Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

June 30, 2024

Scripture Reading: Judges 8:34: “And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, Who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.”

God told Gideon to send home 22,000 men from his army of 32,000 (Judges 7:1-3). And if reducing Gideon's army by two-thirds was not enough, our King then reduced the army further. He took it down to 300 men. From 32,000 to 300!  That is more than a 99% decrease!

The rest of Judges, chapter seven, details how Gideon’s army defeated the Midianites. First, Gideon received confirmation that Israel would be victorious. Then, his 300 soldiers went up against Midian with torches and empty jars, not with ordinary weapons. They broke the jars and held aloft the torches when Gideon blew the trumpet, creating such a confusion that the Midianites fought against one another. God delivered Midian into the hands of Israel, yet Israel won not because of its superior battle prowess but because the LORD made the Midianites use their swords against their own comrades—they killed themselves. Salvation of Israel from its enemies is of the LORD alone.

But what happened after God delivered Israel from the Midianites?

Judges 8:28: “Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.”

After Midian’s defeat by the God of Israel, there were40 years of peace for God’s covenant people. Then what happened?

Judges 8:33: “And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.”

As soon as Gideon died, the children of Israel once again succumbed to Baal as their god. What occurred shortly after Gideon’s death was one of the worst things that ever happened to any nation.

It was more unusual and stranger than what occurred during King David’s reign several hundred years later. David had eight named wives in the Bible with an unknown number of concubines. The Bible names nineteen sons, along with the son who died in infancy, and one daughter. David had at least twenty-one children from his wives, plus an unknown number from his many concubines. King David was usurped from his throne by one of his own sons.

But Gideon had more than three times the number of children than David had. Gideon had seventy sons from his wives and an unknown number from his concubines.

Judges 8:30: “And Gideon had threescore and ten sons [70] of his body begotten: for he had many wives.”

Gideon was of the tribe of Manasseh and had led Israel to victory despite humanly impossible odds. After the victory, he became wealthy and had several wives and concubines. One of these concubines became the mother of Abimelech.

After the death of Gideon (a.k.a. Jerubbaal), Abimelech conspires to seize the kingdom from his father’s seventy sons. He went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and spoke and asked them if they preferred to have all the sons of Gideon, i.e. seventy, to rule them or just one man, himself, to rule them.

In my opinion, Abimelech urged his relatives to follow him and not Gideon’s seventy sons, because he was their bone and their flesh. There are other books, not the Bible, that say that Abimelech’s mother was a Canaanite slave/concubine who died when she was giving him birth.She died when she was only sixteen-years old.

Abimelech sought to be the main judge over Israel from the city of Shechem by eliminating all his opposition—he slaughtered sixty-nine of his seventy half-brothers. What?! He didn’t kill different opponents from different families, or even different nations, but his half-brothers! What a slaughter! And it occurred within a few hours.

He paid some of his mother’s relatives’ silver to help him in the massacre of his father’s sons. All sixty-nine of the murders took place on one stone. It was brutal! And we think that what is happening in America’s politics is bad!

The last surviving son of Gideon, Jotham, hid himself from the murderer. Abimelech killed almost as great a percent of his half-brothers, as the LORD God did when he reduced the Israel army under his father. He murdered 98.6% of them!

It happened again after Israel was split into two different separate kingdoms. The northern kingdom of Israel had developed into deep spiritual rot after about eighty years. The idolatry to which King Ahab and Queen Jezebel gave the state had corrupted almost the entire nation. The only solution was for King Ahab’s family and the priests of Baal to be wiped out completely.

Having killed Ahab’s son, King Joram (Jehoram) of Israel, Jehu moved to eliminate the rest of Ahab’s sons who were rivals for the throne.Jehu convinced the leaders in Samaria, Israel’s capital, to decapitate Ahab’s remaining seventy sons and then put each head in a basket. Then he killed all those outside of Ahab’s family who supported the dynasty. Then he killed the priests of Baal and destroyed the temple and pillar of Baar, displacing the foreign god from Israel.

