Hostile Takeover
Some years ago, my grandfather on my mom’s side did some genealogical work on his family. After spending 20 years digging through painstaking print and microfiche records and only getting so far, he was able – thanks to the modern miracle of the internet – to trace family history back to Wales. Now, I take this with a grain of salt, not because my grandfather is dishonest or has delusions of grandeur, but because records beyond the 19th century are sketchy at best.
The most interesting thing about his research, as far as we can believe it, is that our family is apparently descended from Welsh royalty. Two fascinating names in the family tree emerge: one is Arthwys ap Meurig, the man who is believed to be the historical basis for the legend of King Arthur, while the other is a king named Coel ap Meurig I, otherwise known as “Old King Cole.” As a result, I’ve joked about moving to Wales to reestablish myself as the ruler of my kingdom.
Now, Judges 9 and the first five verses of Judges 10 are kind of strange – like some really violent soap opera. There’s a lot going on and a large cast of characters, and God doesn’t even get a mention! But today we’re going to dwell on one aspect of this meandering tale: Abimelek’s attempt at a hostile takeover of the judgeship of Israel.
As we start chapter 9, the Gideon (aka Jerub-Baal) has just died, and – SURPRISE! – the Israelites have turned their back on God. In the vacuum of power, apparently Gideon’s seventy sons are trying to rule the nation. Now, Abimelek is an illegitimate son and has no clear right to power – unlike, say, King Chris I of Wales. But he makes a play for power anyway, killing all but one of his remaining brothers. The brother who gets away runs to his family’s hometown and tells a weird parable about trees arguing over who should rule the forest. Finally, Abimelek arrives, and it’s not pretty. Some guy named Gaal gets mad, Abimelek sets fire to a tower, killing a thousand, and then Abimelek winds up getting a millstone dropped on his head for all his trouble.
Needless to say, chapter 9 ends on a down note:
56Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness.
Still with me here? All this craziness comes about because of two things: Israel’s neglect of God and Abimelek’s lust for power. Well, guess what? I see a small-scale version of this playing out far too often in my own life. Granted, my efforts at trying to run the show don’t result in bizarre olive tree parables, towering inferno massacres, and a millstone crashing down on my skull, but when I take over it’s not that pretty regardless.
You see, old King Chris knows that God is in control and has his best interests at heart, but His Royal Highness often muscles God out and decides to run his own show. When that happens, I find myself missing out on countless blessings, not to mention trying to clean up the messes that result. On second thought, maybe Wales is better off without me on the throne…
My takeaway is this: I want to take my hands off the reins of power in my life and let God have control. Things go much more smoothly when I let the real King rule over me.
In what areas of your life do you attempt a “hostile takeover”? How can you do better at allowing God to have control?
Photo by Hannah Wright on Unsplash