Wednesday Bible Study: Picking through Judges, Part 6

 

As we wrap the story of Gideon, this week's watchword is the destructiveness of- compromise.  Already the seeds of it were planted in Gideon's allowing of the Ephraimites into the battle, and his reply to them when they complained about not being in it sooner.  You might not catch that this is a problem, but remember what God said when He selected the 300:

Jdg 7:2  The LORD said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'

And that's exactly what did happen- and Gideon didn't bother to disabuse the Ephraimites of the notion.  The second compromise is what happened next:

Jdg 8:22  Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian."
Jdg 8:23  Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you."

So they weren't ready to bow to God for the win, but there were willing to bow to Gideon!  Now Gideon refused the crown- to his credit- but here was that second compromise:

Jdg 8:28  So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Jdg 8:29  Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.
Jdg 8:30  Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives.
Jdg 8:31  And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.
Jdg 8:32  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.

Seventy wives, eh?  While he wasn't the king in name, he sure lived like it.  And his son Abimelech bears a name that roughly, according to Pastor Denny, translates to "My father is king".  One might say, well, what WAS due Gideon?  God clears that up for us as well, as we enter the next phase of the story:

Jdg 8:33  As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.
Jdg 8:34  And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side,
Jdg 8:35  and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel. 

 

This is what Israel owed the heirs of Gideon:  Loyalty to God, and steadfast love (elsewhere translated 'kindness') to the house of Gideon.  And even this was beyond this people, so far had they fallen.  And as a result, they would get no rescuer this time, no prophet, but only a curse.  The scene shifts to the Levitical (supposedly) city of Shechem, which in truth was the headquarters of the cult of Baal-Berith, "Baal of our covenant".  What we learn in this digging is that Shechem never kicked the Canaanites out, and much of the city had Canaanite roots.  And, we might assume, the concubine that bore Abimelech was a Canaanite as well.  Thus, Abimelech has a hatred for his Hebrew brothers, and a plan:

Jdg 9:1  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,
Jdg 9:2  "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."
Jdg 9:3  And his mother's relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother."

We are going to see as we move on, Shechem was a divided city, used to compromise, and the leaders thereof were more than willing to compromise on a half-Canaanite king.  So, as we saw last time, they gave him money to buy a mercenary force, and then...

Jdg 9:5  And he went to his father's house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
Jdg 9:6  And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

Ironic isn't it, that we meet but 3 of Gideon's 70 kids- Jether, who wasn't bold enough to kill the kings of Midian, and died the same way; Abimelech the half-breed; and Jothan, who survives to deliver the only part in this story that God takes a direct hand in.  Because, the escaping Jothan delivers a curse in the form of a parable.  The parable tells, through a story about the trees electing a king, about how Israel had sunk to the level of selecting someone wholly worthless as a king, and how they would both pay:

Jdg 9:16  "Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved--
Jdg 9:17  for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian,
Jdg 9:18  and you have risen up against my father's house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative--
Jdg 9:19  if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
Jdg 9:20  But if not, 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 of course, they had not.  They had compromised, and three years later, they soured on the lawless rule of Abimelech.  The Jews and the commentators both tell that this became an era of wandering groups of 'freebooters' (much like the 'army' Abimelech bought), and one such group decided to base in Shechem...

Jdg 9:26  And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him.
Jdg 9:27  And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech.
Jdg 9:28  And Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him?
Jdg 9:29  Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, 'Increase your army, and come out.'"

Much to unpack here.  First Gaal (as well as Zebul, the 'ruler' of Shechem) were Canaanite names.  Second, notice how easy it is to be a big man when you're liquored up- this we'll see played out next.  Third, "serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem" refers to the fact that Shechem was originally founded by a guy of the same name, and his father, and guess who they were...

Gen 33:18  And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city.
Gen 33:19  And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent.
Gen 33:20  There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel. 

 

So not only Canaanites, but Canaanites with a long, proud tradition- a tradition Israel had compromised with.  So this beer bash made it to the ear of Zebul, who tipped Abimelech off to it.  And they set an ambush for Gaal and the traitorous city, one which the hung over Gaal quickly fell into, in a penultimate act of this story's dark humor:

Jdg 9:34  So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies.
Jdg 9:35  And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush.
Jdg 9:36  And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!" And Zebul said to him, "You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men."
Jdg 9:37  Gaal spoke again and said, "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners' Oak."
Jdg 9:38  Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your mouth now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?' Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them."

