Episode 74 – The Syncretists
Sin-Filled Nation Part 4
Judges 8:28 – 10:5
Welcome Back! We are at the halfway point of our 7-part series titled Sin-Filled Nation, where we have been looking at the Book of Judges. And while we are specifically looking at the Israelites and their apostasy, there is much we can learn today from this sometimes pretty twisted book! This week we take a look at The Syncretists.
You may have never heard of Bill Johnson, but chances are you have heard of Bethel Music. This groups comes out of Bethel Church in Redding, CA, where Bill Johnson is the lead Pastor. Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor. Growing up, he wanted to be a professional baseball player. According to his biographer, and I’m going to quote here, “God had different plans and used an evangelist named Mario Murillo to get Bill’s attention. Murillo was a man whose ministry was born in the drug-obsessed, occult-saturated atmosphere in the epicenter of the violent student revolution in Berkeley, California. Through Murillo's persuasive gospel messages about absolute abandonment to Christ mixed with raw healing, the Holy Spirit conquered Bill's heart. Today, he's a fifth-generation pastor on his dad's side and a fourth-generation pastor on his mom's side.”[1] End quote
That sounds like a solid start to a career in pastoring. But that is not how things have turned out. Bill Johnson and Bethel Church have gone off the rails big-time theologically. While he will still claim Jesus Christ as Savior, His “Word of Faith” ministry has very little connection to Bible-based Christianity. Besides preaching the prosperity gospel, he spends more time spouting his own ideas, visions, and “downloads” he claims he gets from God, than he does quoting Scripture. Bethel Church is a mega church and Bill Johnson has influenced millions of people throughout the world with his false teaching.[2]
Bill Johnson is a heretic, for sure, but he is also a syncretist. If you remember, we defined syncretism as the mixing two belief systems or religions. For example, orthodoxy and paganism. When the Bible talks about the sin of idol worship amongst the Israelites, it is referring to syncretism. The Israelites believed in Yahweh, but they also believed in the pagan gods, and practiced pagan rituals. This might sound strange (and maybe even a little crazy) to us, but before we judge, know that syncretism is rampant among Christians today.
It is! Inter-faith marriages and inter-faith ceremonies are two examples, but there are other ways Christians can be syncretists. There are many Bible believing Christians that profess their allegiance to Jesus and faith in God, while they carry “good luck” charms or look for “signs” that speak to them. They go to “spiritual” websites to get a word for their life. or gullibly accept false, and sometimes dangerous, teaching without verifying it against the Word of God. Many don’t even realize they’re doing it. How many Christians do we know that go to yoga classes – and not just the exercise yoga classes, but ones steeped in Eastern Mysticism. It’s such a problem, we did a whole podcast episode on it during our Real Truth about Real Stuff series.
That’s right. So back to the Israelites. The end of chapter 8 and all of chapter 9 are a little different from the normal cycle of Judges we have seen. God doesn’t set an outside enemy against the Israelites because of their syncretism. He doesn’t need to. This time, the enemy (enemies) come from within. He also doesn’t appoint a judge to deliver Israel this time, but instead raises up a prophet to give them a warning. This narrative, like the story of Bill Johnson, is a good reminder to us that sometimes the biggest threat is from within the church.
In the last episode, we talked about Gideon. Judges 8:30-32 tells of Gideon’s death. It says, Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.Okay, let’s get some perspective here. Gideon had many wives – so many they gave him 70 sons, and probably lots of daughters, too. In ancient times, when they practiced polygamy, a wife meant a woman of noble birth. A concubine on the other hand, was a woman who wasn’t of noble birth. Gideon had at least one of them, too, and this concubine gave him a son whom he names Abimelech. Understand that the sons of a concubine do not have the same standing as the son of a wife. That’s important for this narrative.
The name “Abimelech” means “my father is the king.” It is interesting that when the Israelites wanted to make Gideon a king, he refused, saying, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” Noble words, However, look at how he lived the rest of his life. He takes many wives and concubines. Has a slew of kids. Obviously, the generosity of his countrymen (he requested that they all give him the earrings from the plunder they had taken from the Midianites) had allowed him to live in luxury and comfort for the rest of his life. Must have been a lot of earring to support all those wives, concubines, and kids! So out of the 70 sons whose mothers were of noble birth, Gideon names the one who isn’t a name that means, “My father is the king.” We don’t know why Abimelech received this prestigious name out of all of Gideon’s sons. As the son of a concubine, he wouldn’t have even been in line to inherit anything.
