Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
“Pitiful” is a word I don’t often use in normal conversation, what about you? “Pitiful” is a word I very rarely use when referring to anything in the Bible. But could “Pitiful” be a word GOD often uses when looking at our planet earth and specifically our human race?
Pause for a few seconds and join me in imagining what God sees as He looks out through the farthest reaches of space and all the fantastic galaxies He has created and sustains. Do you think God smiles looking at the Galaxies? And what is the look on God’s face as God looks at our planet, especially the fantastic underwater world? Have you ever done any snorkeling or scuba diving? And what is the look on God’s face as God looks at the great snowcapped mountain ranges or fantastic waterfalls or huge forests He has created? And finally, what is the look on God’s face as He looks at the huge cities of our world or the remote villages, but especially when God looks into the HEARTS of our human race in 2025!?
In our “Grand Narrative” journey we’ve come today to what I call a ‘pitiful’ portion of the human story God has written as He has watched us. Yesterday we were amazed at how God called, strengthened and used a young man named Gideon to lead a strategic deliverance of the people of Israel living traumatized by Midianite terrorists in that generation. (Judges 6-8) Following that remarkable rescue of God, the Israelites lived in relative peace for 40 years.
But when Gideon died, and no trustworthy leader came forward, this is God’s analysis of what happened: “No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baal idols. They set up Baal Berith as their god and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.” (Judges 8:33,34) Now in my view, that’s ‘pitiful’!! The very next generation after Gideon’s death turned their backs on God. Maybe ‘pitiful’ is too kind, perhaps the better word is ‘despicable’! And yet that’s the story, generation after generation, all around the world, with our human race, ‘despicable’, would you agree?
But sadly, things got even worse in Israel for the next statement God makes is this: “They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.” (Judges 8:35) You may recall Gideon had been challenged by God to tear down his father’s altar and idol of the false god Baal as evidence that Gideon was first challenging his own father’s failed spiritual leadership; then challenging the false god Baal; and thirdly calling the people to spiritual revolt, turning away from Baal to follow the God of Israel by fighting against the Baal worshiping Midianites. (Judges 6:32)
The people gave Gideon the name ‘Jerub-Baal’ that day meaning ‘he who contends with Baal’, as they watched to see if the idol god Baal would retaliate in any way against Gideon. Of course, nothing dreadful happened to Gideon! Interestingly that name Jerub-Baal was never again used for Gideon, until near his death and the pitiful mess of Judges 9. It’s a hard to read chapter… so much bloodshed and evil in Israel, even among the sons of Gideon who vied for leadership after the death of their heroic father Gideon.
But I notice the evil is rooted in Gideon’s family problems stemming from his polygamous lifestyle and even his infidelity with a concubine. (Judges 8:29-31) As I reflect on this, I‘m drawn back to Gideon’s father and his spiritual failure having built his own altar to Baal, with an Asherah pole next to it in abandonment and blasphemy of the God of Israel. (Judges 6:25,26) Sexual immorality was a hallmark of Baal and Ashtoreth worship and lifestyle. Gideon, therefore, grew up in a spiritually, morally and sexually dysfunctional family who followed wicked Baal practices.
While God awakened in Gideon a courage to destroy his father’s idols and obediently lead warriors in battle against the wicked Midianites, I see little evidence that Gideon experienced a genuine spiritual revival in his heart. He evidently did not break the generational curse of his father’s idol worshiping immorality for Gideon had 70 sons (and we presume several daughters) with many wives and one son, Abimelek, with a concubine. (Judges 8:30,31)
After Gideon’s death the despicable violence and bloodshed involving those 71 sons spills out on the pages of Judges 9 and I warn you it’s very hard to read. It’s beyond ‘pitiful’, beyond ‘despicable’, it’s nothing less than unbridled wickedness… in Israel! And I believe God includes these chapters in His Grand Narrative as a great warning to all people about how easy it is to fall back into deep darkness, even after a great victory with God!
Lest we close today in such despair, three generations later in Judges 10:10-16 I find remorse and shame has overtaken the Israelites living in such despicable despair and they cry out to God with these words: “We have sinned, O God. Do with us whatever You think best, but please rescue us now.’ Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD God. And God could bear Israel’s misery no longer.“ (Judges 10:15,16)
Oh my, isn’t that a remarkable statement? God’s love for His people and His broken heart which had watched generation after generation living in such ‘pitiful’, ‘despicable’ despair and pain, could not resist the cries of His people! Oh friends, aren’t you so glad God is a loving, compassionate, forgiving God always ready to hear the repentant cries of people drowning in their sinful rebellion? Was that you once upon a time?
Let’s spend some time worshiping and thanking God for His extreme love for us as best evidenced in His sending Jesus to live in the ‘pitifulness’ of our world, and then Jesus actually giving His life so we might be delivered to a whole new life…living a joyful, grateful, transformed, God honoring life! (1 John 4:9,10) While many songs proclaim this powerful truth, let Charity Gayle bring you to thanking Jesus with this powerful song…
Today’s Scripture: Judges 9, 10.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Judges 10
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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