Good day to all. Let us delve into the ninth chapter of Judges, themed "All Divine Retribution." There is an old Chinese saying: "It's not that retribution does not come, it's that the time has not yet arrived," suggesting that everything is divine retribution. Upon careful reflection, some stories in this world are somewhat terrifying, and some events, once they occur, are hard to reverse. One just does not know why things turn out the way they do.

When I read the ninth chapter of Judges, I was quite perplexed, not knowing what this chapter was about. In fact, our generation is also chaotic. One moment, one country attacks another; the next, another country bombs another. No one can clearly explain what is happening. Many people die, and we often think these people die unjustly. But I tell you, God is not mistaken, nor are the demons. It is merely that our human perspective is flawed. All things are under God's control, and are all divine retribution.

I. Gideon's Political Wisdom and Worldly Hopes Became His Snare

Do you know where these events began? It all started after Gideon's victory, when everyone wanted him to rule Israel. Actually, I tell you, it would have been quite difficult for him to govern well. Why? Because some would listen, and some would not. The Ephraimites said, "Gideon, you rascal, why didn't you call us when you struck down the Midianites?" It is difficult to be a political figure. If we can avoid it, we should. It is best to be an ordinary person, protected by God. But did Gideon want to govern? Yes, he did. But could Gideon manage? He could not.

So Gideon devised a plan: "I ask you each to give me the gold earrings you took as plunder." As a result, he collected quite a bit and made an ephod out of the gold. You must understand what an ephod is for. It is worn by priests to divine the future. People came to Gideon seeking answers to various matters. There were many calamities and problems in the world, making things difficult. It is similar to how we serve people; they have many problems. Sometimes it is hard to manage, and so it was for Gideon.

If you manage a church, you cannot do without this ephod. It is the same among us, and in the church. Some churches, when they pray, assemble a prayer team. Do you know what the pastor's prayer team does? It endorses him. What does a pastor establish a prophetic team for? To do the work of the ephod. Otherwise, some will not listen. If you say, "This is what God said," everyone will be quiet. So no one dares to act otherwise.

But sometimes, that is not the case. Everyone must remember that not everything I say comes from God. Everyone should learn to be wise. I do not want to make anyone ignorant. We should all read the Bible and discuss it together. I am not the possessor of truth. I often make mistakes, so you should know that I do not wear this ephod thing.

There was once a pastor who said from the pulpit, "Everything I say on this platform comes from God." I was sitting below, and when I heard this, I thought, "Oh no, Gideon's ephod has arrived." As a result, Gideon's political wisdom has been powerful to this day. I do not have that courage. Why? Because this thing is worldly. I do not want to be famous. I want nothing. I just want to thank God and hope that I do not invite retribution while I am still alive.

It is no joke when one invites retribution. I hope everyone can understand God's Word with me. Do not think that everything is divine retribution. Can I bring retribution upon you? What can I bring upon you? It would be good if I did not suffer retribution myself. I am not the possessor of truth, but I am a very earnest seeker.

So after this ephod was made, the eighth chapter of Judges became a snare for Gideon's family. Now, this snare is in the ninth chapter, and it is explained very clearly. Later, Gideon ruled Israel, and he wanted to build a large family. This is very subtle, but I managed to read it. Remember, these are all worldly hopes—to become a large family. If someone says, "Teacher, let's make the church bigger and stronger," I would look and say, "We don't have that ability."

Someone said, "Teacher, there are marketing experts who can help you and turn you into a world-renowned pastor." I would smile foolishly and say, "We can't do it. I just hope I don't invite retribution. What bigger and stronger, world-renowned pastor? May God have mercy." So Gideon had a mindset of becoming bigger and stronger and had seventy sons. But if you want to manage these seventy sons well, that is not easy. Gideon wanted to become a very large family, and he worked hard at it. It is like a boar, you know? There is a type of boar that is not raised for meat but for breeding. Its genes are very powerful in transmission.

Gideon toiled his whole life, having seventy sons. How easy is it to have that many? Oh, it's exhausting. But he was pretty good, quite impressive, even more so than a breeding boar! I hope everyone won't pick on me for saying this. I am just saying what this thing of becoming bigger and stronger is all about.

What are we reading? We must return to the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Let God do what He wants to do. I used to have it too. Who wouldn't want the church to fill the entire stadium? Holding a long pole, hanging a camera. My goodness, now they use drones. It goes around in a circle, and the video looks amazing.

