January 25, 2025

Passage Read: Judges 6-9
Meditation Verse: 9:57

Thought

The Lord hears the curses we proclaim against others, especially if they have done evil in God's sight. Abimelech killed his brothers and so Gideon's line was almost completely wiped out. But one son survived and cursed Abimelech and the men of Shechem. The curse was conditional, only if they had done wrong to Gideon and his sons, then he asked God to repay them for their evil. It took three years, but God finally judged them and Jotham's curse came upon them.

Application

There are people who do very wrong, who do wicked deeds, and they deserve judgment, and those they harm deserve justice. It is the duty of man who represents God on earth to carry out sentence against those who do evil, but if men will not do their duty, then any of the rest of us can call out to God to bring justice on the heads of those who do evil. And we should. Abimelech was given three years to repent or to confirm his wickedness. He chose confirmation, so God brought an evil spirit between him and the men of Shechem, and both suffered judgment and death. We have every right to call people to account and to call God to judge if men won't do it. God will do as He sees fit, so we can rest in His righteousness. If our plea for justice is ill informed, God will spare the one we curse. But Jotham's conditional curse is the best way to go.