Blog

by Nathan Buck

Think of a movie where the bad guy gets what he deserves at the end. You can probably recall 3 or 4 of them right off the top of your head. It is a gratifying and relief filled moment when the villain goes down (or gets captured and tried).

Read the last segment in Judges 9. We finally see what happens to the blood thirsty tyrant Abimelech.

Feeling like he has all the power, Abimelech marches against the city of Thebez. And we see what happens when overconfidence and maniacal war mongering come together. Not a soldier, not a warrior, not even a leader as far as we know, but a common person (a woman from the city) drops a rock and crushes Abimelech's head. In his continued concern for his power and image, he asks his armor bearer to quickly kill him so that no one could say a woman killed Abimelech.

We see the end result of this kind of image, in the reaction of his soldiers - they all stop fighting and just go home. There is no lasting devotion, no loyalty, and no fierce battle in his memory. Just stopping and going home.

This is a "YES!" moment in the history of Israel, and it reminds us to trust God on several levels. We should remember to trust that He has a plan, and will keep His promises. Jotham's curse against Abimelech described the kind of leaders God chooses versus the kind of leader Abimelech was. Those who know the character of a Godly leader can see clearly when someone has the makings of a tyrant. It is best to steer clear of being in the camp with the tyrant, because they will destroy those who help them, and they often come to a swift and bloody end themselves.

We should also remember that God may use power hungry Abimelech-like leaders to expose problems and clean out power struggles that will not accomplish any good. We should not blame God for causing us to hurt or be uncomfortable when He lets us experience the consequences of our generation's choices. And we should trust that He will reveal the evil behind even the most well-dressed campaigns for power.

Once more, as we approach our elections here in America, I encourage you to remember that God is NOT absent or distant from the outcome. He will orchestrate the outcome toward His plans, even if that is by exposing all of us to socialism, world government, tyrannical loss of liberty, or whatever else comes through these candidates.

We need to also remember that He will bring about the natural end of their ambition on them and those who support them. But we must also remember to pray, in LOVE and RESPECT, for whomever is elected. We need to pray that they will hear and respond to God, so that His great good will come, instead of a legacy like Abimelech’s.

And personally, we need to take courage that whatever circumstance or whatever power seems to be over us, it is not greater than God and will come to its own end. The only way we, or any person or leadership, have any lasting influence or life or health is through Jesus Christ. Trust Him to lead you in how to vote and to orchestrate what is best afterward - no matter how difficult or dark the future may seem. There is one place to put our hope, and it is NOT in human leadership; it is always in His leadership.

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