Reaping What You Sow

When we were children, one form of fun and entertainment for us was playing board games. One year my oldest brother brought home this game called "The Gold Talent" which was a Bible Trivia game. To this day, I remember my brother with his handsome smile asking, "Who was the king who had his thumbs and big toes cut off?" In all of my reading of the Bible, as a teenager, I'd never found anything like this in the Bible. Back then we didn't have cell phones or even a computer at home. We had encyclopedias, but this information would not be in one, and if it was it would take too long to find.

So we were stumped, and we said, "Who?" He said, "Adonibezek."  Adoni be who??? I had never heard of him; perhaps you hadn't either.

Adonibezek's story is found in Judges 1:1-8. Adonibezek was the king of Bezek - a Canaanite king, who was captured by Judah and Simeon- two brothers. When they captured him they cut off his thumbs and big toes. It turns out that Adonibezek had done this to seventy kings, so he thought this was a just punishment. "As I have done, so God has requited me." Then they brought him to Jerusalem and he died.

There are no random stories or mere coincidences in the Bible; everything is there for a reason and serves a purpose.

We don't know why Judah and Simeon chose to inflict this punishment on Adonibezek but as you continue reading you realized that there was a method to the madness - this was a practice Adonibezek had employed on a regular basis. As he did to the kings he captured to reduce their dexterity, the same was done to him. Cutting off the thumbs made working difficult; the big toes - made walking difficult. These captured kings gathered crumbs from under Adonibezek’s table. They were really humiliated!

Sometimes God in his providence makes the punishment answer for the sin.

So be careful about cutting off the toes and thumbs of others – the same punishment may be inflicted on you. Unlike Adonibezek, if you have the chance to right a wrong, do so before the wrong comes right back to you.

The one who sows iniquity will reap trouble, and the rod of his fury will end. Proverbs 22:8

Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows....

Galatians 6:7

What do you need to make right today?