Our Abimelech

If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. (Judges 9: 19, 20)

I had a dream that seemed to lend come clarity to the situation in our country.

Gideon had seventy legal sons.

He also had a side chick, a ‘clande’, who also bore him a son.

Israel had asked Gideon to reign over them after he led them to resounding victories over their enemies. They had even asked him to establish a dynasty.

But Gideon refused, arguing that neither he or any of his sons would be kings since Israel already had a king, God.

But the side kick had ideas, lofty ones.

That is why she named her son Abimelech, my father is a king (or father of a king).

I am sure she groomed him into that ambition.

But not only had Gideon refused to be king or establish a dynasty, her son was illegitimate, a bastard, and so disqualified even if Gideon had accepted the offer.

Abimelech therefore knew that there was no way he could have accomplished his ambitions legitimately.

That is why he went to his people, his mother’s buddies, calling on them to assist him ascend his father’s throne by dealing with legitimate heirs.

I am your brother, was his pitch.

And they bought it.

It was with their assistance that he killed the threat to his ambition, seventy brothers, on one stone.

The youngest, probably a teenager or younger, sneaked away probably because he was too small to notice.

It was he who gave the prophecy that has the verses above.

Simply said, he told his illegitimate brother and supporters that they would reap the fruit of their actions.

And it happened just as he had said.

What am I saying?

Brotherhood can be stretched to damaging proportions as had happened with Abimelech.

During the last elections, church leaders became the focus of the elections.

And why?

Because he is our brother

A Pentecostal, speaking in tongues, brimming with verses, builder of churches and all that good stuff.

They forgot their flocks. They forgot to rebuke. They neglected the closet.

To be with their brother.

I do not know what the brother sacrificed. But I know that his clerical brothers sacrificed.

And when he won?

He responded in kind.

They had lunches with them in the big house. Prophets were always welcome. Money was pouring into churches. Brothers were feted by the state.

Things went on very well as brothers swam in camaraderie

But as happened with our story, God was not pleased.

He therefore sent an evil spirit between the brothers for the treachery they had practiced and the erstwhile blood brotherhood was shaken to its roots.

They therefore started scheming one against the other.

I have friends on both sides of that divide and can confidently tell you that things are thick

Each side is obstinately right even as it sees the brother’s side absolutely wrong.

Even the common enemy they had has also been divided to support one or the other brother.

I do not want to go into politics.

I am just sharing a parallel as I see it in the Bible and trying to relate it to the state of our nation.

I could be wrong. I pray that I am wrong.

But I fear I could be right.

And if I am right, we have a very rough ride ahead because a feud between brothers is bloody, especially one that is the product of God’s displeasure.

What do we pray?

That God will protect the grass as the bulls are fighting, especially because the same grass had been incorporated into that brotherhood.

But the grass is also not innocent.

Believers opposed to him had one reason.

He is an imposter. He is not a brother.

But like Shechem where the brothers sanitised his illegitimacy, brothers blocked their eyes to an alternative argument because he is our brother, especially because he was running against a wizard.

We trashed issues and argued on non issues, since brotherhood and performance cannot be weighed using one yardstick. Meaning that we completely forgot why we have elections in the first place.

But worse is that we forgot Christ’s standard for gauging brotherhood, fruit.

That is even worse because he started that brother act two decades into his political life.

We forgot to ask about the blank two decades and beyond. We forgot to look at what fruit he had been bearing even after that brother act commenced.

All of us are therefore under God’s judgment.

No wonder the rains have aborted. No wonder the weather is chaotic.

For once appearances are deceptive as you will be running from a shower of rain that never comes.

Amos 4 describes it.

I recently experienced verse 7.

We were at a neighbouring town when the heavens opened and there was such a downpour that even vehicles had to stop moving.

After it stopped, we left, only to go two kilometres or so and find it dry. Then another three kilometres or so and find it had rained. A kilometre farther and it was completely dry.

But as we know God does not judge as an end. He judges to bring us to repentance

That is what will temper His judgment with mercy. That is what will bring discipline instead of punishment.

But if we refuse to repent?

I do not want to even imagine that.

But I believe the judgment of Abimelech and Shechem has been determined.

It is the sheep (what I have called grass) that I am concerned about in this post.

Will we repent?

But judgment is coming, and soon. We may already be in it.

And we will need a country after the judgment has run its course.

Will we pray?