DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

"Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying, 'Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: "Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?" Remember that I am your own flesh and bone.' And his mother's brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the men of Shechem; and their heart was inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, 'He is our brother.' " (Judges 9:1-3)

Abimelech's biography is a sordid story, but that is one of the things that makes the Bible believable. God does not whitewash history. As I write my own biography, it is tempting to skip the bad things or put a positive spin on them. God does not do that. He tells it like it really is. Human nature is corrupted by sin, and the results are not pretty.

Abimilech was a son of Gideon – yes, the same Gideon that led such a victorious defeat of the Midianites. Although Gideon was a man of faith, he still had his weaknesses. Like many other men in the Bible, Gideon had a problem with improper sexual desire. He had many wives plus a concubine.

There must have been some kind of special relationship between Gideon and the son born to the concubine, because Gideon named that son Abimelech, which means "my father is king." When Gideon (aka Jerubbaal) died, Abimelech saw his chance to be king. Rudyard Kipling wrote a novel entitled, "The Man Who Would be King." Abimelech wanted to be king and he slew his 70 half-brothers to help achieve his dream.

It did not end well for Abimelech. After only 3 years as king, he was killed when he led his army against Thebes, and during a siege, a woman dropped a mill-stone from a tower which hit Abimelech and crushed his head. He was mortally wounded and died.

I think that one moral of this story is: beware of pride. It seems that Abimelech was influenced by his father. Even though Gideon was not a king per se, he must have considered himself to be king considering what he named his son. This rubbed off on Abimelech and his heart was lifted up in pride.

It is better to let God lift us up, than to maneuver and manipulate people around us to make us their leader. Other people inevitably get destroyed in the process. This was before the time of the kings, so Abimelech's desire to be king was improper. It came out of his own fleshly desires – not God's calling. As the Apostle Peter wrote: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (I Peter 5:6). God's way of exalting us is much better than our own way. And we can trust Him to do it right.

Love, Dad