By the time bleary-eyed Gaal knows what's going on, he and his men are trapped between the onrushing men of Abimelech, and the gates of the city, which Zebul closed behind him.  Gaal's men were scattered, and Gaal's fate is unknown.  But then Abimelech paid Shechem back for their treachery...

Jdg 9:45  And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.
Jdg 9:46  When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith.
Jdg 9:47  Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together.
Jdg 9:48  And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. 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."
Jdg 9:49  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 that would be they end of the story, except that only half of Jotham's curse had been fulfilled, and God does NOT compromise.  So Abimelech, with a newly-energized bully pulpit, decided to get greedy.  He attacks a town called Thebez, and when they fled to the defense tower, Abimelech thought to do the same trick he did to Shechem.  But, here's that last bit of dark humor...

Jdg 9:52  And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
Jdg 9:53  And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull.
Jdg 9:54  Then 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.

Thus coining the phrase, "his evil came upon his own head."  And the point of this final section of the Gideon story is this:  Compromising with sin is mocking God, and God is not mocked.

The Better Part week #38

 

This week's FB posts...

The Better Part, Day #195:

 

A point Michael Youseff made this morning stuck with me, and I want to approach it from the back door. I know that some of you out there might think, based on these posts, "Chris never prays for his country." Not true, although, I have had some crises of desire to lately. 

 

But here's the thing: The tests we are put through don't go away if we FLUNK them. God is trying to show us a little bit of persecution- at least, the politically-minded Christians think so- but I am not seeing a lot of humility being generated. When we pray for this nation, praying for it to be the nation we used to be, or the nation we desire, or the nation that stands back up and sets things right- that ain't gonna cut it. 

 

Pray for this to be the nation GOD wants it to be- and be willing to submit if that involves a nation wearing masks, or bearing with political opponents, or one that has to view Church on a screen. You want God's blessings? It takes a helping of obedience to His will to get there; and no law, no judge, and no President will get you there any faster.

The Better Part, Day #196:

 

2Ki 13:18 And he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them." And he struck three times and stopped.

2Ki 13:19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times." 

 

David Jeremiah taught on this verse today, and I identified at minimum 2 places where I NEVER seem to smack the arrows enough times. Let's all pray that we strike hard when Jesus puts the arrows in our hands!

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #197:

 

Luk 24:15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

Luk 24:16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

Luk 24:17 And he said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad.

Luk 24:18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

Luk 24:19 And he said to them, "What things?"....

 

 

This was the verse I opened at random at a point where I needed help from above. The lesson I got from it? Tell the story back to yourself! Sometimes you need the Good news, too- and it will help you deal with whatever's come up.

Time Machine co-ordinates VII-XI6945559647174

 

Well, one thing about doing the lead in the "volume VII way" teaches us, is we can't hit a good lead in event no matter HOW many years we do at once!  However, at least we can settle in, for a change, with a perfectly normal guest...

Bobby Vinton:  Why, thank you... I guess...

I just was reading up on you- on the Billboard charts, you were the last act to hit #1 before the Beatles, with There I've Said It Again.  But I also looked at who was the lucky last pre-Beatles #1 on Cashbox, and in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada- and you didn't claim that honor on any of those!

BV: Well, it's not like a black mark on my career or anything...

No, no, but what is fascinating is that out of those five other charts, one act had the SAME song on 2 charts, and another act had two DIFFERENT songs in that spot!  So what we're going to do this week...

BV:  Wait, let me guess!  You're going to name the acts that had the pre-Beatles number ones besides me, and let the fans guess which act hit twice with the same song, and which one hit with two different songs!

Yep, and if you know your early sixties music trivia, it won't be hard to guess.  Here are the three acts from the five charts:

Gerry and the Pacemakers

Jimmy Soul

and the Kingsmen!

BV:  Hmm, I see what you mean!  What else do you have for us?

Well, we have just the one debut on the M10 this week, and dumb me, I didn't even realize that it's another single from that massive Metallica Blacklist box set!  With their third trip onto the M10, at #9, here's White Reaper....

*****************************************

And now, because he'll need a little time to warm up, here's barrister extraordinaire Horace Bellbottom and a LIVE 6D!

