Judges 10:1-18.  We don’t know much about the first and second rulers named in today’s reading.  Their stories don’t give us the typical cycle found in the book of Judges.  Many scholars think that the few extra Judges included were added to the story to bring the total number of Judges to twelve.  Different commentators have differing views on what that number means.  It seems to represent both completeness and human government in the Bible.  In the case of Judges maybe the author was trying to give us a complete picture of the failure of human government.  Even if the author had that kind of idea in mind God was in control of the writing of Judges and these two men are probably there for  more than making the number even (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Issachar was one of the twelve tribe of Israel (See “The Twelve?”).

It is interesting in the previous stories about Gideon and Abimelech that Issachar is not mentioned.  Remember that Gideon’s story involved a valley called Jezreel, that is where the invaders camped. Manasseh, Gideon’s tribe owned a lot of land south of that valley on the west side of the Jordan River.  They also owned a lot of land east of the river where the Jezreel Valley “Ts” into the Jordan River Valley.  North of the Jezreel Valley is the territory belonging to Naphtali.  Also north of the valley were Asher and Zebulun.  These were all of the tribes originally called to battle by Gideon, basically surrounding the Midianites.  Later as the battle moved south and east Gideon called the Ephraimites out to fight with him.  They owned the territory south of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan.  Gad owned the territory south of Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan.  It was between Manasseah and Gad on the east that the Midianites tried to escape up the Jabok River valley.  That is where Succoth was.  Issachar’s territory was between Manasseh’s territory and Naphtali’s where the Jezreel Valley and Jordan River Valley meet, right in the middle of the whole battle that Gideon fought.  All of the other tribes that were around the fighting were called but not Issachar.  Makes you wonder why.  Maybe they were too involved with the Midianite invaders, either completely oppressed or cooperating with them.  They were a smaller tribe.  Maybe it was some other reason.  The first deliverer in today’s reading is from Issachar and his name is Tola.  His name means “worm” (See “What’s in a Name”) and that probably was his real name not a nickname.

Manasseh was a huge tribe on the other hand, but size is not what matters to God, honoring Him is.  Gideon and Abimelech chose to honor themselves.  Maybe that is why there is no invader mentioned. The enemy was probably more of an attitude than an outside army (See Ephesians 6:12 and 1 John 2:16).   Now a “worm” comes to save Israel.  After his sort of short rulership, Manasseh is back on the scene.  The second minor judge mentioned is Jair a Gileadite, part of the tribe of Manasseh.  He had thirty sons who rode thirty donkeys (probably a sign of wealth and importance) and ruled thirty cities.  No “worms” here I guess.  Although his rule was 1 year shorter than Toah’s we see at the end of his reign a return to the cycle of sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, and silence typical in the book.

This time the Philistines are the oppressor which God allows along with Ammonites.  The Ammonites were not part of the twelve tribes.  They lived in the desert land to the east of Gad.  It is interesting that the Philistines were originally from the coastland but now they are all the way over on the east of the Jordan in the territory of Gad (and Ammon).  They are sending out raiding parties back west across the river into the territories of Ephraim and Judah and Benjamin  (south of the Ephraimites).  With the first and second judges God heard the prayers for help and sent deliverers.  By the time of Gideon God starts to push them to remember how good He has been to them.  This time when the people beg for help God reminds them that He has helped them in the past but they keep running off, then He tells them, “NO!  Go talk to the looser gods you keep cheating on me with.”  The people begged more, told God he could do to them whatever he wanted, begged for help, and even got rid of their idols.  Some translations say God could not bear their suffering any longer.  The King James translation says “his soul was grieved”.  There are two Hebrew words here.  “Nephesh” which means “soul, life, person” and “”qatsar” which means “to reap or thresh”.  Threshing is how you get the seeds out of grain like wheat.  Wheat is like a grass and the seeds are in a little mini-cob like structure at the top of the stalk, surrounded by little leaves.  It’s just like a littel corn cob.  At the end of the season the wheat is cut and dried in big bundles.  After it dries out the wheat is taken to a big area where it is beat on the ground and the seeds fall off the “cob” along with the leaves and other plant junk.  the mess is shoveled up and thrown in the air where the wind blows away the leaves and junk and the heavier seeds fall back to the ground.  Eventually all that is left are the seeds.  That is what God felt like as he watched the Israelites suffer.  His very existence was beat up and tossed in the wind.  Then the invaders challenge the Israelites to a war.  Hmmmm, wonder what God is going to do.

I like it that God used a “worm” to fix Israel.  I also like it that he got a year more that the big powerful guy.  God’s response when we return to the cycle really does make me think that the invader in Tola’s case and probably Jair’s was the internal kind.  Actually that is the real invader throughout the book.  “Again Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord”.  And we all do too.  God is very patient.  He has great compassion.  In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus tells us that if we keep on asking God will provide for us.  He is better than any earthly father.  But James tells us that we have to ask for things God would want us to have  (James 4:2-3).  But God is there listening watching for the smallest sign of turning back to him.  Like the story of the prodigal son when God sees us limping home he runs to us and hugs and kisses us then prepares a feast for us (Luke 15:1-32).

God help me remember the great things you have done for me.  Help me trust you.  Help me keep you in front of me all the time.  Thank you for your great love and patience.  Thank you for your mercy and forgiveness.  Thank you for your Spirit who fights the internal battle.  Let me listen to Him and do the things which make you happy.  I love you God, help me do it better.

