WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.300 You may be seated. Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne 00:00:08.300 --> 00:00:14.880 Mountain Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. A special welcome 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:20.920 if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not 00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:25.660 because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community. 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:30.740 And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good. They 00:00:30.740 --> 00:00:35.500 don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back 00:00:35.500 --> 00:00:42.100 week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word. Now, we're continuing our series 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:48.159 in the book of Judges, and you'll remember that the book of Judges is about many things. It's about 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:54.820 the need for constant renewal and revival among God's people. It's about the need for a faithful 00:00:54.820 --> 00:01:01.320 and true king, a king who can do what no human can do, which is to change the hearts of men. 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:08.920 It's about the power of spirit-filled leadership, and it's about God's mercy to hard-hearted people, 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:16.400 people like you and me. Last week, we finished what we'd been going over for several chapters, 00:01:16.500 --> 00:01:22.099 the story of Gideon, which took us from chapter 6 through chapter 8, and we saw, unfortunately, 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:28.519 last week, the danger of success that Gideon, despite all of God's work with him and his grace 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:35.519 to him, did not end well. He knew the right things to say, but his words and his actions didn't line up. 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:42.219 He said, on the one hand, God is the king, but on the other hand, he acted like he was the king. 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:47.959 Now, in a one sense, it is true that we finish with the Gideon story, and it's true in the sense 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:54.019 that Gideon is dead. On the other hand, it is not true that we finish with the Gideon story. This 00:01:54.019 --> 00:01:59.419 week is, in a sense, a follow-up to that, because not only do we get to see Gideon's son, Abimelech, 00:01:59.459 --> 00:02:05.399 who you'll remember his name means, my father is king, but Gideon's name is brought up, 00:02:05.780 --> 00:02:10.599 because the question is raised, you know, have you been faithful to Gideon and his interests? 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:16.620 And so this week, we're going to look at the root and the danger of wicked rulers. What's our 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:22.379 involvement as followers with them? We see the temptation, again, to be loyal to ourselves 00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:29.259 above all else, and the temptation to choose leaders based on self-interest and not what 00:02:29.259 --> 00:02:35.240 actually honors God. Now, we have a little bit of a strange, interesting episode today as we begin 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:39.459 Judges chapter 9, and so I'm going to do what I've done recently, which is I'm going to tell you the 00:02:39.460 --> 00:02:44.340 story, and then we're going to draw out a few principles from it. With that, I invite you to 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:51.420 turn with me in God's Word to Judges chapter 9. You can turn in your Bible. You can turn in your 00:02:51.420 --> 00:02:57.680 worship guide. You can turn on your phone. No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word, 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:04.600 and God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold, and it's sweeter even 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:10.719 than honey. Honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. And so that's why we read now Judges 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:18.719 chapter 9, starting at verse 1. Now Abimelech, the son of Jerobel, went to Shechem to his mother's 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:25.299 relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family, Say in the ears of all the 00:03:25.299 --> 00:03:32.359 leaders of Shechem, which is better for you? That all 70 of the stories of sons of Jerobel rule over you, 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:41.040 or that one rule over you. Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother's 00:03:41.040 --> 00:03:46.760 relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their 00:03:46.760 --> 00:03:53.560 hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, He is our brother. And they gave him 70 pieces of 00:03:53.560 --> 00:04:00.220 silver out of the house of Belbereth, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows who 00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:07.300 followed him. And he went to his father's house at Aphra, and killed his brothers, the sons of Jerobel, 00:04:07.699 --> 00:04:15.280 70 men on one stone. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerobel, was left, for he hid himself. 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:22.040 And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Bethmillo. And they went and made Abimelech king 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:30.420 by the oak of the pillar at Shechem. Verse 7. When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of 00:04:30.420 --> 00:04:37.140 Mount Gerizim, and cried aloud, and said to them, Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may 00:04:37.140 --> 00:04:44.180 listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:51.040 rain over us. But the olive tree said to them, Shall I leave my abundance by which gods and men are 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:58.740 honored, and go hold sway over the trees? And the tree said to the fig tree, You come and rain over us. 