I do wish you'd give me a little more warning on these events!  Ah, well, I guess I should be prepared for such things.  So let me see what our victim is... ah, all right...  So we start our story with Clint Eastwood-

Eastwood, you say, what has he to do with music?  As a matter of fact, in 1969, he starred in a movie adaptation of the musical Paint Your Wagon.  This movie featured the song They Call The Wind Maria, and the story on wikipedia claimed that it was released as a promotional for the movie by seven different acts.  My research finds six- Harve Presnell, who sang it in the movie; the Marquettes, the Baja Marimba Band, Jim Nabors, the Young Brass (an instrumental version) and Ed Ames (currently at the time finding more success playing Cherokee warrior Mingo on the Daniel Boone tv show).  By my accounting, none of these versions hit the hot 100.

One song in the movie, called, "Hand Me Down That Can o' Beans", was done by a chorus featuring the early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.  This band included a drummer by the name of Russ Kunkel, and he was also the drummer on our victim this week- Carole King's So Far Away, which was #17 this week in 1971, but did not make the years top 100.

By the by, the name Maria (pronounced ma-RYE-a) was taken from a book called The Storm, in which the author supplies a name to the storm- and inspires what became our current Hurricane naming system!

Impressive job, Horace!  Okay, Bobby, lay the songs that don't make the features on us!

BV:  Groovy!  So alphabetically, these were the songs we... I mean, Chris, pulled out of the top twenties this week, that are not finalists- or the Overseas If You Please song.

From 1974, the Guess Who and Clap For The Wolfman...

From 1964, Martha and the Vandellas Dancing In The Street...

Also from 1964, Gene Pitney's It Hurts To Be In Love...

From 1971, it's the Guess Who again with Rain Dance...

From 1974, Dionne Warwick and the Spinners with Then Came You...

From 1971, the Moody Blues and The Story In Your Eyes...

And also from 1971, Paul McCartney and Uncle Albert...

And from 1955, a big fat ZERO!

Nice job!  Say, I noticed that your article on wiki begins with the disclaimer, "Not to be confused with Bobby Vee..."

BV:  Are you TRYING to piss me off?

No... sorry, I was just wondering how someone COULD mix you up... at least from OUR ages... 

BV:  So now I'm old?  Pete's sake, I'm only 29!

Yeah, from where we picked you up... in my right time... let's just say you are substantially older...

BV:  How MUCH older?  Say, how old were you from where you picked me up?

Uh, 2...

BV: Blessed Virgin! (Crosses himself)  Then I must be...

...Our ages!  Anyhow, why don't you take your mind off it by giving us the finalists this week!

BV:  Yes... yes, that's probably a good idea.

Your 4 finalists this week:

From 1959, Bobby Darin and Mack The Knife...

Also 1959, Paul Anka and Put Your Head On My Shoulders...

And AGAIN 1959, Santo and Johnny with Sleepwalk....

And for variety, John Denver from 1971 and Take Me Home Country Roads.

So does JD come in and upset the power of 1959- or do one of them take home the cup?  Think it over, while we bring in good ol' Nardole to do the Overseas If You Please!

N:  Me?  Well, if you're certain... this week, our target year is 1974, because one of Chris's picks that missed its year's hot 100 was the Rolling Stones with It's Only Rock And Roll.  So this week in 1974, these songs were #1...

In the UK, it was Carl Douglas and Kung Fu Fighting.  Fighting who?

It's a fighting style, homey.

They have styles?  Dear me!

In Australia, it was Paper Lace and The Night Chicago Died.  This is getting uncomfortably violent...

In South Africa it was Kris Kristofferson with his gospel song Why Me...

In New Zealand, it was also The Night Chicago Died...

...and in Canada it was Johnny Rodriguez with Dance With Me (Just One More Time).

That last one was a #2 country hit here, and hit the top both pop and country in Canada.  So now, Bobby, why don't you tell us the story about which of the pre-Beatles claims to fame goes to which act.

BV:  Oh, sure, rub that in, too!   It's not bad enough that...

Elvis:  Hey, pizza's here, let's eat!

(Several minutes later...)

BV:  Ugh, I'm stuffed!  Chris, I'm sorry if I was out of line...

No worries, pal.  I wasn't getting things to come out right, either...

EP:  Y'all were hangry, that's all!  Nothing a good Hungry Howies can't cure...

BV:  That's why you're the King, Elvis!