In addition, he put to death the forty-two relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah who were on their way to visit the king at Jezreel. But the LORD God never told Jehuto destroy the family and friends of Judah’s king. Jehu took things too far, showing that he was not motivated by a desire to accomplish God’s will with respect to Ahab’s descendants. The prophet Hosea declared that Jehu’s house would eventually fall as a punishment for this bloodshed at Jezreel.

WHAT HAPPENED TO ABIMELECH?

After leading Israel for three years, a conspiracy arose against Abimelech. Civil war broke out, leading to a battle at a town called Thebez. Abimelech cornered the leaders of the city in a tower and came near it with the intention of burning the tower with fire.

But an unnamed woman in the tower dropped a part of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and cracked his skull. Hurriedly Abimelech called to his amor-bearer to kill him, so that it couldn’t be said that a woman killed him. So, his servant killed him shortly before his imminent death from the thrown stone. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they quickly retreated home. Abimelech murdered all his competition on one stone and in return in he was killed by one stone—i.e., a millstone.

Abimelech offers a negative example of how a leader is to influence others. He led by:

• Force,
• Murdering his opposition, and
• Proceeding in such a manner that even his subjects sought to overtake him.

In contrast to the positive leadership of his father, Abimelech focused on his own personal gain, hurting many in the process.

Interestingly, a reference to Abimelech’s death would be made many years later during the reign of King David. When Uriah was put on the front line of battle, the rest of the troops would be retreated, so Uriah was doomed to die, Joab sent David a message that say,

“Who killed Abimelek[Abimelech] son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez?” (2 Samuel 11:21a).

This reference held both a practical and spiritual message for David. Practically speaking, the reference noted that Abimelech served as an example of not getting too close to a wall during a battle. Spiritually, the reference pointed out the flaw of leading for one’s own gain rather than out of service to God.

But before Abimelech’s death, there was a curse that was said by his lone surviving half-brother, Jotham:

Judges 9:20: “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.”

The curse of Jotham was twofold in its application:

• Let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the men of Shechem and Beth-millo, and
• Let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.

Judges 9:57: “And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.”

After three years, there was big trouble once again in the kingdom.

Judges 9:23: "Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem: and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.”

God is the conductor; the master director; He is directing the course of history and all the minute details associated with all events. He fulfilled the curse of Jotham. Who says that He is not Sovereign?

WHAT HAPPENED TWO HUNDRED YEARS LATER?

During this period, the Israelites had requested that the LORD God remove Himself from the throne of Israel. They wanted to have a king, a man, like the other nations. So, they had Kings Saul,David and Solomon, instead of their own LORD God as king.

David had one of his sons usurp the throne for a short time, and there was another contender for the throne instead of Solomon, one of his brothers. But both were short-lived.

After King Solomon dies, the Israelites go to Shechem to make Rehoboam king, and send for Jeroboam out of Egypt, who with the heads of the tribes, requests relief from the heavy burdens laid on them by Solomon. There are three days of consideration to be given, and then Rehoboam is to give his answer to Jeroboam.

Rehoboam rejects the counsel of the elders, who served his father,and follows that of the young men, and returns the people a provoking answer. Consequently, the people, therefore:

• Renounce the family of David,
• Stone to death Adoram, who came to retrieve their taxes, and
• Made Jeroboam king; none cleaving to Rehoboam but the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

Rehoboam comes to Jerusalem and assembles all the fighting men of Judah and Benjamin and finds the number to be one hundred and eighty thousand; and with these he purposes to reduce the men of Israel to his allegiance but is forbidden by the Prophet Shemaiah.

What just happened? The nation of Israel just split into two separate kingdoms. It would be like the United States splitting into two nations: one with 41 states and one with nine states. And it was a bloodless coup!