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:05.500 But the fig tree said to them, Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go hold sway 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:12.519 over the trees? And the tree said to the vine, You come and rain over us. But the vine said to them, 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:19.339 Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men, and go hold sway over the trees? Then all the trees said 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:27.219 to the bramble, You come and rain over us. And the bramble said to the trees, If in good faith you are 00:05:27.219 --> 00:05:35.339 anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade. But if not, let fire come out of the 00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:43.419 bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Verse 16. Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and 00:05:43.419 --> 00:05:49.439 integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jeroboam and his house, and have 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:55.959 done to him as his deeds deserved, for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and delivered 00:05:55.959 --> 00:06:01.819 you from the hand of Midian. And you have risen up against my father's house this day, and have killed 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:09.980 his sons seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech the son of his female servant, king over 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:16.860 the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative. If you then have acted in good faith and integrity 00:06:16.860 --> 00:06:23.420 with Jeroboam and with his house then to this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in 00:06:23.420 --> 00:06:30.120 you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the leaders of Shechem and Bethmila. 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:35.399 And let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Bethmila, and devour Abimelech. 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:42.399 And Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Veer, and lived there because of Abimelech, his brother. 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:47.480 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:06:48.840 --> 00:06:55.399 Our Father in heaven, we praise and thank you again that you have given us your word, and you speak to 00:06:55.399 --> 00:07:02.519 us through it and by it. And we also come asking for your help. We know that we cannot understand 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:09.000 it by ourselves, that we need your spirit to come and help us to see clearly. So we ask that you would 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:15.299 do just that, that you would send your Holy Spirit to open up our eyes and our ears to clear our minds, 00:07:15.299 --> 00:07:21.819 to soften our hearts, that we would be able to see and hear and believe and understand everything that 00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:27.779 you have for us in your word. We ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 00:07:31.099 --> 00:07:38.579 Last week, we left off on a sad note, and we left off on a sad note, not just in the story of Gideon, 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:44.800 that Gideon did not end well. He acted like a selfish pagan king rather than a godly king. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:51.819 But we also left off on a sad note when it came to the entire people of Israel. If you have your Bible 00:07:51.819 --> 00:07:57.220 with you, you can look at the last two verses from last week. How did things conclude with Gideon? 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:03.960 Well, we were told, verse 34, the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.300 That's the primary problem. And then we're told a secondary problem, verse 35. 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:16.500 They did not show steadfast love to the family of Jeroboam, that is Gideon. And so Abimelech is going 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:22.759 to come here and take advantage of those two failures. You may remember that Abimelech was 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:29.480 Gideon's son, and it was his Gideon's son, not by one of his wives. Remember, he had 70 sons with his 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:35.019 wives. That's in verse 30 from chapter 8. But this was with his concubine. And this is the one, 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:41.299 for whatever reason, Gideon decided to give the name, my father is king. This helps us understand 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:48.279 why Abimelech is running to Shechem. That is where this concubine is from, his mother. And he goes to 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:54.039 take advantage of the situation in Israel with these two groups that we see at the very beginning. 00:08:54.539 --> 00:09:01.360 The first group that appears in verses 1 and 3 are his mother's relatives, or the whole clan of his 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:07.879 mother's family. And then we hear this other phrase, all the leaders of Shechem. Abimelech, 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:13.899 being shrewd, decides he's going to start a whisper campaign. He's going to start building a coalition. 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:20.379 He's going to go from the smaller group and use them to infiltrate and influence the larger group. 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:26.000 And so he works up his personal relatives, the people who know his mother, their clan, 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:34.500 and he sends them to go whisper in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem so that he can have his way. 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:41.639 And we see, unfortunately, what this coalition is built on. He gives them two reasons. The first one is, 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:48.700 hey, do you want to be ruled by 70 men or by one man? But then we find out next what the real 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:57.440 reason is. This is verse 2. Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:06.620 And that is what actually convinces these people to follow after him. Verse 3, when the whisper campaign 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:15.820 starts, his mother's relatives say, remember, he is our brother. The same thing shows up in Jotham's speech. 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:21.840 Verse 18, he says, you have risen up against my father's house this day and have killed his sons, 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:27.160 and then skip to the end there, because he is your relative. 00:10:29.060 --> 00:10:38.440 In other words, Abimelech is able to launch this campaign and succeed, not merely because he is shrewd, 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:45.340 but because of the sorry state of Israel. We've talked about this before. Israel has gotten so bad 00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:50.960 that they are loyal and only loyal to themselves and their group. 00:10:52.420 --> 00:10:57.180 They are only interested in what will serve them. Remember the beginning of chapter 8, 00:10:57.480 --> 00:11:03.940 Gideon was looking for help. The men of Ephraim tell him, sorry, we don't want to get involved. 00:11:04.060 --> 00:11:09.600 He then goes to the men of Succoth and Penuel, asking them for bread. And they say, we don't want to help 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:12.879 you. Sorry, the men of Ephraim don't want to get involved. They want the honor and the glory. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:17.919 It's the men of Succoth and Penuel who say, we don't really want to help you. And so we see this 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:24.439 downward spiral in God's people that culminates in chapter 8 with Gideon actually killing fellow 00:11:24.439 --> 00:11:31.039 Israelites. Remember, he goes and kills the men of Penuel. That same pattern, that same instinct 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:39.700 is repeating itself here. Why is nepotism so tempting? Why is it such a good thing to give favors to your 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:46.000 family and your friends simply because they're your family and your friends? Well, the assumption is 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:56.900 they will treat us better. They will do what is best for our clan. They will make sure that we receive 00:11:56.900 --> 00:12:03.780 the cream of the crop. They will look out not for what's best for everyone, not what's fair and what's right, 00:12:03.779 --> 00:12:14.319 but what will help us. They show favor to Abimelech because they expect favor in return. And so we're 00:12:14.319 --> 00:12:19.519 seeing the same pattern that we've seen before, this downward spiral of the people of Israel as they 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:25.299 sink deeper and deeper into sin. So the pattern that we were told at the very beginning, remember 00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:34.199 Judges chapter 2 verse 19, it says, every time they became more corrupt. They did not remember the ways 00:12:34.199 --> 00:12:43.879 of their fathers. Instead, they proceeded to sink lower and lower. Now, Abimelech doesn't say this out 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:50.659 loud, but when he asks them, hey, do you want 70 or 1? And they choose the 1, not the 70. The implication 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:59.600 is this. It's not stated. Something's got to happen to the 70. They know that. And so verse 4, 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:09.959 they give him these 70 pieces of silver out of the house of Belbareth. They take money from this pagan 00:13:09.959 --> 00:13:16.220 temple. They give it to Abimelech. He knows what he's supposed to do with it, and they know what he's 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:22.800 supposed to do with it. If he is going to rule over his brothers, it's time to hire some hit men. 00:13:23.800 --> 00:13:32.820 And so that's what happens. Verse 5, he takes the money. Verse 4, he hires worthless and reckless fellows, 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:37.220 and they're all killed on one stone. 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:42.340 Now, it's helpful to pause just for a minute. 00:13:44.820 --> 00:13:56.779 Don't miss how gross and ridiculous this is. It was bad enough in chapter 8 when Gideon killed the 00:13:56.779 --> 00:14:04.200 men of Penuel. It is even worse now when Abimelech kills his brothers. 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:16.040 This is not run-of-the-mill Israelite behavior. This is not the low-level idolatry we saw at the 00:14:16.040 --> 00:14:22.879 beginning of Judges. No, this is God's people acting no better than the nations around them. 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:31.520 We are getting to the point where things are going to drop and drop fast. One pastor puts it this way, 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:39.319 Gideon killed fellow Israelites. Now Abimelech murders his own family. 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:50.159 That's how bad it is. That's how far off track the people of Israel have gone. 00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:56.960 There's a critical detail though here and a critical mistake that Abimelech makes. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:06.180 He is able to kill all of the 70 except the youngest. We see in verse 5 that Jotham escapes. 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:11.400 Perhaps Abimelech should ask for one piece of silver back. Maybe he needs a refund. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:19.200 And that leads us to this parable. We see in verses 7 through 15, Abimelech having to stay away 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:25.259 from Shechem gets up on Mount Gerizim and he shouts out to give this parable to the people of Israel. 