essentially the rejection of God's rule.

No prizes for guessing, but Abimelech then becomes leader of the Shechemites a.k.a. king - albeit without the formal title.

However, Jotham makes a small intervention here. This man has no role in the Bible except these few lines. He tells of a parable - of how the olive, the fig and the vine - important plants in our human society - reject the offer to rule over all the trees, knowing their rightful place in service. In desperation, the trees go to the thornbush - the good for nothing bush - which cannot give shade, but only thorns. And the thornbush is said to give them a warning - that when he is not appreciated, the fire will devour them.

Jotham tells the people of Shechem this - that they are making a bad choice, for they have already acted treacherously against Abimelech's brothers. It is a warning to repent, to change their minds - a last chance.

It seems as if Jotham has pronounced God's judgement on them already. But we know that God does offer grace to those who heed his warnings. For example, the city of Nineveh (Jonah 3).

Here God gives Shechem 3 years to repent. They don't. God then acts - sending the evil spirit to sow discord between Abimelech and the people. A man of superior social status to Abimelech comes in, gains the support of the people, and puts up a challenge to Abimelech. When Abimelech hears about it, he goes on a massacre, killing all these people, destroying the entire city and burning down towers with women and children inside. His true character - the fire that devours, as promised by Jotham, is revealed.

Abimelech attempts to burn a second tower, but a woman drops a millstone on his head, killing him. The irony - that on one stone he killed all his brothers, yet by one stone he died as well.

In God's divine retribution, we see this.

We are free to choose our actions, but not free to choose our consequences.

In all, we see the bad news of our sin. We see that we receive the just reward for our sin.

However, it does have some positives. The actions of having a king points us forward to the future establishment of this office - and from Abimelech's example we know only a king chosen by God can have righteous rule. Abimelech brings out the concept - there can only be one. However, he is not the one. Where he does everything necessary to be king - killing his brothers, paying mercenaries... He is not God's King.
Jesus does everything necessary to be King. He brought salvation and bore the consequences of our sin by His sacrifice on the cross.

Indeed, there can only be one.
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