Can't argue that!  You ready to do that feature now?

BV:  You bet!  So it was the Kingsmen's one big hit, Louie Louie, which had the honors in Canada and on Cashbox; and Gerry and the Pacemakers had the spot in England with How Do You Do It, and in Australia with You'll Never Walk Alone!  In the meantime, it was Jimmy Soul's If You Want To Be Happy standing alone in New Zealand.  BRRRP Excuse me!

EP:  Haw haw!

Horace Bellbottom:  Gentlemen, we ARE live!  A little decorum...

Horace is right.  And we also have three last things to finish up, if you all could wipe your faces and return to the mikes!

BV: What's my job, friend?

You get the big mover...

BV:  The biggest mover across our five years this week comes from 1964 and the Beach Boys- When I Grow Up To Be A Man went up 36 from #78 to 42!  Next?

EP:  I get the new M10 this week.  Say Boss, whatcha gonna do about the M10 when we finish this all out?

Hard to say... I've thought about shutting it down, I've thought about expanding it to 15... ask me in November.

EP:  Fair enuff.  Here's the rest of the list:

10- falling 5, the Black Pumas an' Wichita Lineman...

8- up 2, Duran Duran and Anniversary...

7- down 3, Weezer an' Enter Sandman...

6- up 3, Moon Taxi an' Mission...

5- up 3, Alkonost an' Solntse... which means, "sun", btw...

4- up 3, Gerry Rafferty an' Sign Of The Times....

3- an' stuck there, Duran Duran an' More Joy...

2- slipping a spot after 4 weeks a' bein' #1, illuminatti hotties an' u.v.v.p.....

An.. the new #1....

...Tom Morello with Phantogram, an' Driving To Texas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I get the Final Four...

Sadly, John Denver came in last against the 1959 bullies, charting 10 in 1971...

Not a good day for Johns overall, with Santo and Johnny coming in third at #9 in'59...

Paul Anka crapped out as well, finishing #8...

But the #1 song of 1959....

.....Bobby Darin and Mack The Knife!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week the question will be- did illuminatti hotties hang on high enough to crack the all time top 20?  It will take at least a #5 slot, and they are going to be in week #9 on the M10!  Stay tuned....

Wednesday Bible Study: Picking through Judges part 5

God has been pretty adamant with me about how He wants the story of Gideon told.  My instincts are chronological order, dig out the obscure, and apply.  God, it seems, has apply at the front and chronological in the "If it suits the purpose" file.  Today, we're going to deconstruct the state of Israel itself at the time, so we can see just how far off the plan they had drifted at this point.

FIRST,  Israel was a people who refused to listen.  When they got around to crying out, God sent a prophet, because this time, THIS time, they needed to know WHY it was happening.

Jdg 6:7  When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites,
Jdg 6:8  the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage.
Jdg 6:9  And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.
Jdg 6:10  And I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.' But you have not obeyed my voice."

 But not one word follows about the RESPONSE of the people.  But we can deduce from the response Gideon gave the Angel of the Lord....

Jdg 6:13  And Gideon said to him, "Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian." 

"Why, then, has all this happened to us?"  And this, from our deductions last week, was one of the better families left in Israel.  Which tells us that they paid scant attention to the prophet.  And when you see it that way, you can see why the admonition not to fear was next to fall...

SECOND, They were a fearful people.  And again, we have multiple examples.  Let's start with the state of Israel at the start of the story...

Jdg 6:2  And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.
Jdg 6:3  For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.
Jdg 6:4  They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey.
Jdg 6:5  For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number--both they and their camels could not be counted--so that they laid waste the land as they came in.
Jdg 6:6  And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD.

They were hiding in caves dug in the mountains.  One thing our pastor brought up in this vein is what Gideon was doing when the Angel of the Lord visited..

Jdg 6:11  Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Point here being, wheat was supposed to be beat on the top of a hill so the wind could blow the chaff away.  The winepress, built for drainage, was the last spot, outside of the bottom of a well, you'd want to beat grain.  And one more example....

Jdg 7:2  The LORD said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'
Jdg 7:3  Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.'" Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.

Two thirds of the "brave warriors of Israel" took advantage to high-tail it out of the battle.

THIRD, They were divided by pride.  The commentators mentioned that there was "a certain group of the tribes that were allied to Judah, another group allied to Ephraim, and of course, then there were the tribes on the other side of the Jordan".  The original call for troops brought that first group...