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:30.360 He says, look, think about the trees and these trees are going to go pick a leader and they have all 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:37.080 these different options. The trees first, they go to the olive tree. Olive tree though is actually 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:41.860 trying to do good for the community. It's trying to serve those around it. So the olive tree says no. 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:48.559 And he goes to the fig tree. Fig tree is also trying to do good things and serve the community. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:54.679 Fig tree says no. They go to the vine. Maybe the vine will rule over us. The vine says no. 00:15:54.679 --> 00:16:05.259 Finally, they choose the worst option of all. Let's go and talk to the bramble about this. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:10.839 And the bramble says this surprising and ironic statement. 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:17.319 If you look with me, verse 15, the bramble says, then come and take refuge under my shade. 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:28.180 What kind of shade do brambles offer? None. There is no way that brambles are going to be able to 00:16:28.180 --> 00:16:36.000 protect the trees. And so Jotham here is making two basic points for these people. First one is 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:42.420 reminding us that they forgot what Gideon had done. He said, look, you have not shown good faith to Gideon. 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:50.959 Remember all the things that he did. This is how you repay him. You go and you kill 69 of his sons. 00:16:50.960 --> 00:17:03.540 Even more than that, instead of honoring Gideon for the right reasons, you've honored Abimelech for the wrong reasons. 00:17:05.120 --> 00:17:12.880 But it's even more than just a point of honor. You have chosen the wrong type of leader. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:20.000 You had all these good options. There were other avenues to pursue. You could have spent more time 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:28.420 talking to the olive tree and the fig tree and the vine. And what do you choose? The worst leader possible. 00:17:31.060 --> 00:17:37.960 And so, yes, what we see here in this passage is about Abimelech's selfishness, about his violence. 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:44.840 And it is also about the foolishness and selfishness of the people. 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:51.100 Remember, I told you I'm going to tell you the story and then we're going to draw out a few principles. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.539 In this passage, this story teaches us a couple of things. 00:17:55.819 --> 00:18:01.600 First, we often get the leaders we deserve. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:07.059 We often get the leaders we deserve. 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:12.219 There's the old parable that says that politics is downstream from culture, 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:19.679 which means if we look at the leaders we have, they're a reflection of the culture we've already embraced and promoted. 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:23.299 This is not just a principle in politics in the world, though. 00:18:23.339 --> 00:18:25.379 It's also a spiritual principle. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.000 There's a few many examples we could give. 00:18:28.099 --> 00:18:30.539 One of them is going to come later in the story of Israel. 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:33.460 You may remember 1 Samuel 8. 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:38.579 The Israelites say, we want a king like the nations. 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:43.339 We want to be like all these other pagan gods that we see around. 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:46.819 We want to have a leader who comes just like that. 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:47.980 And what does God give them? 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:49.359 He gives them Saul. 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:55.519 Saul's name in Hebrew literally means asked for. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:19:01.519 God gives the people of Israel what they asked for. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:03.839 He gives them a king like the nations. 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:09.139 And if you're familiar with the story, you know that Saul on the outside has all the trappings of the king, 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.019 but in the inside, he's characterized by selfishness. 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:16.599 The same thing happens here. 00:19:17.139 --> 00:19:20.819 They are not, the bramble is not thrust upon them. 00:19:20.819 --> 00:19:23.359 No, they choose the bramble. 00:19:25.679 --> 00:19:30.099 We often get the leaders we deserve. 00:19:31.139 --> 00:19:34.679 We choose leaders who give us what we actually want. 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:41.059 Show me leaders who act like celebrities and lack substance, 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:48.679 and I'll show you a people who worship celebrity and have no patience for substance. 00:19:49.679 --> 00:19:54.960 Show me leaders who laugh off their sexual escapades, 00:19:55.259 --> 00:20:01.059 and I will show you a people who indulge every sexual desire. 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:08.779 Show me pastors and elders who avoid hard truths, 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:15.099 and I will show you a congregation that loves to have their ears tickled. 00:20:17.339 --> 00:20:21.679 Show me leaders who mortgage away the future. 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:29.319 I'll show you a people who only care about pleasure and comfort now. 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:34.579 That's the question Jotham's asking them. 00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:39.079 Have you chosen this bramble in good faith? 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:44.159 Now, you'll notice a couple key words I used there. