Main Verses: Judges 8:28 – 9:21

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving!

Gideon after having taken his life in his hands to rescue Israel from Midianites, lived to a ripe old age and then he passed away. In his lifetime, Gideeon had 70 sons and an illegitimate son from his mistress named Abimelech AKA the “Bramble Bush”. After 40 years of peace, Israel’s sons returned to worshipping Baal and made Baal-Berith (Lord of the Covenant) their god; this deity is the god of the Shechemites, an ancient Canaanite deity. Abimelech (Father King) used his connection to Gideon to conspire with the Shechemites to seize control of the city. After securing his position as “King of the Shechemites”, he hired muscle men to do his bidding. In one fell swoop, the King had all of Gideon’s sons put to death save one who ran away before the raid. At the King’s inauguration, Jotham, the son who ran away, confronted the Shechemites from Mount Gerizim (Deuteronomy 11:29) with a parable.

A Bramble Bush is a fruit-bearing bush, that has thorns, and is symbolic of “Sin”. The Shechemites and their King had seized control of the city by intrigue which would not last (Proverbs 29:2). To stay in the shade of the bush, one would have to lay down and do nothing and that was what happened. By allowing the events to unfold, the people became complicit in the murders of the 70 sons (Proverbs 24:11-12). Unfortunately, taking a stand against evil is easier said than done. People like John the Baptist, Jesus, etc stood alone and died by vicious methods. My encouragement today is that you carefully consider which court you want to stand guilty in (1 Corinthians 4:1-5).

I.H.S. MK

Father,

The world does things its way and most times does not consider the ramifications of their choice. Despite what the world says or does, I chose to be guilty in the court of the World so that I have peace with you. I humbly ask for your help today to honor you in all that I do, say, and write. Thank you for this wonderful day ahead of us. I pray for my family, my city, my state, and the Republic of the USA. I pray for your Shalome over our lives today.

In Jesus’ Name