Judges 9:42-57.  Two days ago we saw Abimelech take control of part of Israel.  He had made himself a king.  As was common in those days he killed all of his brothers so there would be no one to try and take the kingdom from him.  One half-brother escaped, however, and cursed him and his hometown, who had supported him.  After three years of rule his hometown rebelled against him.  They found a new king to rule them.  Abimelech came and fought this new leader.  Eventually the new leader was forced out.

In the Old Testament it is very serious when a person is cursed by someone else.  Whether or not a person mentions God or a god a curse is a request for God or a god to cause some disaster in the other person or groups life.  Of course a persons words do not control God but He does listen and may act on them.  The  gods (little g), on the other hand, don’t have any power do do anything at all (Psalms 119:4-7; Isaiah 44:9-20).  Jotham, the surviving brother, didn’t specifically ask God yet God heard and, as we will see today, eventually answered.

At the end of yeaterday it looked as though a rebellion was stopped and things might return to the way they had been.  Abimelech the king and Shechem his subjects.  But Abimelech wasn’t through.  Often in those time cities had walls around them and gate at the entrances.  The entrances also were ususlly through a corridor or sort of hallway, like the main entrance into Disneyland under the train bridge.  Those entrances would have little side area where soldiers could stand sort of protected if they needed to fight off an invasion.  At night the gates would be closed and guarded.  During the day people would come and go through the gate.

The next day when the gates were opened Abimelech ambushed the people when they came out to go to their fields.  He also blocked the gate so the people could not run back in.  After he dealt with the people out side the city he turned toward the city and captured it.  He killed all the people that he captured.

Most cities in those day would have places to honor their gods and if the city were large they might even have a temple to their gods.  We know from earlier in the story that this city had a temple.  Most cites in those days were built on a hill since that made it easier to defend.  If there was a hill in the town or near by that was also the place where the temple would be built.  It was a sign of honor or respect to put the god up high above everything else.  The temple in Shechem was fortified and had a strong tower attached to it.  When Abimelech started to win the battle the leading citizens ran into the fortified temple and tower.  Abimelech then brought wood from the surrounding area and burned the temple and tower down with the people in it.

So the first part of Jotham’s curse was fulfilled, pretty literally (Judges 9:20).  But again the reader of the story is left in suspense.  Shechem is gone but what about Abimelech, won’t there be justice for his 70 brothers whom he killed?    Abimelech must have inherited more than the kingdom from his father it appears he got some of his bad temper too (Remember Succoth and Penuel? (Judges 8:13-17)).  For some reason Abimelech then takes his troops to a nearby town, Thebez (10-15 miles away.  We are not sure exactly where that town was) and attacks it.  Again the people run to the tower to hide.  Again Abimelech looks as though he is going to burn down the tower with people inside.  It looks as if this guy is just going to keep on winning.  But then the story takes an unexpected turn as he approaches the tower to put wood near it a woman drops a large stone on his head and crushed his skull.  He then has the servant who carries part of his armor (sot of a caddie for war) pull out a sword and kill him.  He does not want to be remembered as the king killed by a little old lady.  Upon his death everyone went home.

A couple of things to see here.  First back to Abimelech’s anger or what ever you want to call it.  In verse 45 we are told he razed the city.  That means he pulled down the walls.  He didn’t just stop a rebellion he tore down all the building too.  And them he salted the fields.  Putting salt on a field makes the land unproductive.  Abimelech wanted to make sure this town was not rebuilt, it would be sort of a monument to his power, “Look what I destroyed.  Don’t cross me!”  Also I wonder where he got all that salt.  It would have taken a lot.  More that would have been in the town.  In those days salt would have been mined down by the Dead Sea in the south of Israel.  It looks to me like this destruction was planned.  Remember back in Judges 9:22-23 that the Shechemites were dishonoring Abimelech by robbing people as they passed by.  This would have made Abimelech look weak to people he was trying to rule.  Another thing to remember is that God is listening, regardless of who you are talking to.  Jotham wasn’t necessarily speaking to anyone, he may have just been “venting” his anger, but God sees and hears and can act.  Finally and most importantly, God does act.  But is according to His wisdom, His plan, in His time, to accomplish what He wants done.  Judges 9:23 says it was God who sent the evil spirit to stir things up between Abimelech and Shechem.  Judges 9:56-57 tell us that God heard Jotham’s curse and acted on it.  The reason was not to feed Jotham’s anger though.  We are told that God did it to “repay the wickedness” of Abimelech and the people of Shechem.  I think it’s kind of funny that it says, “God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads.”  I wonder as they were in that tower attached to the temple if they were praying to Baal for protection.  Maybe they thought that they were protected in such a fine fort and that Baal was protecting them.  I wonder as the walls caved in on their heads and the fire burned them if they started to curse the very temple they had built for their weak useless god (Check out an interesting story about Baal not hearing 1 Kings 18:17-40).

God is very serious about sin (not honoring Him in our lives) because it separates us from Him.  No matter how hard headed we are God can still deal with us and will.  Unfortunately if we continue not following Him it can lead to our own destruction (1 Corinthians 11:17-30 where sleep is used as a metaphor for death. Some were actually dying because they were being selfish toward other in their church).   Lord help me be careful what I wish for, especially when I am mad about something.  Help me remember to treat others the way I want to be treated.  Help me remember that I too fall way short of being perfect.  Let my words and actions build up and not destroy.  Let me be serious about sin in my own life first and gracious and truthful when I see it in the life of others.  Lord you came to make peace between you and us help me be a peace maker too.  Let me leave vengeance in your hands.