Judges 9:21-25: a reflection

21Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. 22Abimelech was prince over Israel three years. 23Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother who killed them, and on the men of Shechem who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. 25The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them; and Abimelech was told about it.

The violence Abimelech had done to his own brothers came back upon him in time, a sobering reminder that the wrong we do has a way of returning on us, for God does not let it go unaddressed. God sent discord between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, the account says, that the violence done to the sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood might be laid on Abimelech who killed them, and on the men of Shechem who helped him. Abimelech had grasped at power by killing his own brothers, a great wrong, in which the men of Shechem had helped him. For a time he ruled, and it seemed he had gotten away with it. But in time the wrong came back: discord arose, the alliance that had strengthened his hand turned against him, and the violence he had done began to recoil upon him and those who had helped him. This shows that the wrong we do has a way of returning on us, for God does not let it go unaddressed. The wrong you do has a way of returning upon you. God does not let violence and treachery go finally unaddressed. What is sown in wrong is reaped in time. Do not imagine you can do wrong and escape its consequences.

Notice how the wrong Abimelech had done came back upon him. He had committed a grave wrong, killing his own brothers to seize power, with the help of the men of Shechem. For a time, it seemed he had succeeded and escaped consequence; he ruled, established. But the account tells us plainly what was really happening: God was at work, so that the violence Abimelech had done might come back upon him, and the blood he had shed be laid on him and on those who had helped him. In time, discord arose, the alliance turned against him, and the wrong he had done began to recoil upon him. What he had sown in violence, he began to reap. This holds a sobering truth about wrongdoing. We can imagine, when we do wrong and seem to get away with it, that we have escaped its consequences, that the wrong is behind us and forgotten. But the wrong we do has a way of returning upon us; God does not let violence, treachery, and injustice go finally unaddressed. What is sown in wrong tends, in God's ordering, to be reaped in time; the consequences of our wrongdoing have a way of coming home to us, sooner or later. This is not to say every consequence is immediate or visible, but that we cannot finally escape the harvest of our wrongdoing; God sees to it that wrong is not simply gotten away with. We do well, then, not to imagine we can do wrong and escape its consequences, but to turn from wrong, knowing that what we sow we reap, and that God does not let wrong go unaddressed. Do not imagine you can do wrong and escape its consequences; the wrong you do returns on you. What is sown in wrong is reaped in time. God does not let violence and treachery go finally unaddressed. Turn from wrong, knowing you cannot escape its harvest.

That is worth taking to heart, for the wrong we do has a way of returning on us, and God does not let it go unaddressed, as the violence Abimelech did came back upon him. We can imagine we escape the consequences of wrong; but the violence Abimelech did to his brothers came back upon him in time. Wrong returns. Do not imagine you can do wrong and escape its consequences; turn from wrong, knowing that what you sow you reap, and that God does not let wrong go unaddressed. Do not imagine you can do wrong and escape its consequences, but turn from wrong, knowing that what you sow you reap and that God does not let wrong go finally unaddressed, as the violence Abimelech had done to his own brothers came back upon him in time, a sobering reminder that the wrong we do has a way of returning on us, since God sent discord between Abimelech and the men of Shechem that the violence done to the sons of Jerubbaal might come and their blood be laid on Abimelech who killed them and on those who helped him; for Abimelech had grasped at power by killing his own brothers with the help of the men of Shechem, and for a time he ruled and it seemed he had gotten away with it, but in time the wrong came back, discord arose, the alliance that had strengthened his hand turned against him, and the violence he had done began to recoil upon him, which holds a sobering truth about wrongdoing, since we can imagine when we do wrong and seem to get away with it that we have escaped its consequences and the wrong is behind us and forgotten, but the wrong we do has a way of returning upon us and God does not let violence, treachery, and injustice go finally unaddressed, what is sown in wrong tending in God's ordering to be reaped in time and the consequences of our wrongdoing having a way of coming home to us sooner or later, not that every consequence is immediate or visible but that we cannot finally escape the harvest of our wrongdoing, so that we do well not to imagine we can do wrong and escape but to turn from wrong.

Lord, the violence Abimelech had done to his own brothers came back upon him in time, a sobering reminder that the wrong I do has a way of returning on me, for you do not let it go unaddressed. God sent discord between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, the account says, that the violence done to the sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood might be laid on Abimelech who killed them, and on the men of Shechem who helped him. Abimelech had grasped at power by killing his own brothers, a great wrong, in which the men of Shechem had helped him. For a time he ruled, and it seemed he had gotten away with it. But in time the wrong came back: discord arose, the alliance that had strengthened his hand turned against him, and the violence he had done began to recoil upon him. Show me how the wrong Abimelech had done came back upon him. He had committed a grave wrong to seize power. For a time, it seemed he had succeeded and escaped consequence. But the account tells me plainly what was really happening: you were at work, so that the violence he had done might come back upon him. In time, the alliance turned against him, and the wrong he had done began to recoil upon him. What he had sown in violence, he began to reap. This holds a sobering truth about wrongdoing. I can imagine, when I do wrong and seem to get away with it, that I have escaped its consequences, that the wrong is behind me and forgotten. But the wrong I do has a way of returning upon me; you do not let violence, treachery, and injustice go finally unaddressed. What is sown in wrong tends, in your ordering, to be reaped in time; the consequences of my wrongdoing have a way of coming home to me, sooner or later. I cannot finally escape the harvest of my wrongdoing. Take that to my heart. Keep me from imagining I can do wrong and escape its consequences; help me turn from wrong, Lord, knowing that what I sow I reap and that you do not let wrong go unaddressed, so that I do not deceive myself but turn from wrong, mindful of its harvest.