Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of January 30, 2022

WEEKLY READING: JUDGES 6-10; PSALM 87-88
PASSAGES REFERENCED: JUDGES 8:10-17, 8:28, 9:7-15, 17:6, 21:25; 1 TIMOTHY 3:1-7

I bet when most of us read the book of Judges, we primarily see dark, disturbing stories. However, I want to challenge us to read the book through a set of different eyes – a set that we have due to the luxury of being on this side of Calvary’s cross. Judges is a compilation of God’s redemption cycled repeatedly to a people crying out for help. This cycle of idolatry, oppression, and deliverance renews with each God-appointed judge. In this week’s readings, we find ourselves right in the middle of the Judge’s story: on the fifth judge, Gideon.

Gideon obeyed the Lord in doing what he was raised up to do: he led the defeat of the Midianites and delivered Israel out of oppression. Judges 8:28 tells us “the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon.” (ESV) In the Bible, the number forty typically represents a generation, so we are looking at an entire generation of peace. Unfortunately, that peace ended with Gideon’s son, Abimelech. He led an evil conspiracy to convince Israel that he should rule over them all. Did you catch that? Abimelech usurped God’s role and appointed himself judge over Israel. This led Abimelech’s brother, Jotham, to declare a prophetic parable over the nation of Israel:

When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’” – Judges 9:7-15 (ESV)

Jotham understood Israel’s reliance on God, along with their historic redemptive cycle through the previous judges. Now, let’s unpack Jotham’s parable together. The trees in this passage represent the people of Shechem (a place in Israel) who were seeking a king amongst themselves. The people of Shechem, and all of Israel for that matter, kept rejecting the rule and provision they already had under God. In the parable, the “olive tree,” “fig tree,” and “grapevine” represent valuable plants with important functions and characteristics designed by God. The passage tells us that these trees all honored God by adhering to the role that God appointed to them. These trees insisted on continuing to use their gifts to serve God and humanity humbly instead of “swaying over the trees” or elevating themselves to a position of authority. In contrast to the valuable plants, the “brambles” are worthless, thorny plants. They are neither good for shelter nor food and are often associated with the spread of wildfires due to their dry and unkempt nature. As such, they are only good for pain, discomfort, and destruction. The brambles provide no benefit to God and humanity in the parable and, as such, have no place in rising to a place of honor and rule. Yet, we see the trees electing the brambles as their king. This parable paints a perfect picture of Israel doing “what was right in [their] own eyes.” (See Judges 17:6, 21:25) In the parable, the “brambles” represent Abimelech, who was not a man of God and had no place to assume authority over God’s people. Similar to the trees in the parable, the people of Israel were wrong to take their deliverance into their own hands by appointing someone themselves that they thought was worthy of such a task.

The situation did not turn out well for the inhabitants of Shechem or Abimelech: both were struck down by the Lord because of their evil. The story also foreshadows Israel’s future desire for a king. The wonderfully ironic part of both situations is that God, Yahweh Mephalti (“the Lord my Deliverer”), delivered them. And who did God deliver Israel from? Themselves!

As you reflect on the week’s readings, I want to challenge you to consider a few things:

Are the attributes given to you by God being used honorably? Or are you setting them aside to pursue what is right in your own eyes?

If you are in a position of authority, compare and contrast the characteristics of a leader in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 with those found in 1 Samuel 8:10-17. If you see that you are lacking any characteristics of a biblical leader, ask God for refinement and growth.

What are you permitting to take rule over your life? If it is anything but Jesus, then you are living in the “brambles.” Cry out to God for deliverance. God continuously delivered Israel, and He will deliver you too.

And lastly, I want to leave you with this quote from Out of the Saltshaker by Rebecca Manley Pippert: “Whatever controls us is really our god… The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our life.”

• Check out The Bible Project’s overview video of Judges. It is an excellent source for background information and context that walks through the book’s sections and themes. It can be really helpful for those who appreciate some visuals while learning.

• Do you have questions about this week’s Bible reading? We’d love to help! Rather than relying on the first thing you find on the internet, email us at biblequestions@warsaw.cc. We are more than happy to answer that nagging question you have, provide you with some clarity, or point you in the right direction for further study.