Gideon also had a concubine from Shechem. Actually, he was not that old, so his son, Abimelech, was still the eldest among the seventy sons. Can you understand that? You know he was powerful. We don't know if he was the eldest, second, or third, but Abimelech was an elder brother. Gideon named him Abimelech. Do you know who Abimelech was? Abimelech was a Canaanite chieftain, a king. Abimelech is like those we hear about, such as Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, or Cao Cao, Sun Quan, or Liu Bei. Abimelech was quite powerful.

Why name him Abimelech? Why give him a foreign name? It all reveals Gideon's dream. He admired it, but it all fell flat. So when this kind of thing happens, what Gideon sowed in his era, I tell you, did not really come to pass in Gideon's life. Where did it come to pass? It came to pass in the lives of his sons.

If you encounter this kind of thing, can you solve it? Let's pray for him. Is it useful to pray for Abimelech? No. I tell you, this matter is a bit mysterious. It is like old Eli. Do you still remember him? I must tell you that if those who serve God fall into the snare they have woven themselves, prayer is useless. This is why many of our prayers are useless. Why are they useless? Because this curse is too severe.

If someone in your family, in your ancestry, served God—oh my goodness, like old Eli—when God cursed him, He said, "Prayer and sacrifice are useless." That is to say, no one in Eli's family lived to old age. They all died in middle age. In fact, the matter of Gideon's family was irreversible. This is divine retribution. David killed Uriah, and what happened? The sword never left David's house. This thing is powerful! Someone said, "I will pray for David. I will assemble a prayer team of 30,000 people to pray for David, to pray for the families of old Eli." Is it useful? No.

What is useful? I tell you, if there is someone in this family who understands spiritual things, who begins to desire God, who hopes to love God, who has a deeper understanding of God's Word, this person can come out of this curse. This person will be fine from then on in this family. The sword will not leave their house, but their own house will be fine. This is what I have gained from reading the Bible. I may not say it so accurately, but I can get this little clue.

For example, Gideon's seventy sons were killed, but the youngest son, Jotham, was not killed. Why? Because he had spiritual knowledge. Gideon's political wisdom and worldly hopes became his snare. In the end, what happened? It all fell apart, all went down the drain. They didn't even pass the third generation. The second generation was finished. As for Jotham, he later became obscure. No one knows what happened.

II. What Gideon Sowed, God Will Repay

Remember, a person reaps what he sows. I worry that some things we sow without fearing God, only looking at the problems before us. Gideon looked at the problem and said, "What should I do?" As a result, he thought crookedly. He thought within the worldly logical system. He thought within the moral concepts. He thought within the worldly political knowledge he had learned.

After Gideon died, the development of the story was not under control. He himself did not know where he went wrong until he died. He did not know. Perhaps after he died, his spirit was in heaven, and he saw the foolish things he had done were over. Basically, there was no turning back. This is not the example Jesus gave in the Bible. There was a rich man who died and went to hell. A bamboo skewer was inserted from his anus, all the way through his mouth, and he was roasted on the charcoal fire, turning around and around. When he turned around, his eyes looked up, and he saw Abraham from afar. "Oh my goodness, my ancestor Abraham, quickly send someone to notify my family not to come to this place." Abraham said, "No, even if someone rises from the dead, they will not believe."

So what Gideon sowed, God will repay. I ask you, who is Gideon? Was Gideon not a man chosen by God? If a man chosen by God is still like this, then those not chosen by God, like these people of Shechem, will be even more so. So the development of this story is very interesting. It is not under control. You will find that things naturally go down. I will give you some hope. Only one thing can solve the problem: you begin to learn to recognize the spiritual world, and you begin to learn to love God and fear God. So those who fear God will surely come out of these things.

The things of your ancestors, those stories that are out of control, when they come to your generation, and you begin to love God, you are placed in God's hands. From then on, God begins to control you. How wonderful! A lifetime in God's hands. Some people are in the hands of demons. Where do the demons come from? They are sent by God. Do you say there is hope? There is hope. Don't be afraid. What are you afraid of? Be afraid of messing things up and sowing curses.

Now the political struggles in churches are very intense. Thank God, our church does not have this thing. Why? Because we cut off this root from the beginning. As for whether there will be this thing after I die, I do not know. As long as I am alive, I will not pursue this thing. I only pursue one thing, and that is to fear God. Don't mess things up, or you will bring a curse upon yourself. God is surely a God of retribution. Do not wait until you suffer retribution to think of praying.