Jeroboam builds Shechem on Mount Ephraim and Penuel.And lest the people should be drawn away from their allegiance to him by going up to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple of God, he makes two golden calves, and sets them up; one in Dan, the other in Bethel, and the people worship them.He makes priests of the lowest of the people and establishes the fifteenth day of the eighth month as a feast to his new gods; makes offerings and burns incense to them.

Now, which side would you have taken? Would you have settled with the ten tribes or with the two Southern tribes?

When Israel’s first king died, David was crowned king over just the tribe of Judah. Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, became king of the other tribes and reigned for two years. In the second year of his reign, Ishbosheth was assassinated,and David was crowned king over all the tribes of Israel. And when David died, one of his sons, Adonijah, tried to claim the throne.But Solomon put down his claim and eventually became king.And when Solomon died, we had another disagreement on who would be king.

1 Kings 12:1-3:

1) “And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

2) And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)

3) That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,

Rehoboam, son of Solomon, went to Shechem to be made king. Shechem was in the middle of the northern part of the kingdom, and was where:

• Abraham built his first altar,
• Isaac and Jacob both lived,
• Joseph was buried, and
• Jacob’s well was located.

It was a national sanctuary. But there was trouble brewing.

1 Kings 12:4-6:

4) “Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us lighter, and we will serve thee.

5) And he [Rehoboam] said unto them[Jeroboam and his followers], Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.

6) And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived,and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?”

Jeroboam was the leader of most of Israel. They felt that they had been oppressed and burden by Solomon and wanted some relief. They asked if Rehoboam would grant them their request. If he did. then they would agree to serve him. Rehoboam asked them for three days, after which he would give them his answer.

There was a complaint of two things:

• Excessive laborious service, and
• A heavy taxation.

Rehoboam consulted with two different groups of advisors. One was the group that his father had, and another group was one who was closer to his own age—41 years old.The older group told him to listen to the complaints of the people and lessen their burden. His own age and younger age group advised him to do the opposite and make their burdens harder. Which one do you think Rehoboam took? Why did he take the advice from this group?

1 Kings 12:15: “Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform His saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.”

When and what did the LORD say to Jeroboam by Ahijah? It occurred shortly before this incident happened.

1 Kings 11:29-32:

29) “And it came to pass at the time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijahthe Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:

30) And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:

31) And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee tenpieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:

32) (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)”

The LORD told his prophet Ahijah that Jeroboam would receive ten tribes and would rule over them. So…why would Rehoboam agree to his complaints?

There were seven reasons for this judgment on Solomon:

1) Because Solomon and his people have forsaken the LORD God of Israel,

2) They have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians,

3) They have worshipped Chemosh the god of the Moabites,

4) They have worshipped Milcom the god of the Ammonites,

5) They have not walked in the ways of the LORD God of Israel,

6) They have not done that which is right in the eyes of the LORD God of Israel,

7) They have not kept the statutes and judgments of the LORD God of Israel, as David did.

In addition, there were three adversaries that were named who would be against Solomon:

• Hadad, the Edomite
• Rezon, the Syrian, and
• Jeroboam, the Israelite.

Jeroboam is the adversary that we will delve into a little bit now. There were eight predictions that were made about him that were fulfilled:

• “Take ten pieces”of garment and I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you (1 Kings11:31).
• David’s house shall have one tribe left after the division—one tribe, Benjamin, would join with Judah (v. 32).
• I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand but will make Solomon a prince all the days of his life for David’s sake (v. 34).
• I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, Rehoboam, and will give it unto you, Jeroboam, even ten tribes (v. 35).
• Unto his son will I give one tribe, that David, My servant, might have a light always before Me in Jerusalem (v. 36).
• I will take you, Jeroboam, and you shall reign according to all your soul desires and shall be king over Israel (v. 37).
• It shall be, if you will hearken unto all that I command you, and will walk in My ways and do that which is right in my sight to keep My statutes and My commandments, as David, My servant did, that I will be with you, and build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto you (v. 38).
• I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not forever (v. 39).