Jdg 6:34  But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.
Jdg 6:35  And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. 

So the battle, after the army gets trimmed to 300, goes through the lands of the second group, and Ephraim captures two of their leading princes, whose names were (translated) were "The Raven" and "The Wolf".  But that wasn't enough for them....

Jdg 7:24  Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.
Jdg 7:25  And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. 

 Jdg 8:1  Then the men of Ephraim said to him, "What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?" And they accused him fiercely.

"Why didn't you call us out in the first place?" they whined in Ephraim.  I'm saving Gideon's answer for another accusation against Israel, so let me move on to the next....

FOURTH,  they were just like Meroz in the last story, only too willing to let the work of the Lord pass them by...

Jdg 8:4  And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing.
Jdg 8:5  So he said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."
Jdg 8:6  And the officials of Succoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?"
Jdg 8:7  So Gideon said, "Well then, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers."
Jdg 8:8  And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.
Jdg 8:9  And he said to the men of Penuel, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower."

Now we were in Gadite territory- the lands beyond the Jordan- and they felt even less need to be co-operative than the Ephraimites.  Difference being, apparently God felt no more desire to make object lessons of an evil people, so he let Gideon do it, and that leads to our next accusation...

FIFTH, they had a heart for vengeance, which belongs to the Lord.  Observe the fates of transgressors at the hands of the now-bold Gideon:

Jdg 8:11  And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure.
Jdg 8:12  And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.
Jdg 8:13  Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.
Jdg 8:14  And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men.
Jdg 8:15  And he came to the men of Succoth and said, "Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?'"
Jdg 8:16  And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson.
Jdg 8:17  And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

He whipped the elders of insolent Succoth with briers, to "teach them".  Penuel he was less gentle with.  Here begins the kinslaying that will mark many chapters of Israel's history going forward.  But, he wasn't exactly done with vengeance.  You see, a story heretofore hidden in our tale is that the Angel came to Gideon because he was the last of his brothers alive; the others had been killed in a raid earlier, by the Midianite kings on Mount Tabor:

Jdg 8:18  And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, How were the men whom you killed in Tabor? And they answered, As you are, so they. Each one resembled the sons of a king.
Jdg 8:19  And he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Jehovah lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.
Jdg 8:20  And he said to Jether his first-born, Up! Kill them! But the youth did not draw his sword, for he feared, because he was still a youth.
Jdg 8:21  And Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise and fall upon us. For as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments on their camels' necks.

And now, the worst sin, before we close this section...

SIXTH, They gave no mind to God- not even Gideon, really.  Now, let's go back to that answer Gideon gave to Ephraim.  Did he say, "The Lord Himself told me how to muster this army, and when to call you in"?  No, but he SHOULD have.  Instead, he played on their damnable pride...

Jdg 8:2  And he said to them, "What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?
Jdg 8:3  God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?" Then their anger against him subsided when he said this.

And the victory made no difference.  See if you can pick out the two sins here:

Jdg 8:24  And Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil." (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
Jdg 8:25  And they answered, "We will willingly give them." And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil.
Jdg 8:26  And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels.
Jdg 8:27  And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.

Of course, the obvious one is "Israel went a-whoring".  But let's take this a step backwards.  An ephod was the breastplate of the High Priests and the Levites  Gideon was committing the same sin Saul and Hezekiah would commit later- usurping the role of the priests and Levites.  Not that he didn't have a reason.  I'm going to give a sneak peak at (what I assume) will be the next part of the story, to explain why he would entertain such a notion.

Jdg 8:30  Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives.
Jdg 8:31  And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.

Abimelech will figure heavily soon, but for now, I want to focus on Shechem.  This was a city in Ephraim's lot, but given to the Levites.  As they had no inheritance of their own, each of the other 11 tribes were required to give them so many cities, in which to do the Lord's work.  But who's work was Shechem ACTUALLY doing?

Jdg 9:4  And they (the elders of Shechem)gave him (Abimelech)seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.

And just WHO is Baal-Berith?

Jdg 8:33  As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.

Baal-Berith means "Baal of the Covenant".  In other words, the Levites of Shechem would abandon their Covenant with the God of Israel to serve a perversion of that very concept!  With the Levitical order in so much contempt, you can see why Gideon might want to bring back even a corrupted priesthood to lead the people back to God; but the people weren't listening, and his own dedication to the cause will soon ebb away.

