Forgiveness and selflessness

 DEVOTION

JUDGES

FORGIVENESS AND SELFLESSNESS

Judges 9:34-45

34 So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. 35 Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place. 36 When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!" Zebul replied, "You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men." 37 But Gaal spoke up again: "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree." 38 Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your big talk now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?' Aren't these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!" 39 So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech. 40 Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight — all the way to the entrance to the gate. 41 Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem. 42 The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. 43 So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. 44 Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down. 45 All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.

NIV

Revenge is just another word for self-centeredness. This narrative starts with Abimelech chasing Gaal from the city of Shechem because Gaal questioned his authority as king over the land, and the people of Shechem lost their confidence in Abimelech and went over to Gaal’s side. However, Abimelech would have nothing to do with that, and he drove Gaal from the land and killed many of Gaal’s army. Then, the very city where the people crowned him king, he took up a position against it and struck down its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it. We wondered about salt, so with some research we found that sowing the town with salt was to express permanent desolation and abhorrence. There were other instances in history when a man’s house in France was sown with salt after the king had him killed because the man was declared a traitor to the king. The people of Shechem became traitors to Abimelech by putting their confidence in Gaal. Abimelech was motivated by his self-importance, which caused this act of revenge against the very people who had crowned him king. He could have been corrective and told them to seek his forgiveness for losing their confidence in him and turning away to put their faith in another. However, only God gives us the chance to repent and return to putting our faith in Him. But mere men cannot forget nor forgive because they think too highly of themselves, in other words, being self-centered, because they want their way no matter what. Living in harmony means living without demanding self, but thinking about others instead. Living in harmony means constant forgiveness when we fail or fall short of expectations, although having expectations may be a result of self-centeredness. One thing we know for sure is that we can never sow a relationship with God or people with salt. If we say we want to be like Jesus, then we should take on his trait of forgiveness and selflessness.