So after Gideon sowed, after he died, oh my goodness, the story became exciting. He had a son named Abimelech. Abimelech's mother was a very interesting thing. His mother was a concubine, a foreigner. What was Abimelech described as by Jotham? Described as a thorn bush, a troublemaker in his family. Do you know what a troublemaker is? A mind full of bad ideas. When you were in school, did you find some bad boys who were very bad? Hard to deal with, a belly full of bad ideas, always doing bad things.

What was the matter with Abimelech? Other people's mothers were wives, but his mother was a concubine. Do you know? The Israelites were petty. These Israelites had a characteristic. Didn't Moses say that they could not marry foreigners? When Abimelech's brothers saw him, they narrowed their eyes, curled their lips, and giggled. This action was quite irritating. When Abimelech saw this, he clenched his fists tightly. They didn't say anything, just said, "Concubine." As a result, Abimelech was so angry that he clenched his fists tightly. So he was a thorn in the family.

When Abimelech was angry, he secretly practiced martial arts every day. I tell you, Abimelech's martial arts were very strong. Why? Because he thought, "I want to be great. I will be even more powerful than my father in the future. My father had seventy sons, but I will have seven hundred." That's roughly the idea. The Bible doesn't say that. Abimelech secretly made up his mind. He didn't know much about curses. So Gideon's matter began to suffer retribution from what he sowed. We must know that people's hearts are in God's hands.

What did Abimelech plan? He thought, "When my father dies, I will find my uncles." His mother's family was very powerful. His mother's family probably had many brothers who were a very influential family in Shechem. Then what happened? Abimelech went to his uncles. In fact, at that time, he began to cultivate a good relationship with his uncles, his mother, and the people of Shechem. How did he cultivate it? Gideon was the king of Israel. That area was under Gideon's management. He was Gideon's son, and he cultivated the relationship very well.

The people of Shechem were Abimelech's base. Abimelech thought, "I must take revenge in the future." He began to think like this in his heart. In fact, people do not know much about curses. People must understand what a curse is. I really hope that brothers and sisters can know what a curse is. If people do not know what a curse is and go ahead and do it, it will be difficult to pray in the future.

Being cursed is too powerful, because God is repaying Gideon. It's not that his ephod and his worldly dreams became his snare? Many things have cause and effect. Don't think that only Buddhism has cause and effect. If we carefully study the things of this world, there are few things that do not have cause and effect. They all have cause and effect, because this is all controlled by the spiritual world. The ending has already been determined. So these things that Gideon sowed, the ending has already been determined. Seventy sons were killed. Who killed them? His own son, Abimelech, killed all the other sons. The relationship here is very subtle. So the relationship between people is actually a spiritual matter.

III. Jotham, Gideon's youngest son, possesses some spiritual knowledge

How did Jotham come to have this spiritual knowledge? We need to examine him through his words. We can see it from two things: first, what he said; second, he escaped a calamity. Why did Jotham escape? Don't you find it strange? All the other sons were killed, but he alone escaped. I tell you, it must have been God's protection. What about the other sons? The others were not much, they had no knowledge of the spiritual world.

If you have some knowledge of the spiritual world, you will have less desire for the things of the world. The deeper one's desire for the things of the world, the less one knows about spiritual things. The more one understands spiritual things, the less one hopes for worldly things. Let's, brothers and sisters, start pondering this. What did Jotham say?

When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? (Judges 9:7-9)

What kind of person could say this? One must have some spiritual knowledge. That is to say, this is not representing the olive tree, or the fig tree, or the vine, or any other tree. Jotham is talking about himself: I don't want to do this, I don't want to be promoted over the trees, I don't want to inherit my father's reliance. I just want to be an ordinary person. I don't want to pursue becoming bigger and stronger, I don't want to be promoted over the trees, enjoying the benefits of this power.

If we look closely at this generation, what do people climb up for? Is it good to keep climbing to the top? If you are in Korea, what do you climb up for? Jotham understood these things from a young age, he saw through the things of the world. Some say: Well, his father was rich, his family didn't lack anything, so he didn't want it either. Jotham didn't want to be in this power struggle, thank God! Protected by God, he escaped a calamity.

And where did Jotham run to? He ran to Mount Gerizim. Do you all know about Mount Gerizim? In the days of Joshua, the priests of Israel carried the Ark of the Covenant, and a group of people faced Mount Gerizim, facing Mount Ebal, proclaiming blessings and curses. In the heart of this little Jotham, he already had a deep understanding of blessings and curses. He saw that the curse was too powerful! So Jotham went to Mount Gerizim and proclaimed a curse. This curse wasn't just about what he said, his words were according to God's will. Jotham clearly knew that if people could honestly and uprightly treat Gideon and his whole family well, everything would be fine. Now the thugs of Shechem, and his brother Abimelech, killed all seventy of his father's sons at that rock. So Jotham said:

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. (Judges 9:20)

Was it devoured? It was. How did it happen? I tell you, after this little Jotham finished proclaiming, God saw that this child was good, and did according to his words. God said: Jotham, what you said is very good, I will accomplish it according to your words. And so he cursed Abimelech and the men of Shechem. I tell you, God will not make a mistake, nor will the devil, only people make mistakes.

