Do Not Forget the Lord

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are going to finish up the life of Gideon. Again, kind of a sad story about what happens with Gideon. He's a, well, maybe it just tells us more about ourselves than we really want to know. So, let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day, and we thank you for your word. Father, we pray that you will please help us to understand your word. Please, Lord, teach us your ways. Lord, please keep us from ourselves. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, here we go. Judges, chapter 8, verses 29 through 35.
Then Jerubabel, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his own house. Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine, who was in Shechem, also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. Now Gideon was the son of Joash, died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, an ophrah of Abizurites. So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-bereth their god. Thus, the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. Nor did they show kindness to the house of Jeroboam, Gideon, in accordance with the good he had done for Israel."
Well, we need to ask ourselves our three questions. A. What's this about?
B. What's the best verse to summarize this? And C. What do we call it to do? So, what's this about? Well, Jerubal, the son of Joash, right? This is Gideon's name. Gideon has a whole bunch of kids, 70 sons, and many wives. Now that's not a good thing. just a thing, right? It's the reality of what was going on in the ancient Near East, reality of what was going on in Israel, definitely not a creation ordinance.
Jesus is very clear here that in the beginning God created man and woman. He's the one who joined them together and what God has joined together, let no man tear asunder The pattern from creation is one man, one woman, but as we see sin creep into the world, of course there's sin in Israel. And so, that's what we find. We're not surprised by it. We don't hide it. We don't blush at it. We just call it what it is.
But, in the culture, having a whole bunch of sons shows your virility, shows your strength. And so, it's saying that he lived a strong, old life. And his concubine, who was in Shechem, also bore him a son. Now it's interesting, he has 70 sons, but only one is named. You want to know what he names that son? Abimelech. Abi, maybe you've heard somebody in the Middle East, their Arabic name might have the name Abu in it. Abi, in Hebrew, is my father. of father. And so, Abimelech, my father, is king. Abimelech.
Remember what Gideon had said previously, right? Previously, in verse 23, he had said, I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord shall rule over you. They try to make Gideon king, and he won't do it. He has this piety, and yet he has a concubine, and he names his son Abimelech. Does that mean that Abi, he's talking about himself? Or is he saying that the Lord, his God, his Father in Heaven, is King? I don't know. It's just interesting that there's only one son named as Abimelech.
But he died. Gideon, the son of Joash, dies at a good old age. He's buried in the tomb with his father. And so this is the end of the closing of the story. But no sooner does it seem that Gideon dies than the people go right back, go right back to their ways. So it was as soon as Gideon was dead that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal Berith their god. So a house of Baal, Baal Berith. So Berith is like a house. This is where they're at.
The judge dies, God has delivered them, prosperity seems to reign, and they go right back to idolatry. And this reminds me of what Jesus said about the plant that shoots up, and it looks good, and then the weeds grow up, and there's choking out of the plant, so it doesn't bear good fruit. Jesus says that those weeds are the cares of life and the deceitfulness of wealth.
Just going along with the world and giving themselves over to the idolatry, even of their pagan neighbors. And so they go, once again, they didn't remember the Lord their God, who delivered them from the hands of their enemies on every side. And then they forget about Gideon as well, and his household. No more place of honor.
So this is about, right? This is Gideon's family and death, and the Israelites going back to their apostasy. What's the best verse to summarize this? Well, I got Abimelech's name underlined, but I have specifically verse 33 and 34 underlined. So let's see, what are we called to do? I don't think it's that we have pride looking down our noses at the Israelites, or we have pride and we look down our nose at Gideon. I'm a sinner just like Gideon. I'm a sinner just like the Israelites.
But do we learn? Do we plead with the Holy Spirit to not let us forget? This is one of the things I am convinced of, why the Lord has a weekly Sabbath for us, a weekly gathering together of the saints, so we don't forget the Lord's mercies. This is one of the reasons why we come to the Lord's Supper regularly, as often as you do this, do so in remembrance of me, because we're so prone to forget. I'm so prone to forget.
Today, do not forget the Lord. Don't forget that He rescued you, He redeemed you. Out of the clutches of death, out of the snatches and snares of Satan, He rescued you. Let's rest in Him. Don't forget. Don't forget. Let's pray. Father, please help us. God, we're so... People are so prone to spiritual amnesia. Lord, we have short-term memories, and God, it's so easy to just get busy with the world and with life. Please help us, forgive us. Enable us to be able to remember and to walk in your ways. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. May the Lord bless you. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus Christ, and I'll see you next time. Bye.