It’s ironic that Gideon said neither he nor his son would rule over Israel, yet through his name, Gideon sets Abimelech up to do just that. Chris, before we get into Abimelech’s story, I think we need to pause and not something here. Gideon and some others like him in the Bible, like David, and Solomon all saw having many wives and concubines as a sign of power. 1Chronicles 3 lists all of David’s wives and children. It lists some of King Solomon’s, but he had 700 wives (not to mention 300 concubines), so there wasn’t space to list them all! These guys thought it was their due to have a large harem, because that is what the culture dictated. God, though, says quite the opposite in Deuteronomy 17:17 - 19. In talking about the Law governing kings, God says, “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them,
And while having many wives and concubines isn’t syncretism, it is sin. David, Solomon, and Gideon are considered heros in the Bible – and for sure God did reat things through them – but they were still sinful people. They were more concerned with how they looked to the world, than how they looked to God. They were not just in the world, in the case of having many wives and concubines, they were of the world. This is why we don’t ever put anyone from the Bible, except Jesus, on a pedestal. The pedestals are all made of clay.
You know, its easy to see blatant pagan practices. Every April, the festival of Songkran is celebrated in cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles and Homestead, FL. This is a three-day pagan New Year’s celebration. “Songkran” means astrological passage, meaning transformation or change. This is a Buddhist / Hindu harvest festival that started in India but has become global. Food is offered to Buddhist monks as a way to pay reverence and tribute to ancestors. Water is poured over Buddha statues to allow purification and the washing away of one’s sins and bad luck. In the U.S., you’ll see young people celebrating by dousing each other with water guns as a symbol of being purified. The rules of this three-day celebration are: work as little as possible, avoid spending money, don’t hurt other people or animals, and don’t tell lies.[3] If any of us were to stumble into this celebration, surely, we would feel very uneasy and want to get away as quickly as possible.
Yeah, things like Songkran are blatantly anti-Christian. But the problem with syncretism is that it sometimes creeps in without us knowing it. Now, there is nothing wrong with secular holidays. We celebrate plenty of these holidays: Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Presidents’ Day, Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day. There’s no spiritual expectations of those days. In fact, sometimes we will tack on spiritual meaning to them by thanking God for bringing love into our lives, for men and women who lay down their lives for others, or for our fathers and mothers. There is nothing wrong with that. The problem arises when secular or pagan rituals are aligned with, or replace, godly things. Christmas and Easter can be examples of this. Syncretism is when we combine the secular / pagan with the spiritual. Telling children that Santa knows and sees all is heresy. Putting up a picture of the Easter Bunny with a basket of eggs at the foot of the cross is heresy. What are we telling our children about the reason we celebrate Christmas and Easter? In our hearts, what are we celebrating on these days? Are the secular things of Christmas and Easter taking over as the actual meaning of these days?
Hallmark has been huge in the syncretizing Christmas. I’m sure we are going to get flack for this, but their Christmas movies, while maybe making you “feel warm and cozy” are actually very anti-Christian. The plots sometimes insert Santa Claus as God – able to perform miracles and knowing all. Their main theme of the “magic” of Christmas is never about the birth of Christ. Instead, it’s about finding that perfect mate, getting that perfect job, or bringing families together. The reason we are picking on Hallmark’s Christmas movies and not their regular ones is that there’s no spiritual expectations with the other ones, but there should definitely be in a movie about Christmas!
The goal of all of this is not for us to feel guilty. The goal is to be aware of syncretism all around us, and put us on our guard not to fall into it. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge! And the truth is, syncretism is more dangerous to our walk with God than blatant paganism will ever be because it seeps in without us being aware. Revelation 22:18 – 19 gives us a warning, “ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
Okay, one last thought and then we promise to get on with the story of Abimelech. While Gideon, David, and Solomon did exterior things to show their importance and their due as kings and rulers. However, the One true King, Jesus, never did anything like this, even though it was completely His due! These other guys elevated themselves; Jesus humbled Himself. These guys wanted everyone to be see that they were powerful; Jesus only concerned Himself with what God saw. As Mark 10:45 says, “ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” This is one of the main reasons many of the Jews failed to see Jesus as their King. He was unlike any king they had ever known or heard about.