Back from vacation: The Better Part, week #37

 

The Facebook posts I didn't share last week, with a starter for this one:

The Better Part, Day #191:

 

 

Psa 50:14 You made promises to God Most High, so give him what you promised. Bring your sacrifices and thank offerings.

Psa 50:15 God says, "Call me when trouble comes. I will help you, and you will honor me."

Psa 50:16 But God says to the wicked, "Stop quoting my laws! Stop talking about my agreement!

Psa 50:17 You hate for me to tell you what to do. You ignore what I say.

Psa 50:18 You see a thief and run to join him. You jump into bed with those who commit adultery.

Psa 50:19 You say evil things and tell lies.

Psa 50:20 You sit around talking about people, finding fault with your own brothers. 

 

Just in case you try to imagine God will compromise with your sin. #Pointingatthemirror

 

 

 

The Better Part, day #192:

 

Charles Stanley reminded me of two very important pieces of this verse:

 

 

Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

 

 

One, it doesn't say, "As long as the work is easy", or, "As long as the boss is a nice guy." Two, the part of the reward that comes from serving the Lord doesn't come on the paycheck...

 

 

 

The Better Part, day #193:

 

 

I've been boning up for delving into Gideon on the Wednesday Bible Study, and I noticed that at the end of a Moses like "But what about..." session with the Angel of the Lord, he finally built an altar to the Lord of Peace. Wondering how he got there, I heard, "Read it backwards." And backwards, when you come to the first thing Gideon said was, "If you are God, where are the miracles you once did?" and God answered, basically, "YOU are My miracle!"

 

 

Like Gideon, if we go through believing He is God, that we can have His strength, we can be His miracle in our own lives...

 

 

The Better Part Day #194:

 

 

Mar 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?"

Mar 8:24 And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking."

Mar 8:25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 

 

 

Pastor Denny pointed out that this miracle- the only one that Jesus "had to do it twice", was a living parable for what happened next. That was Him asking the Disciples the 2 questions, "Who do people say I am?", which brought a group of answers that did NOT name Him Messiah, and "Who do YOU say I am?", to which Peter answered, "The Christ (Messiah) of God." 

 

 Pastor Denny showed us that before, they saw a fuzzy version of Him; now, they were beginning to see clearer. But this also applies to us, like Paul said, "For we see as through a mirror darkly..." and one day we will see clearly, if we follow Jesus to the ends of His teaching.

 

Time Machine co-ordinates VII-X693586263697077

 

Elvis:  Boss, ya look a little down.  Regrets about our coming-up closing of the shop?

The opposite, actually.  I messed up again- I hate being sloppy- and instead of an all-new set of years leading off the last row of posts, I repeated the years from week 5 of the new volume.  It still got us all new songs, mostly, but... and then I was trying to get a handle on Alex Chilton of the Box Tops for our guest shot... but he had a tragic sort of life, too, and I wasn't sure I wanted to...

Nardole:  Er, sir, I believe I can at least help that last one... you see, (whisperers inaudibly)...

(Staring blankly for a moment) ...Actually, you know what?  That changes everything!  Nice job, Nardole, you were in rare form with this one!

N:  I was?

E:  What'd Noodle do now?

Just stand by, buddy!  Before you find out, let's play one of this week's M10 debuts!  At #10, new Duran Duran...

*********************************************

So, Nardole will apparently be spending his upcoming severance pay on new ears, and thankfully he hasn't checked into it yet!  Our guest this week is NOT Alex Chilton of the Box Tops, but...

...Alex P Keaton of Family Ties!

APK:  Thank you!  Usually my sister Mallory would handle these kind of 'pop-culture' things, but with the Clinton era putting the bite on my 401k, I am always available for consultations!

Elvis (whispering) Boss, I don' think he gets that we don't pay...

(Whispering) And we're not going to tell him, comprende?

Alex, it's great to have a business mind of your stature on the show.

APK:  I'm curious, though, why you don't try to increase your ratings with live performances, instead of videos? It seems to me...

Well, Alex, at this point it would affect too heavily on overhead.  A Tardis costs a bit to operate, and...

APK:  But the savings in real estate alone, operating from a tessaract, that you must be realizing...

EP:  A whut?

N:  Means, "It's bigger on the inside..."

