Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How to Use Your Power | Judges | Judges 9:1-21

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilman. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're going through the Book of Judges. If you haven't subscribed to our new podcast, Truth Over Tribe, I'd encourage you to take some time and go do that right now. We've got interviews about culture, politics, and the things you really care about with people like John Mark Comer, John Tyson, Oz Guinness, and many, many others. It's going to be a great podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:33 I've been excited about the interviews and the topics that we've taken on. So stop right now. Go subscribe to Truth Over Tribe on your podcast player. A quick warning before we hop into this episode. We'll be talking about abuse and victimization. If this is the kind of content that can trigger old traumas or maybe if you're listening with a child, then I'd encourage you to turn it off and maybe wait. With that said, let's hop in.

Starting point is 00:00:58 In 2017, Lori Ann Thompson charged Ravi Zacharias of engaging in an inappropriate sexual relationship with her. Now, you might not know who Ravi Zacharias is, but he's a worldwide speaker, a worldwide evangelist with tremendous renown. He started a ministry called Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. It is a enormous ministry with a lot of staff. I'll call it RZIM from now forward. But what happened as this story unfolded? And most of it unfolded after his death in May of 2020. It became clear that he was buying massage parlors and he was manipulative. He was manipulative. the women who worked in those parlors into giving him sexual acts. And he often used his authority as a Christian leader to justify what he was demanding from them. I can go into more detail,

Starting point is 00:01:46 but it's it's sickening. It's heartbreaking. And it just feels all too common these days. It's sickening because we all know that there are moral limits to power. And using power for sexual gain is always wrong. It always victimizes people and causes trauma and scars. that often never go away for a lifetime. When we use power supposedly granted to us by God to do evil, well, that is especially atrocious. Judges 9 is a sober chapter, and it's about the abuse of power. It picks up right after the judge, Gideon, right after his death. And as details unfold, it becomes clear that Gideon was acting like a Canaanite king. He wasn't acting like a king that God would call. He ends up having 70 sons from multiple wives, and he's chosen at this point to go by the name

Starting point is 00:02:38 Jerub Ba'ail, which means contends with Bail, but as it turns out, it basically just means that all of his children worshipped Bail. In fact, verse 4 tells a story about his son holding court in a Bail temple. Now, Gideon, he used his God-given power to accumulate wealth, to accumulate more power, to accumulate sex slaves, and eventually sons. And if that makes you feel sick, thinking about that, someone who God called to be a judge to lead Israel, using his power for that, well, then I think you're right on the author of judge's wavelength. You're thinking the right way. You should feel sick.

Starting point is 00:03:17 But it really only gets worse. Gideon's son, Abimelech, by the way, Abimlech literally means son of the king. So that tells you what Gideon thought about himself by calling his son the son of the king. Abimelech, he gathers together his kinsmen in a town called Shechem. And Abimelech is just like his dad. He thinks there are no moral limits to power and that he can do whatever he wants. Let's pick up the story in Judges 9, verse 1. Abimelech, son of Jerub bail, that's Gideon again. He went to his mother's brothers in Shechem, and he said to them and to all of his mother's clan, ask all the citizens of Shechem, which is better for you to have all 70 of Jerubail's sons rule over you?

Starting point is 00:04:00 or just one man. Remember, I am your flesh and blood. When the brothers repeated this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, where they said, well, he is related to us. And so they gave him 70 shekels of silver from the temple of Bale Boreth, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless scoundrels who became his followers. He went to his father's home in Oprah, and on one stone murdered his 70 brothers, the sons of Jeru Bail. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jeru Bail, escaped by hiding. Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Milo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.

Starting point is 00:04:44 This is an absolute bloodbath. 68 of Abimelech's 69 brothers are murdered by a band of criminals, by a band of mercenaries. When you read this story, does it make you feel sick? Does it make you want justice? It should because God, he is all powerful, yet he never abuses his power. God is all powerful, and yet even he knows that there are moral limits to power. But humans with power often forget this. We get caught up in our own grandeur.

Starting point is 00:05:16 Pharaoh, he murders all the male children of the Israelites. Herod, he murdered every boy under the age of three in Bethlehem. Abimelech, he murders all of his brothers, but one who only escapes by hiding. it demands justice because God is a just God and you'll see next week God eventually does bring justice on Abimelech's head but the warning for all of us is sober we may never murder someone but we all have power I don't care who you are every living person has power it might be a parent's power over a child an employer's power over an employee a friend's power over another friend a teacher's power over a student. Do you know that there are moral limits to your power? Your power is meant to be

Starting point is 00:06:04 used for good to serve those under you, just as Jesus served you. But so often, we use our power for ourselves. I scream at my kids so that I can get my way and so that my kid knows that I'm the one in charge. I call the shots. You bully a student because he doesn't agree with your ideas, or he doesn't show you respect. You demean an employee behind closed doors to their co-workers to keep them in their place. Do you know that there are moral limits to your power? Every person has power. Do you use your power for yourself?

Starting point is 00:06:41 Or do you glorify God by using it to serve others? In the Ravi Zacharias situation, there was a junior-level employee named Ruth Mahaltra. She worked in the PR department for RZIM, Ravi Zacharias. international ministries. And so when all of these allegations came out against Ravi, she was very involved. But the ministry refused to look into the allegations in any serious way. They ignored Zacharias's massage parlors, his multiple foams and many condemning emails. But all along, Ruth, Ruth, a junior employee who had very little power. She was taking notes. She was pushing back against senior leadership. She was calling for more investigation.

Starting point is 00:07:24 His senior leaders, they didn't listen to her. They demeaned her. They called her behavior towards Ravi unchristian and cynical. They asked her, who side are you really on? And then they ended up putting her on a forced sabbatical because she wouldn't stop pushing for truth. Of course, Ruth was right. And what that ministry did, RZIM, it was wrong. She spoke truth to power when power ignored its moral limits. And this, this was a profoundly godly act. In Judges 9, the last remaining brother of Abimelech, his name is Jotham. And you can go read the story in your Bible, but Jotham courageously confronts him. He calls out Abimelech's injustice, and he does it using a story.

Starting point is 00:08:09 Seriously, go read it. But once he's done confronting Abimelech, Jotham has to flee. He has to go back into hiding. Because Abimelik never confesses. The people who put Abimelech in power, they don't turn. back? But in God's eyes, it is better to be a Jotham in hiding than an Abimilec abusing power. Jotham was the voice of God in this situation. And of course, God calls his people to do likewise. We're not supposed to assume the worst. We shouldn't be cynical. We shouldn't draw negative

Starting point is 00:08:39 conclusions based on hearsay. And yet, when we see injustice, when we see power ignoring its moral limits, when we see it, we must speak out. I've had to be a good. I've had to be in justice. I've to do this in my own life. And so I know it's scary and it can be terribly lonely. But you have to know this. God is with you to empower you to walk alongside you. There might be some real costs in your life. Ruth Mahatrice, she lost her job basically. Jotham, he ends up having to go into hiding. But even there, God is present. And in the end, we pray and we expect him to bring the truth to light. Are you misusing power right now? Repent.

Starting point is 00:09:23 Own it. Make it right. Step down if you have to. Say sorry if you have to. God forgives you. But he also calls you to deal with the consequences honestly. Are you seeing real injustice? Speak truth to power.

Starting point is 00:09:39 Fear not. God is with you. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps other people find this podcast more easily. Also, ask yourself, who could you share this podcast with? Texting an episode to a friend or a family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How to Use Your Power | Judges | Judges 9:1-21

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