The Strength Of Weakness

The Strength of Weakness

A Woman Of Thebez

Read: Judges 9:54-57

Abimelech knew that the blow to his head was fatal. He could face death, but not the humiliation of being killed by a woman. Abimelech commanded his armor bearer to run him through with his sword. He died, but his tactic didn’t work, as Scripture records the manner of his death not once, but twice, here and in 2 Samuel 11:21. While Abimelech died in humiliation, the woman who threw down the millstone lived with the victory of having saved the entire population of her town from a horrible fate. The Bible doesn’t record her name, but she stood out as a heroine on that day.

Compared to Abimelech and his forces, the woman on the roof looked weak and powerless, yet she became a conqueror. God has a history of making heroes out of unlikely characters—choosing younger, weaker candidates to become leaders and using small forces to conquer mighty armies. He often put the Israelites in situations where they had to realize that they had prevailed through God’s power, not their own.

Human frailty provides the perfect backdrop for displaying God’s power. When we have no resources of our own, we are forced to depend totally on God. Then he works through us in amazing ways. To the world, Jesus looked weak and powerless during his trial and crucifixion, but in reality, the Cross displayed God’s power more than any other event in history. If we feel weak and foolish, that can be a good thing. That’s just when God can use us for something great.

God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

1 Corinthians 1:27 (NIV)