Today’s bible study lesson comes from Judges 9:25-57. In this lesson, we will explore the truth of our actions and the consequences that come from them. The king named Abimelech receives the consequences of his self-serving decisions. Through this example, we will gain insight into how truth and consequences shape our lives today.
Do you believe in consequences of actions you take? I’m sure you do.
In school, most of us learned in science class the truths of cause and effect. Put simply, “If you do this — that happens.“, right?
This is the center point of our lesson from Judges today.
The worthless king, Abimelech found that he was about to receive a firsthand account of “cause and effect“. So, let’s read Judges 9:25-57.
Death of Abimelech and the Consequences of Actions
Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he camped against Thebez and captured it.
But there was a strong tower in the center of the city, and all the men and women with all the leaders of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up on the roof of the tower.
So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it, and approached the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire.
But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull.
Then he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, ‘A woman slew him.’” So the young man pierced him through, and he died.
When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each departed to his home.
Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers.
Also God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them. – Judges 9:50-57 NASB
The Curse of Jotham
Abimelech brought sorrow and desolation to the people, just as Jotham said in Judges 9:16-20. With no mercy, he destroyed Gaal and all those who opposed him.
As we can see, this is what happens when people turn against God’s plan.
And, in order to avoid opposition, Abimelech had already killed all but one of his 70 brothers.
Sins of the Father – Again
Abimelech was born of a concubine taken by Gideon. God did not directly punish him at the time, but his family also suffered for his mistake.
The legacy of Amimelech is the destruction of a family – and a nation. In the end, a woman killed him by throwing a farm implement (a millstone) which would have been an embarrassing way to die.
Do Our Actions have Consequences?
Yes, they do! If we go against God’s will, we might or might not be punished right away.
For instance, if we steal, we might get away with it, but over time, we will suffer the consequences of our actions, either in this life or the next.
So, no one really “gets away with it”. I personally know people whose family members were involved in criminal activity.
Who suffers?
When a criminal is incarcerated, they forfeit their freedom.
Another side of the coin is that the family suffers in a completely different way.
They experience the agony of seeing a loved one in that situation. This environment poses a threat to their safety. When trying to meet the inmate’s needs, they frequently incur financial losses – not to mention attorney’s fees, etc.
It goes on and on. Family members can take a very long time (maybe even a lifetime) to recover from one mistake.
Do you believe that every action we take has consequences? Before we make important life decisions, let’s think about their possible outcomes.
Love in Christ
– Bob
If you would like to discover more about the love and life-changing experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to read John 3:16 here.