Okay, back to the Book of Judges and Abimelech. Gideon lived out the rest of his life, and then died in peace. But things were definitely not copesetic in The Promised Land. As Judges 8:33 tells us, “As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.” Gideon’s “syncretistic” life was not a good example for the Israelites, but perhaps his faith in God did have some impact on them while he was alive and judged over them. Once he died though, the restraints were gone. They headed right back into to paganism. Baal-Berithmeans "god of the Covenant." Baal Berith was a pagan god the Canaanites worshipped most likely for fertility. Fertility for their wives, their livestock, and their crops. The Israelites worshipped Baal Berith as part of a covenant they entered into with the Canaanites.[4]
The Israelites weren’t the only one who Gideon set a bad example for. Remember, Gideon had 70 sons who would have all been ahead of Abimelech as the heir. But what does Abimilech do? Judges 9:1-2 tells us, “Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family, “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.” Basically, Abimilech goes to his mother’s family in Shecham, which was a city from the tribe of Manasseh, and says, instead of having Gideon’s 70 legitmate sons over you, help me plan a coup, and you’ll have your own flesh and blood in charge. Up until now, God appointed those who led Israel. Here we see Abimelech appointing himself. And this probably won’t come as a huge shock, but he didn’t have any interest in delivering the people of Israel and leading them back to God. He only wanted to rule over them.
Abimelech cheated to gain power over the people and enlisted a bunch of corrupt relatives to help him do it. He convinces his uncles on his mother's side to support him and help him become king over his brothers. So here, for the first time, we see a judge inserting himself as leader. To make matters even worse, Abimilech uses money from pagan temple to hire thugs to bring his kingship to fruition! While God sometimes uses pagan / secular things for His purpose, we should never do it. As theologian Adam Clarke said, "A work begun under the name and influence of the devil is not likely to end to the glory of God, or to the welfare of man."[5] So how does Abimelech move up to lead over 70 brothers ahead of him? Judges 9: 4 – 5 tells us how he did it. “And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. And he went to his father's house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone.” So the thugs Abilelech hired kill his brothers and his relatives crown him king. Ironcially, the tree where Abimelech's coronation took place is the same tree where Joshua had solemnly placed a copy of the law of God. This was a sacred spot where Joshua made a covenant with the Lord on the people’s behalf. The law was right there, but Israel refused to read or heed it.
While Abimilech set out to kill all 70 of his brothers, he didn’t get them all. We are told that the youngest, Jotham, got away and hid himself. God had plans for Jotham. Jotham stands up and tells the people a parable. He says, “The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
By telling this parable, Jotham is trying to show the people of Shechem how ludicrous it is to pick Abimelech as their king. In this parable, the trees who go out to anoint a king are the people of Shecham. They first ask the worthy trees (the olive, the fig, and the vine). But the worthy trees didn't want to be king. People depended on them for sustenance and for their economy. They knew what their purpose was and were content to stick with doing what they were meant to do. But the unworthy thorn bush agrees to be king. A thorn bush is not good for anything. They only grow about one to two feet high, and well, just produce thorns. So the thorn bush’s call to the tall trees to take refuge in it’s shade would have been obviously ridiculous to Jotham’s listeners. He was making a point and illustrating that the bush had a much higher view of itself than it should have had. To further the point, the thorn bush even warns that he will destroy any that disagree with him. Guess who is Abimelech in the parable?
David Guzik says this, “One test of the character of a man is to see how he treats those who disagree with him. If his only desire is to destroy those who disagree, then he is much like the bramble - plenty of good points, but no real substance for good.” [6] There are tons of verses in Scripture thatshow the danger of anger and how God’s people should handle it: James 1:19 - 20, for example, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” And Proverbs 14:15 – 17, “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless. A man of quick temper acts foolishly,
and a man of evil devices is hated.”
