The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Judges: Accepting the Challenge to Confront the Enemy by Warren W. Wiersbe

Author:Warren W. Wiersbe [Wiersbe, Warren W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Bible Study, Judges, Israel
Publisher: David C. Cook
Published: 2014-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

Lesson 5

Kingdom Come

(JUDGES 9—12)

Before you begin …

• Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal truth and wisdom as you go through this lesson.

• Read Judges 9—12. This lesson references chapters 7 and 8 in Be Available. It will be helpful for you to have your Bible and a copy of the commentary available as you work through this lesson.

Getting Started

From the Commentary

Abimelech was the son of Gideon by a slave woman who lived with her father’s family in Shechem (8:30–31; 9:18). His name means “my father is a king.” Although Gideon had certainly lived like a king, he had still refused to establish a dynasty in Israel, but Abimelech felt that his father had made a mistake. After his father’s death, Abimelech decided that he should be king; thus he moved from Ophrah to Shechem, where he started his campaign. In what he did, Abimelech broke several of God’s laws and as a result brought destruction to himself and trouble to the people.

“You shall not covet” is the last of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:17 NKJV), but breaking it is the first step toward breaking the other nine. Of itself ambition isn’t an evil thing, provided it’s mixed with genuine humility and is controlled by the will of God. If it’s God’s wind that lifts you and you’re soaring on wings that He’s given you, then fly as high as He takes you. But if you manufacture both the wind and the wings, you’re heading for a terrible fall.

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar,” said Helen Keller; and her counsel is good, so long as the impulse to soar comes from the Lord. Selfish ambition destroys. “I will ascend into heaven!” turned an angel into the Devil (Isa. 14:13 NKJV), and “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built” turned a king into an animal (Dan. 4:28–37 NKJV). If we exalt ourselves, God has many ways of bringing us down (Matt. 23:12).

“You shall have no other gods before Me” and “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” are the first and second of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:3–4 NKJV), and Abimelech broke them both. It’s obvious that he was his own god and that he had no interest in God’s will for the nation. His accepting money from the Baal worshippers to finance his crusade was a public announcement that he had renounced the God of Israel and was on the side of Baal.

—Be Available, pages 97–99

1. Review Judges 9:1–5. What were Abimelech’s gods? How did he bow down to might and power? What was his evil plot against his half brothers? What does this reveal about his heart? His greed?

2. Choose one verse or phrase from Judges 9—12 that stands out to you. This could be something you’re intrigued by, something that makes you uncomfortable, something that puzzles you, something that resonates with you, or just something you want to examine further. Write that here.

Going Deeper

From the Commentary

The sixth commandment, “You shall not murder” (Ex.

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