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:46.679 I said we often get the leaders we deserve, 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:49.059 and I told you this was a principle, 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:51.179 which means there are exceptions, right? 00:20:51.399 --> 00:20:54.679 There are times we get leaders who are better than what we deserve. 00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:57.579 We're going to see that at the beginning of chapter 10 in Judges. 00:20:57.579 --> 00:21:01.720 We see that with Moses leading the Israelites in the Old Testament. 00:21:02.419 --> 00:21:04.639 Sometimes there are leaders who are worse than we deserve. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:07.480 We see oppressors like Pharaoh over Israel. 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:14.559 But it is too easy, it is too quick to simply say, 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:16.579 when we see corrupt leadership, 00:21:17.419 --> 00:21:21.779 that they are the source and not the symptom. 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:25.920 And yet the reality is often very different. 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:28.819 Politics is downstream of culture. 00:21:29.099 --> 00:21:33.019 Leaders reflect the people they lead. 00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:36.259 Every election, right? 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:37.200 We're in election year. 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:40.639 There's this hope that if we can just get the right people in office, 00:21:40.639 --> 00:21:41.899 then things will change. 00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:46.000 Because we don't like the current people we have. 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:47.180 Well, who chose those people? 00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:49.519 We did. 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:58.879 The men of Shechem choose the bramble. 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:05.980 And so first, we see the principle that we often get the leaders we deserve. 00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:09.500 And so the second principle is related. 00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:12.740 It is a warning about what we look for. 00:22:12.740 --> 00:22:21.980 It is a warning to be the type of people who choose leaders based on their character and their righteousness. 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:28.880 We don't choose leaders based on how they might serve our selfish interests. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.420 Now, we don't have as much control as we might like in the world around us. 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:36.160 And so I want to bring this home for us here in the church. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:41.820 The most important application is actually for us inside of the church, not the world out there. 00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:48.060 Because Israel in the Old Testament, we see that now as analogous and continuing in the church. 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:52.019 We're going to talk about this for those of you who are in the new members class. 00:22:52.100 --> 00:23:00.300 When we pick our leaders, we do not pick the person who's the richest, the most successful, the friendliest. 00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:04.240 We don't pick our buddy who's going to do our bidding. 00:23:05.399 --> 00:23:11.139 No, we look and we only look for men after God's own heart. 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:18.139 We look for the most righteous and holy people we can find as our leaders. 00:23:19.139 --> 00:23:23.220 This is on the back of your worship guide, which says something similar. 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:29.980 God does not prize popularity, humor, or academic intelligence, being an extrovert, and so on. 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:37.460 He seeks men who hold to his truth, seek to lead their family rightly, are patient and self-controlled. 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:44.740 He does not want well-mannered, well-dressed, 21st century equivalents of a Bimelech, 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:49.700 chosen for the wrong reasons and the wrong qualities. 00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:56.500 Jotham reminds the people of Israel, and he reminds us, 00:23:56.500 --> 00:24:01.480 choose your leaders for the right reason. 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:08.079 The leaders you choose reflect the people you are. 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:15.559 Of course, the ultimate problem in this passage is not a Bimelech, 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:23.480 and the ultimate problem is not that they chose the Bramble over the olive tree, the fig tree, and the vine. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:29.059 The ultimate problem, we were told all before this story began, 00:24:29.419 --> 00:24:33.019 we were told at the very end of the last chapter, I mentioned this before, 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:38.859 the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God. 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:46.799 They did not remember that God was the one who brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 00:24:47.339 --> 00:24:50.740 They did not remember that God was the one who raised up judges, 00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:55.559 and it was this very sin that brought them into all the problems they experienced. 00:24:55.899 --> 00:24:59.699 They did not remember what they were taught in Deuteronomy chapter 17 00:24:59.699 --> 00:25:05.279 about the ideal leader that serves the people rather than themselves. 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:11.859 They did not remember God's great saving acts and what that meant for them and for their lives. 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:18.720 For the people and judges, I told you this before, 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:23.980 the great act of redemption in the Old Testament was God bringing his people out of slavery in Egypt. 