Jotham tells the men of Shechem if they have treated Gideon’s family honorable, and fairly crowned Abimelech king, then they would find blessing. But if they haven’t (and obviously they haven’t) then he warns them that their recklessness and unwise choice will come back and burn them. There are always spiritual and natural consequences to our sin. Here we see Jotham warning the people of just that. The spiritual consequences will be that their sin will be their own undoing. The natural consequences will be that they have made a loose cannon like Abimelech their king, and he will be just as harsh with them as he was with his own family. (And he killed them!)
And this proves to be the case. As God sometimes does, He defeats the enemies of His people by having them turn on each other and destroy each other. We saw this with the defeat of the whore Babylon when we looked at Revelation, and we saw it in the last episode with Gideon and the Midianites. And here with Abimelech, we see it again. It doesn’t take much to get the wicked to turn on each other. Afterall, they are wicked and that is their nature – they don’t trust anyone else, and they are always looking out for their own interests, even at the expense of others. Why is that? Because their hearts have not been regenerated and they do not have the restraining hand of The Holy Spirit on them. They are left totally to their own sinfulness. And sometimes God uses that sinfulness for His purposes. After 3 years of Abimelech ruling, we are told in Judges 9:23, “And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.”
So the people of Shecham, the very people who put Abimelech on the throne, decide its now in their best interest to get rid of Abimelech. Yes, God intervened and sent an evil spirit to prompt their actions. And we may think this seems unfair of God, but God can deal with people anyway He chooses. He is the Almighty Creator, and we are made from dirt! And He’s not forcing anyone to sin here. He doesn’t have to. The people of Shecham jump at the chance to get rid of Abimelech. The same guys who helped Abimelech carry out the murders of his brothers to make him king, are now defying him and trying to hurt him financially because that is what’s in their best interest now.
Chris, I want to note something here. There are Christians who are dualists. This means they believe that Satan is responsible for evil and God is responsible for good, and never do the two intersect. While it is true that there is nothing good in Satan, it is not true that God is not sovereign over evil. God is never responsible for evil, but He uses it for His purpose. This narrative is a perfect example of this. God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the people of Shechem. He did this to punish both Abimelech and Shechem, and also to fulfill His will. There are some important truths we need to see at word here. First, God is completely sovereign over Satan and evil – they can do nothing without His say so. Second, God will sometimes use sin and evil to further His purpose. Third, as a rule, God does not have to make people sin and do evil. Leaving them to their own devices is usually all that is needed.
That’s exactly right. And we should remind everyone that while God’s redeemed people can be messed with by Satan and evil spirits, they cannot be possessed by them. Okay, let’s finish up with Abimelech. So the people of Shechem look to a new leader. A guy named Gaal who dissed Abimelech and said he could defeat him and he would be a much better leader to the people. They were so convinced that Gaal could protect them from Abimelech, that they started throwing drunken parties and openly cursing Abimelech. But, they are in for a rude awakening. Judges 9:32 - 33 tells us that the city leader named, Zebul, overheard the planned coup and tells Abimelech, “Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.”
So with the help of Zebul, Abimelech defeats Gaal and, after some more fighting and killing, he has Shechem under his control again. But that is not enough for him. He wants blood. This is another common trait of the wicked. They don’t just want revenge on what they perceive is a wrong done to them, they want the offending party to pay, and pay dearly. They want to destroy those who oppose them. So first, Abimelech kills all of the people who were in the city, and then He sows the ground with salt. This city he destroys is where Abraham had worshipped, and where Joshua and all his people presented themselves to God. It was also the city allotted to the Priests from the land of the tribe of Ephraim as a sanctuary city. Now, thanks to Abimelech, it is a wasteland. The salt would make it so that nothing could grow there. Abimelech is a man that came to power through violence. Now he has turned that violence towards the people who once supported him.
Another trait we see in the wicked. The Shechemites try to take refuge in the temple of their god, Baal. And here we see God’s Words coming to pass. Jotham, the youngest brother who had escaped being killed, prophesied about this very event. He said in Judges 9:20, “ But if not, (meaning if you didn’t fairly make Abimelech king,) let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” And what happens? Judges 9:48 tells us, “ And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
And it doesn’t stop there. After his first tower massacre, he is ready for another. Abimelech goes to Thebez to repeat the act. This time, though, a woman drops a millstone on his head from out the window. A millstone would have been about 12 to 14 inches long, weighing 5 lbs. or more. Abimelech knows he’s about to die, so what does he do? “He called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.”