EP:  An money-boy here is saying that this is making us money- money youse and me ain't getting a cut of...

Buddy, if you think you can fill this thing up at the corner BP and drive to the next year....

APK:  Fuel can be a problem, but not an insurmountable one.  An outfit like this, what are you, nuclear?

Not exactly...

APK:  I've seen studies into advanced sonics that could apply to a boat like this; if it could turn self-generating, you could turn a profit in....

Before this becomes a WSJ forum, perhaps we should get to the point...

APK:  Ah, efficiency!

So this week's gleaning of my favorites brought us 16 songs.  I'm clipping off the top 5 for the finals and the bottom 2 for our specials, so that leaves 9 for the rest of the list, and that list is yours to read, Alex!

APK:  Actually, I subcontracted the job to my sister, Mallory!  Step right up, Mal!

MK:  Well, okay Alex... hi, whoever you guys are...

Subcontracted?

APK:  Relax, I'll pay her out of my expected residuals...

EP: (whispering) He's gonna be sore when ya tell 'im...

Actually sounds like a 'good' plan!  Go right ahead, Mallory!

MK:  Okay, so I know this is supposed to be alphabetical, but... well, I'm just going to go by the year!

The Duprees were #8 this week in 1962 with You Belong To Me...

The Marvelettes were #20 with Beachwood 45-789... what a weird phone number!

Martha and the Vandellas were #5 in 1963 with Heat Wave... I always thought Linda Ronstadt did that...

The Beach Boys and Surfer Girl were #6 that week, and Kai Winding's orchestra was #19 with More.  Ooh, 'orchestra', that sounds like your kind of music, Alex!

APK:  Actually, Mal, that is a classic, but it's a bit too pop for my tastes.  Do you think you could go on, now?

MK:  Sure, Alex, don't get all huffy! From 1969 we have Get Together by the Youngbloods at #4, Hurts So Bad by the Lettermen at #15... say, I thought Linda Ronstadt did that one, too!

APK:  I'm sure she did, Mal... right along with Kumbaya and This Little Light of Mine...

MK:  (sticks tongue out at APK)... but this one doesn't make sense... Johnny Cash at #6 with A Boy Named Sue?

APK:  Probably short for Sukarno, Mal... c'mon, time is money!
MK: Yeah, Alex- your time is MY money! From 1970, we have Chicago and 25 or 6 to 4 at #6 and Anne Murray with Snowbird at #17; and from 1977, we have the Brothers Johnson and Strawberry Letter 23!

Thanks, you two!  And now, here's the second debut, coming in at #8... from Russia with love...

****************************************************

APK:  You... you let Commies on the show??

EP:  They ain't commies no more, Money Boy!  You need ta get Back Ta The Future, haw haw!

Now that one wasn't bad, Buddy!  Anyway, just a few weeks back, we passed into year #7 of the M10!  As such, I compiled a few statistics...

APK:  Aren't you afraid of going into statistics on an entertainment show?  You could lose your audience!

EP:  Gotta have one ta lose one, son...

...since the end of August, 2015, the M10 has charted some 608 songs now, from 311 featured acts (along with another 14 credits on songs that never had their own hit).  A while back, we established a limit of 6 hits needed to be official M10 superstars.  16 acts make that list, and with this week, we now have 4 acts with 8 or more hits!   Making superstar status at 6 hits:

Brooke Annibale

Anna Burch

ELO (the originals)

Geowulf (stay tuned, they might be moving up next week!)

ELO (Jeff Lynne's)

The Knocks

Lucius

Agnes Obel

With 7 hits:

Alvvays

Beach House

Castlecomer

The Shacks

With 8:

Alkonost (including the earlier played Solntse)

Dent May

And with 9:

The Jayhawks

The Explorers Club (And they have a new lp coming...)

And now, hopefully not contracted out again, here's Alex with the finalists...

APK:  Nothing but the best for the finals, eh? Your five finalists are:

Bobby Vinton's Blue Velvet from 1963;

KC and the Sunshine Band, Keep It Coming Love from 1977;

The Four Seasons, Sherry from 1962;

ELO's Telephone Line from 1977;

and from 1958, Little Eva's The Loco Motion!

Good job, Alex!  And now, the 3rd debut at #7... the third hit from Rest In Blue...