So we learn a deep lesson from this, to understand spiritual knowledge, to understand Mount Gerizim, and to understand Mount Ebal, and to understand the blessings and curses proclaimed by Joshua. What is that? That is Deuteronomy chapter 28. Have you all read it? Read it carefully. Why didn't it happen sooner? Why did it take so many years? That's how God works, he lets people's sins reach their full measure. This is very interesting.

IV. Abimelech, Gideon's son, and the men of Shechem, what they sow, God will repay

You think what Gideon sowed, God will repay? What Gideon sowed, God will repay. What about what Abimelech and the men of Shechem sowed, will God repay? God will repay in the same way. What about what you and I sow, will God repay? God will also repay. So the problem lies here. What does Abimelech value? Abimelech values this power. Remember, as a pastor, you must value the responsibility on your shoulders, because this responsibility can bring God's presence, serving people, blessing people, this is our responsibility.

Actually, the things we hold in our hearts are quite evil. I feel that Abimelech is so impressive, he became the king of Israel. There was no king at that time, but he began to rule. Abimelech thought: I want this power, I want to get this power, to be promoted over the trees. Israel is God's kingdom, the Israelites are God's people, how dare you play like this? Replace God? And even more outrageous is that Abimelech took money through these people from his mother's family. Where did this money come from? It came from the temple of Baal-berith, and he dared to receive it.

After Abimelech received it, what did he do? He hired some thugs. These thugs had green dragons on their left and white tigers on their right, and a ribbonfish tattooed around their waists. Why not tattoo "Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty"? No. These thugs robbed and plundered. After a few days, after hiring them, what happened? They killed all of Gideon's other sons. Abimelech was quite powerful. Who can control thugs? A black boss. So Abimelech had developed the skills of a black boss from a young age. As a result, he killed all seventy of his younger brothers, playing political tricks quite well. The men of Shechem made him king to rule over them.

Later, no one in that place wanted to do this job. All twelve tribes of Israel were under Abimelech's name, and he suddenly controlled all twelve tribes. Who dared to compete with him? A group of gangsters around him. If you competed with him, if you said: I'll manage it, people would disappear tomorrow, no one would know where they went. If you called the police, the police wouldn't know where you went, you'd vanish from the face of the earth. Abimelech used this to manage people.

Some say: Didn't the seventy people resist? They were all thugs. Of course there was resistance, how could there be no resistance? But how could Gideon's sons compare to this Abimelech who had been wounded? The other sons were all pampered, they were all young masters, they couldn't do anything except spend money. But Abimelech was so intelligent, he was enduring hardship and biding his time, he was highly skilled in martial arts. Who could beat him? No one could beat him.

Abimelech had either a ten-foot spear or a Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand. How could you fight? You couldn't beat him. He was powerful, and he also led a group of thugs, all of whom had some martial arts skills. As a result, Gideon's son Abimelech did this series of things, very good. The second year was also very good. Abimelech led a group of people to collect taxes everywhere. They saw a market and made people pay taxes and take money, collecting from house to house.

Once Abimelech managed all of Israel, my goodness! It was a black evil force, all the management methods of the black society. Some small vendors had a hard time. Abimelech had killed his brothers, he didn't care about his father's feelings, would he care about your feelings? When Abimelech came out, it was scary, with a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right, and a ribbonfish tattooed on his chest. Who dared to fight him? They still had to pay.

The small vendor said: Boss, I just paid yesterday. Abimelech said: Say it again! As a result, some people were stained with blood in the market. He was much more ruthless than the city management, could the city management compare to him? Abimelech was much more ruthless than the city management, no one dared to say a word, the Israelites were terrified. As a result, this person became more and more evil, and the team grew stronger. As long as they had a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right, they all ran to him to sign up: I'll work for you. Abimelech thought it was very good, did you have a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right? A ribbonfish tattooed around your waist? My goodness! That was a black evil force.