Abimelech considered it more honorable to be killed by his own armor bearer, then to be killed by a woman. Big difference it made - he was still dead afterward! He shows his sin of pride even to his death. God had warned the men of Shechem through Jotham’s prophecy. They rejected the Lord’s Word and brought themselves to ruin.
And then the book of Judges moves on in chapter 10. There are 2 judges, Tola and Jair who just get a very brief mention. The lack of detail of Tola and Jair’s reign could be because their stories are similar to the stories of one of the other judges that has already been recounted in detail. Matthew Henry has a different take, though. He says this about Tola and Jair, “Quiet and peaceable reigns, though the best to live in, yield least variety of matter to be spoken of. Such were the days of Tola and Jair. They were humble, active, and useful men, rulers appointed of God.”[7]
I want to end with pointing out the incredible blessing we have in Scripture.
We are privileged to information the people involved in the events of the Bible didn’t have. While Gideon’s sons were being killed, or when things went so bad between Abimelech and the people of Shechem that Abimelech began killing and burning them alive, some people probably wondered what God was doing? Don’t we so often hear people today asking, “Where was God when this happened, or Why is God doing this?” Through narratives like this one, we can be assured that God is always present and active. Throughout the narrative we looked at today, He was at work. He was judging those who were not His people, and refining those who were. Obviously, Abimelech and the people of Shechem couldn’t see the evil spirit God sent and had no idea what God was doing behind the scenes. Neither do we have any idea what God is doing behind the scenes right now as we speak. We should never presume to know the mind of God. God may or may not be causing things to happen to people or places as a means of judgement, as a test for His people, or as a way to refine His people. However, it is not for us to make that distinction. Through the life of Abimelech, we can see that God sometimes puts wicked people in charge of His people. We have seen that throughout history. But, take heart friends. The very nature of the wicked will become their down fall. And most important, God is sovereign over it all, and uses it all for His purpose and His glory.
Perhaps through experiencing what happened in Judges 9, some of the Israelites’ faith was refined, and they came back to faith in God alone. Maybe that’s why Tola and Jair’s reigns were uneventful! The important point to get is that for those who have been called be God and are trusting in Jesus, God is no longer judging us. And while He may send trials in our lives, put us under harsh, corrupt leaders, or even give us over to our sin so that we fall on our face, He is not doing it out of judgement, but out of love. He is refining our faith and our spiritual maturation. And while it may not always be pleasant, we can take heart in that He is sovereign over it all!
Thanks for listening!
[1]LeClaire, Jennifer. “The Truth About Bethel’s Bill Johnson.” Charisma News | Breaking News. Spiritual Perspective. Accessed December 31, 2018. https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/watchman-on-the-wall/59517-bill-johnson-burning-to-see-the-nations-on-fire-for-jesus.
[2] http://www.piratechristian.com/messedupchurch/2016/1/the-bill-johnson-cornucopia-of-false-teaching-bible-twisting-and-general-absurdity, accessed December 31, 2018
[3] Deioma, Kayte. "Where and How to Celebrate Thai New Year in LA." TripSavvy. November 6, 2018. Accessed January 03, 2019. https://www.tripsavvy.com/songkran-festival-los-angeles-4157756.
[4] "Easton's Bible Dictionary." Baal Berith. Accessed January 03, 2019. https://biblehub.com/topical/b/baal-berith.htm.
[5] Clarke, Adam. "Judges 9:4 - They Gave Him Seventy... - Verse-by-Verse Commentary." StudyLight.org. Accessed January 03, 2019. https://www.studylight.org/commentary/judges/9-4.html.
[6] Guzik, David. "Study Guide for Judges 9 by David Guzik." Blue Letter Bible. Accessed January 04, 2019. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Jdg/Jdg-9.cfm?a=220007.
[7] Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Judges 10 by Matthew Henry." Blue Letter Bible. Accessed January 04, 2019. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Jdg/Jdg_010.cfm?a=221002.