Jeroboam knew this when he was awaiting the king’s response to his reasonable request for help in giving the people a break from all the servitude and taxation that his father had put on them. Do you think that Jeroboam was surprised at Rehoboam’s answer?

What if Rehoboam answered him with a big “Yes!” Would the kingdom have split in two parts? But wasn’t Jeroboam told that the kingdom would be split in two? If Rehoboam had answered “Yes”, something else would have happened. The kingdom would be split into two kingdoms: one with10 tribes and the other 2 tribes.

So, Jeroboam would rule over 10 tribes. This was a fulfillment of the prophecy given in one chapter previous. How did Jeroboam rule?

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NORTHERN KINGDOM—THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL?

1 Kings 12:26-33:

26) “And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David.

27) If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

28) Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

29) And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

30) And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

31) And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people; which were not of the sons of Levi.

32) And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

33) So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

Jeroboam was afraid that his people would go to the Temple in Jerusalem and would become attached to Rehoboam. And then they would kill him. I don’t know what he thought about God’s prediction that he would become king over the ten tribes. What would happen if he was killed?

Jeroboam’s apostasy was willful, designed, and deliberate. He replaced the Temple of God, with two calves located at a northern and southern part of his new kingdom. He made offerings on these altars and burnt incense.

He then picked priests, which were the lowest of the people, which were not the sons of Levi.And then he devised his own holiday. Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day. It was very similar to the Feast of Tabernacles that was on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.

Leviticus 23:34: “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.”

This was intended to be like the Feast of Tabernacles, which was celebrated in Jerusalem but put Jeroboam in much fear. Jeroboam feared that his people would, if they went to Jerusalem to keep the Feasts of God, begin to like Rehoboam more than he. He feared for his life.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM, THE HOUSE OF JUDAH?

What happened in the Southern kingdom? When Rehoboam had established the kingdom—he established himself and forsook the law of the LORD and all Israel with him. And it came to pass that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem because the Israelites had transgressed against the LORD (2 Chronicles 12;1, 2).

The king of Egypt came with 1200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and an innumerable army and he captured the fenced cities and came to Jerusalem. The king took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house. Shishak was about to destroy Jerusalem, when the Rehoboam and his princes humbled themselves.When the LORD God saw this,He said that He would not let the Egyptians destroy Jerusalem. But the king of Judah would be the servant of the king of Egypt.

After Rehoboam humbled himself, things went well in Judah. Rehoboam ruled from Jerusalem for 17 years and he died when he was 58 years old. And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD (2 Chronicles 12).

Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess, who was an Israelitess from the land of Ammon, which Israel came to destroy and to inhabit in the days of David. Ammonitess was only a geographical term and not a racial term in this passage.

2 Samuel 12:31: “And he[David] brought forth the people that were therein and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.”

CONCLUSION

Which kingdom would you have chosen to join? The northern kingdom which revolted due to very high taxes and illogical servitude or the southern kingdom with a ruthless king, but still had the Temple of God, that had just been completed for less than three decades, had the right priests from the right family, had the right holy days with the right time?

The northern kingdom refused to let any of its citizens go to the Temple of God located in Jerusalem, which was in the other kingdom, and instead built two different Temples in its own kingdom with calves in each one. They picked their own priests, which were the lowest of all its people.

Jeroboam, the new king, took the people indifferently as they came, and made them priests, till he had enough, without troubling himself whether they were of the family of Aaron or the house of Levi, or not. The Levites were in both kingdoms. Any priests would do well enough for such gods. But those whom he took seem to have been worthless, good-for-nothing fellows, who had neither piety nor good sense. Did most of the sons of Levi have grace enough to refuse to sanction this new priesthood and idolatrous worship?

The Levites were all over the land of Israel, in both kingdoms, as priests when the split occurred. But the Levites left their pastures and properties and moved to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had dismissed them from the priesthood of God and replaced them with his own priests to preside over the worship centers which he had installed in his kingdom.

2 Chronicles 11:13-17:

13) “And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him [Rehoboam] out of all their coasts.