Do you know? In the building materials industry, where does the yellow sand come from? It's dug from the ground. Coal is also dug from the ground. These mines all belonged to Abimelech's family. How could they not be rich? The first year was very good, and the second year was also very good. I don't know how many good women Abimelech took? We don't know. Not only did he take them himself, but his subordinates also took them. The whole of Israel was shrouded in darkness.

If a person's evil is not so serious, God will give him more years; if a person's evil is serious, God will give him fewer years. When a person's evil reaches its full measure, he will be full of evil. As a result, Abimelech filled it up in three years. How ruthless was Abimelech? The work Abimelech did was more than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. They took decades to reach their full measure of evil, but he filled it up in three years. My goodness, the evil was put into that big jar, the pipe was so thick, it was thicker than the pipeline that transports natural gas from Siberia. In addition to what Abimelech did himself, Abimelech's subordinates also did it together.

As a result, in three years, God sent an evil spirit, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. You think God doesn't repay? God repays. Alas, in this generation, people should not do evil. There is a saying: When you come out to mix, you have to pay it back sooner or later. Abimelech didn't know that what he was doing had to be paid back.

So Jotham hid in a small place, waiting there. I tell you, this Jotham is also very interesting. He proclaimed the curse every day: The fire that comes out of Abimelech will devour the men of Shechem; the fire that comes out of the men of Shechem will devour Abimelech. Interesting, isn't it? As a result, the men of Shechem and Abimelech began to have conflicts. They used to have a good relationship, how did it become bad?

People's thoughts are a spiritual thing. Thinking this way and that way, even the king's thoughts are in God's hands. Are the people's thoughts in God's hands? They are also in God's hands. So the men of Shechem thought and thought, and found: Why should I support this Abimelech? Isn't he Gideon's son? You think you are called Abimelech, and you are the same as us men of Shechem? You even have a name like our Gentiles, you are just an imposter. After three years, they reacted. Actually, they should have reacted long ago, but that's how people are.

Later, a man named Gaal suddenly appeared, and another man named Zebul. Zebul should be from Abimelech's uncle's side, plus Abimelech, this is "Three-bul", it seems there is a company called Samsung, but this is the Three-bul company, it's a mess, and they started playing the Three Kingdoms. As a result, what happened? Everyone reads this story with a confused head, you hit me, I hit you, fighting back and forth.

That Gaal was not resistant to beating, and was beaten badly by Abimelech, and the men of Shechem were also beaten badly. The fire that came out of Abimelech burned the men of Shechem. The fire that came out of the men of Shechem burned Abimelech. What is all this? A mess. We really can't figure it out. As a result, fighting and fighting, Abimelech saw: Fortunately, I practiced martial arts in my early years, my martial arts are powerful, I won't let you listen, whoever doesn't listen, I'll kill him. As a result, he killed a city, and killed a building. My goodness, it's amazing. Some people hid in this tower. How could Gaal attack? He went to the mountain to cut down trees, such thick trees, he carried them back alone, very powerful, right? Energetic, right? That's simply Li Yuanba, super energetic. Then he surrounded the building, lit it, and burned it. How many people were burned to death? Many people were burned to death.

As a result, the previous one was very powerful, and this one came again, and hid in the building again, and was about to start again. A woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, which was more accurate than a missile, it was all navigation in the spiritual realm. As a result, Abimelech's head was smashed open. How could it be so accurate? It was more accurate than GPS navigation, directly ending the battle.

How powerful is this worldly concept? Abimelech saw: A woman from Shechem killed me with a millstone, so he said to the soldier who carried the knife for him: You kill me quickly. What kind of story is this? It's just a farce directed by the devil. Was there retribution? There was retribution. Abimelech wanted to have some dignity until his death, he felt: I don't want to die at the hands of a woman, I want to die at the hands of the soldier who carries the knife for me. What kind of farce is this? No one cares anyway, it's recorded in the Bible, it's also very boring.

God repaid Abimelech for the evil he had done to his father, that is, the evil of killing seventy brothers, and all the evil of the men of Shechem, God also repaid on their heads. The curse of Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal, came upon them. Amazing, isn't it? I tell you, it is such people, whether in Shechem or in Abimelech's house. If occasionally there is someone who is spiritual, someone who knows God, He will be protected, so we really need to learn to fear God.

V. Fear God, God will repay

No matter what we sow, turn back to God, God can save you from this path of destruction, fear God. If you have worldly things in your mind, some moral concepts that do not conform to God. I tell you, without thinking, you will definitely attract retribution. So we brothers and sisters must learn to fear God, and not speak carelessly. When God repays you, you are powerless to reverse it.

May God bless everyone!