True Authority, or Usurping?

 Judges 9-10; Psalms 49; 1 Corinthians 16 

“He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers…Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to anoint Abimelech king…Finally all of the trees said to the thorn-bush, ‘Come and be our king.’”

Judges 9:5, 6, 14

At the same great tree of Moreh by Shechem, where God promised Abram his inheritance of all the land he could see, and also where Joshua renewed Israel’s covenant with the Lord, a murderer and a usurper was anointed ruler of Shechem. Abimilech’s anger toward Gideon’s family was rooted in shame and illegitimate birth. This world of rejection has birthed many revolutions and wars throughout history. When we usurp authority, we must fight to defend it. When God gives us authority, he will defend it.

Are we usurping authority in our family, workplace, community, or the Church?

Is there a wound of rejection God desires to heal in our lives?

Submission to authority, both to God and to his delegated authority on earth, is the only way we receive authority in God’s kingdom.

Will we be usurpers, or anointed sons and daughters of the King?

“Lord Jesus, I humble myself before you and thank you for your grace enabling me to not usurp authority.”