14) For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD;

15) And he [Jeroboam] ordained him priests of the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

16) And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.

17) So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the ways of David and Solomon.”

So, which kingdom would you have joined? The northern kingdom never produced any good kings, instead they just got worse and worse. They immediately got a new priesthood and Temples. They never changed. They became Baal worshippers. They eventually tried to kill all the real priests and prophets, so they were hidden in caves.

The Southern kingdom had mostly bad kings, but they did have a few good kings which reset the kingdom. They did have the Temple of God, which at many times was in disrepair, but eventually was repaired. They did celebrate the right holy days at the correct times, but most of the time it was just a ritual.

What about in America? It refused to have kings like there were in Europe. They kept many of their religions that they had and eventually set new holidays, like the 25th of December and Easter Sunday. America’s Christians, in their own minds,didn’t know who they were descended from and eliminated any genetic enemy that they had.

But America’s founding fathers kept the banking system that ruined their European nations and religions. Since most of them didn’t know who their genetic enemy was, they eventually invited them in and made the antichristians welcome. Now the anti christians have become the head and the Christians are now the tail, just like the Bible said.

And have you heard what just happened to our neighbor nation to the South? They elected a new president—one who is a leftist, Communist, very liberal, pro-abortionist, feminist, woman, who is ethnically a Jewess as its president. The president’s name is Claudia Sheinbaum, who will take office in October. Mexico elected its new president after just 38 of the fellow candidates for this high office had been assassinated.

The new president, who was the mayor of Mexico City, was the first Head of the government of Mexico City who attended the city’s pride parade. Sheinbaum has aligned her beliefs and actions with the principles of gender equality and women’s rights. She promoted the international climate change agenda. Wow! Now I can see why the Mexican Catholics elected her!

Joe Biden, another Roman Catholic, is the current president of the United States. His son, Hunter, is married to a South African anti christian or Jew. Biden consistently has supported abortion and other views which his church opposes. He says about Mexico’s new president that he will be looking,

“…forward to working closely with President-elect Sheinbaum in the spirit of partnership and friendship that reflects the enduring bonds between our two countries.  I express our commitment to advancing the values and interests of both our nations to the benefit of our peoples.  I also congratulate the Mexican people for conducting a nationwide successful democratic electoral process involving races for more than 20,000 positions at the local, state, and federal levels.”

There is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is president of Ukraine. Although he did not refer often to his Jewishness during his campaign, he now is speaking publicly about his Jewish heritage.

Laurentino Cortizo who is president of Panama. He is a practicing Christian while his mother is of Jewish descent. He is not a real Christian, for he is not one of God’s sheep.

Mikhail Mishustin who is Prime Minister of Russia. He is a son of a Russian-Jewish father but does not often discuss his Jewish heritage in Russia, where anti semitism is rife. Why is there so much anti-jewishness in Russia?

Gabriel Attal, Prime Minister of France. He is of Tunisian-Jewish descent and part of his father’s family was deported during the Holocaust, but he was baptized and raised as an Orthodox Christian by his mother. He is not a real Christian, for he is not one of God’s sheep.

Donald Trump, former president and current candidate for president, has a daughter who is married into a major Jewish family and who turned to Judaism herself, and he has two sons who was married to Jews at one time. Trump declared himself as “…history’s most pro-Israel U. S. president.”

Hmmm. The Jew is coming out of the closet in many countries the world over. The globalists are taking over many of the countries openly, that they have been running in the background for many decades. The power of the antichrists is seen as they have amassed great wealth by their usury banking and now are bribing and buying off politicians the world over. The Jewish mafia is alive and well.

They are the head, and we are the tail. Will things just get worse and worse? Or will it eventually end like it did in Gideon’s and Rehoboam’s time?

One can worry about all the different and blasphemous things that are occurring…but not me. I will sleep well. The LORD God of Israel will never forsake His covenant that He made with our Fathers. He was the only one who walked between the slain animals.

For there is nothing new under the sun. May God have mercy on our souls.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel.