The Politics of being Disoriented to God - Judges 9-10 and Luke 5 :17-39
It was amazing that the Israelites could go from such a glorious victory over the Midianites under the leadership of Gideon to the death of Abimelech as they did. How could this happen? We have several clues as we read Judges 9 and 10. The first thing is that Gideon is referred to as Jerubbaal. That was the name the pagans called him. It shows that the Israelites were totally dominated by the culture of idolatry after only a short time. Then, we see how his son, Abimelech, can only think of being a king. He is not thinking of God's power, but his own power. Therefore, he politics with the men of Shechem and kills all of his brothers, except one. That lone brother, Jotham, gives a scathing rebuke by comparing Abimelech to a bramble bush ruling over the people. He has to hide from his brother, as Abimelech kills people just to stay in power, until he is finally killed by a woman. It is so ruthless and corrupt. That is the politics of being disoriented to God. It is selfishness, corruption, and murder. We see it all around us today. We even see it in church politics. People get focused on their own selfish desires and their own power instead of doing things God's way, and it causes strife in the whole body. Finally, the Israelites repented and turned back to God. That is the only solution to the politics of disorientation.
Think about Luke 5 in this way. The Jewish leaders saw Jesus work great miracles, but they were trying to keep their power. Therefore, they did not see the good He was doing. They only found fault with Him, when He healed the paralytic and ate with Levi's friends. They should have rejoiced in His ability to forgive sin and His love for sinners, but they were selfish. They wanted to keep people under their control. They even questioned why Jesus did not command His disciples to fast as they did. Jesus tried to explain to them that He was introducing something new. He told them not to try to mix the old with the new, so there would need to be a complete change. People in power don't like complete change. They want to keep things the way they are. This kept the Jewish leaders from accepting Jesus, and it keeps people from following Jesus today. The only correct orientation for life is to follow God's ways, not our own selfish ways.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 11-12 and Luke 6:1-26.
Think about Luke 5 in this way. The Jewish leaders saw Jesus work great miracles, but they were trying to keep their power. Therefore, they did not see the good He was doing. They only found fault with Him, when He healed the paralytic and ate with Levi's friends. They should have rejoiced in His ability to forgive sin and His love for sinners, but they were selfish. They wanted to keep people under their control. They even questioned why Jesus did not command His disciples to fast as they did. Jesus tried to explain to them that He was introducing something new. He told them not to try to mix the old with the new, so there would need to be a complete change. People in power don't like complete change. They want to keep things the way they are. This kept the Jewish leaders from accepting Jesus, and it keeps people from following Jesus today. The only correct orientation for life is to follow God's ways, not our own selfish ways.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 11-12 and Luke 6:1-26.