******************************************************

Horace Bellbottom:  At this point, I shall divide the levity before from the levity to come with... oh, good heavens, there's no 6D ready- and the young lady has already read off the intended victim, Beechwood 45-789!

No prob, HB!  Here, work with this...

HB:  Ahem, well, all right.  It seems the Rolling Stone Magazine has announced a new listing just this week of the 500 'greatest songs of all time" in their estimation.  Chris has kindly weeded out the top ten that came from what we call the Martin Era 2.0, and I am to read the list.

Tenth, and it was the RS #14, was a song that was not released in North America, but was a hit worldwide elsewhere, the Kinks and Waterloo Sunset.

Ninth, #13 on RS, their namesake, the Rolling Stones, and Gimme Shelter.

Eighth, #12 on RS, Stevie Wonder and Superstition.

Seventh, #11 on RS, the Beach Boys and God Only Knows.

Sixth, and #9 on RS, Fleetwood Mac and Dreams.

Fifth, and #7 on RS, the Beatles and Strawberry Fields Forever.

Fourth, and #6 on RS, Marvin Gaye and What's Going On.

Third, and #4 on RS, Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone.

Second, and #3 on RS, Sam Cooke and A Change Is Gonna Come.

And, since I assume you'll be saving the top song for the big reveal, here are our other features:

Our Miss Mallory also gave away the Overseas If You Please song- 25 or 6 to 4 in 1970- so, this week in 1970, the tops of our other charts were:

In the UK:  Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Tears Of A Clown;

Canada Mungo Jerry, In The Summertime;

Australia: That same song, by local band the Mixtures; 

New Zealand: Pinocchio by contest winner Maria Dallas;

and in South Africa, The Wedding by Jody Wayne.

Finally, our big mover comes from the 1963 list, and involves an act covered with #1 M10 success last summer on the Shacks' Smile Now Cry Later- Sunny and the Sunglows with Talk To Me, up 33 spots from 95-62.

Well done, Horace!  And now, here's the rest of this week's M10:

9 and holding, Moon Taxi and Mission.

6 and holding, Bleachers and How Dare You Want More.

5 and holding, Black Pumas and Wichita Lineman.

4 and holding, Weezer and Enter Sandman.

3 and holding and switching with the next tune, down one- Duran Duran and More Joy.

2 and climbing into that #2 spot, Tom Morello and Phantogram with Driving To Texas.

And #1 for a 4th week....

...illuminatti hotties and Buck Meek with u.v.v.p.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The #1 on the new Rolling Stone all time list....

...Aretha Franklin and Respect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the finalists, here's Alex P.....

APK:  Uh, yeah, so the final standings are;

Telephone Line was the #29 song of 1977...

Keep It Coming Love was two ticks ahead at #27...

Sherry was the #20 song of 1962....

and The Loco Motion was five ticks ahead at #15...

But the winner is the #4 song of 1962....

...Bobby Vinton and Blue Velvet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, listen, this whole thing with Mallory screwing up those two songs... that's not going to impact my compensation, is it?

Well, normally, we like to run a tight ship here...

Elvis: (snickers)

..so I'm afraid it will have a SIGNIFICANT impact...

APK:  How...(gulp)  how much?

Elvis:  Why Billy Preston even did a song about it, Money Boy!

APK:  What song?

EP: "Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'"!  Haw haw!

Vacation Wednesday

 Today, Misty's Happy Boofus Day #2, and a trip to Pokagon...

Away we go!

His work van may say, "Professional", but the driver was in every lane but his own for miles

This is new since our last trip

Landing at the Potowatamie Inn

Place to ourselves- no one to greet us but the crows

And the squirrel (didn't see the photobombing ducks till later)

Into the lake, part one

And now, the trails!

The "beware of falling nuts" section

Our wildlife options were limited, and somewhat plastic...

"Whaddya mean, don't open for another hour?"

And now, the amateur teepee show

"A bit cramped.  Don't think Ill make an offer..."

Toboggan run trail

Great spot for a view... never mind the car that ran us off the edge a moment before...

In the lake, part 2

Sometimes she laps the water... sometimes, she bites it

Someone needs a trim... maybe a shave...

"I'm ready to get...

...OUT!!!"

Into the lake, part 3

"Good grief, can't you get your socks on??"

"...er, that is..."

"...I love my Daddy!"

Last stop for Happy Boofus day 2021- the Angola DQ

"...And my OWN hamburger!"