00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:29.559 We in the New Testament have an even greater act of redemption that we look towards, 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:31.279 often called the second exodus, 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:34.639 was when we were delivered not out of slavery in Egypt, 00:25:34.639 --> 00:25:37.639 but were delivered out of slavery to sin. 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:43.039 We also must remember the Lord. 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:49.220 Our solution is not simply to stop choosing bad leaders and start choosing good leaders. 00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:52.500 No, our problem is much greater and deeper than that. 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:54.399 It is a problem of the heart. 00:25:55.299 --> 00:25:59.399 It is a problem we cannot solve on our own. 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:04.380 No, we need to be reminded of the great acts of the Lord, 00:26:04.540 --> 00:26:07.820 that he is the one who's delivered us from the slavery of sin. 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:10.700 He's delivered us from the penalty of sin. 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:14.040 He's delivered us from the power of sin. 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:20.759 Why do we not need to choose leaders based on our selfish interests? 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:32.779 We don't need to choose leaders based on selfish interests because we believe there's not a hair that can fall from our heads without God knowing. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:39.220 Because we know that God watches over our lives, 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:43.839 and even though we go to sleep, he does not. 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:49.039 We don't need to because we know what Hebrews chapter 1 tells us, 00:26:49.099 --> 00:26:53.959 that God holds the world together by the power of his word. 00:26:55.819 --> 00:26:59.559 And so we can do what is right and choose what is right, 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:03.339 no matter what, knowing God will honor. 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:06.500 God will take care of us. 00:27:07.220 --> 00:27:10.179 We don't have to fight for it alone. 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:16.039 God brings justice, so we don't take it into our own hands. 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:19.579 God cares for his people. 00:27:20.359 --> 00:27:23.319 We don't need to choose a bramble. 00:27:23.319 --> 00:27:28.579 We've already read Mark chapter 10 this morning, 00:27:28.659 --> 00:27:30.939 which tells us what changes the heart. 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:34.740 James and John come looking for power and influence, 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:35.679 and they say to Jesus, 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:39.759 hey, we want to sit at your right and left hand in the kingdom. 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:45.779 They have this same heart that's in Abimelech. 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:48.599 They have the same heart that's in the people of Israel. 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:51.599 Hey, we want to have what will benefit us. 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:56.740 We want to make sure things are lined up for our glory and our good. 00:27:58.099 --> 00:28:00.019 And Jesus tells them something very different. 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:01.839 This is on page 4 of your worship guide. 00:28:01.919 --> 00:28:03.419 We already read this from Mark 10. 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:06.519 But it shall not be so among you, 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:09.419 but whoever would be great among you must be servant, 00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:13.399 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 00:28:14.019 --> 00:28:17.439 For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, 00:28:17.439 --> 00:28:21.000 and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:29.059 When we see the Son of Man serving us, 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:32.819 that is what changes our hearts. 00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:39.219 When we see the Son of Man protecting and caring for us, 00:28:39.719 --> 00:28:44.099 that is when we know we don't need to cut corners 00:28:44.099 --> 00:28:46.359 to watch out for our interests. 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:57.639 Giving himself as a ransom for many allows us to trust him to care for us 00:28:57.639 --> 00:29:03.559 and to choose leaders that are righteous and holy. 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:08.519 Leaders who serve God and not themselves. 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:11.719 Leaders who follow after our Lord Jesus. 00:29:12.299 --> 00:29:13.359 Let's do the same. 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:14.579 Let's pray. 00:29:16.139 --> 00:29:18.579 Our Father in heaven, we praise you, 00:29:18.619 --> 00:29:22.519 and we thank you for positive examples and for negative examples. 00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:26.199 We thank you for the warning of Abimelech, 00:29:26.439 --> 00:29:33.819 and we ask that you would be at work continuing to grow our knowledge and sight of Christ, 00:29:33.819 --> 00:29:40.419 that we would see him in all his holiness and beauty and power and glory and majesty and authority and mercy and love. 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:43.939 That that would change us from the insides out. 00:29:44.359 --> 00:29:51.000 That we would know and believe and live as people who are cared for by you, 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:54.379 watched over by you. 00:29:54.380 --> 00:29:57.600 We ask these things in the mighty name, Jesus Christ. 00:29:57.820 --> 00:29:58.020 Amen.