A girl in New Zealand was so ashamed of her name that she did not use it for nine years after she was born. Her name was Tallulah Dances the Hula from Hawaii, which means Tallulah dances the hula from Hawaii. Her parents named her with the hope that she would live a joyful and happy life, just like her name suggests. However, they overlooked the fact that our distorted hearts could lead to emotional abuse toward our children.
Abimelech means my father is king in Hebrew. Did Gideon, who refused to become king, still harbor regrets about it? Abimelech, who only ever looked up to a strong father like a king, eventually became king himself but ended up failing to serve the true king. Through Abimelech#039s life, we will explore what kind of king we should serve.
First, the shield of Abimelech is heavy.
Gideon refused the people#039s request to become king, but he lived like a king, having many wives and fathering seventy sons. Moreover, he had a concubine in Shechem, a holy city filled with the history and decisions of the Israelites#039 faith, and she bore him a son, who was Abimelech. Although he was a bastard who had to live without a father, he wanted to live with dignity, so he was given the name Abimelech, which means my father is king. However, after his father Gideon died, Abimelech, who had used his father as a shield, sought a new shield to protect himself. He turned to his maternal relatives, his own flesh and blood. With their help, he incited the people of Shechem to support him, gaining a sturdy new shield to hide behind. But the better the shield, the heavier it was, and it took exactly three years for him to realize this. After three years, Abimelech and the people of Shechem betrayed each other and fought, and in the end, they all died.
We too are always looking for shields to protect us from wounds, shame, and weakness. We toil and wander, trying to obtain everything we think will protect us, such as reliable parents, academic credentials, marriage, money, and children. However, since these shields are not originally ours, we must pay a high price to use them. Moreover, it is not the shields themselves that are important, but rather we must interpret and resolve the sin that causes us to cling to them. All these things will eventually disappear, but they are temporarily given to us for a purpose. What is important is to honestly share the sin and shame within us that we try to hide behind these heavy shields with the community.
Second, the sword of No, Melek is terrifying.
The people of Shechem, who had become Abimelech#039s sturdy shield, immediately began to worship Baal after Gideon, or Jerubbaal, died. Without someone beside us to mourn with us and stop us from going down that path, we are weak human beings who will quickly betray God and leave. Abimelech hired seventy reckless and frivolous men with the seventy pieces of silver the people of Shechem had brought from the temple of Baal. Knowing he couldn#039t win with his shield alone, he now drew a sword that would attack in his place, moving according to his will.
In verse 5, it says, He went to his father#039s house in Ophrah and killed his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, on a single rock. Only Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, escaped because he hid himself. In Hebrew, ani means I, and he is now wielding the sword of ani, melek, meaning I am king. Abimelech kills all seventy of his half-brothers who had treated him as if he did not exist and ignored him all his life. Now that he has the power to wield the sword as king, all he does is seek cruel revenge. However, the problem is not the sword itself, but the violence within us that wields it. Therefore, when faced with difficult circumstances, we must first meditate on and listen to the Word, and apply it as it is. Our lives are like glassampmdashonce we achieve success and receive recognition, we inevitably become authoritarian and violent. We must cling to the Word.
Third, the faith of Jehovah, Melek is the only answer.
The people of Shechem, who sided with Abimelech, gathered under the oak tree in Shechem and made him their king. This was a place with a deep history of faith, where repentance and covenant had taken place. Despite God already being their king, they did not acknowledge Him and instead set up idols of Baal and Asherah there. Under those pillars, they all united to establish their own king. The true king we should serve is not my father, nor myself, but only the Lord God. We must cease the toil of bearing the heavy shield of father, melek in our respective life contexts, and stop the hardship of wielding the fearsome sword of no, melek. Now we must live by the true confession of faith that the Lord, Yahweh, is king. We must stop doing things our own way and instead receive God#039s guidance. However, this is our problem, our limitation, and our sorrowampmdashit is too difficult.
This is our community confession for this week. During my days as a wrestler, I trained under a strict coach with tears in my eyes. After enduring those difficult times, I am now a coach myself, guiding a team with poor performance with all my heart. However, the athletes rebelled against false reports, making it difficult for me, and I felt a great sense of betrayal when I discovered they were secretly recording during counseling sessions. At that moment, I realized that God was now training me through these weak athletes. Before the Word, I acknowledge that He is right, but when I see the athletes#039 faces, it is not easy, and I fall again.
This is my problem, and I believe it is also each of your problems. Therefore, we should pray to the Holy Spirit to hold us and help us.
The Lord did not use any shield or sword for our salvation. I hope you will carry the cross well in the place of mission entrusted to you, following Jesus Christ, our true King. May you live a precious and blessed life, confessing the faith that The Lord alone is my King! in the name of the Lord.
