Fear No Fear

“He had thirty sons who rode thirty donkeys and owned thirty cities that are in the land of Gilead. They are called Havvoth Jair to this day” (Judges 10:4). This is pretty good. Thirty sons. Each one had a donkey. Donkeys were symbols of peace, whereas horses were symbols of war. They were symbols of royalty – only kings rode donkeys. They were symbols of prosperity – you frequently notice them listed in lists of people’s wealth. Each of this man’s sons had a donkey and each one had a village (in Hebrew those two words are very close). These weren’t just sons, but princes. It’s a VERY positive image of prosperity in a time of peace (twenty-two years according to the previous verse). But it is prosperity without PURPOSE. It isn’t building up Israel. It isn’t blessing those around him enough for it to be noted. It isn’t a negative thing by any means, but it could be so much more. You don’t see these sons doing anything. Or building anything. Or even ruling. Compare that with Boaz in the book of Ruth who is consistently doing things. Taking care of people, checking in with people, blessing people – and that’s before Ruth catches his eye as someone worthy of being taken care of. Compare with the Song of Solomon where the Shulamite woman is not treated well by her family and the ruler is unwilling to let that stand. Who chases after her and makes sure she’s cared for. There is no evidence that these sons did anything other than ride their donkeys and wander through their towns being their owners. As we prosper in the Spirit and then in every area of our lives (3 John 2), may we be more than a footnote. May we do more than drive our vehicles and own our houses. May we be such a blessing we have the reputation Abraham had of generous bounty.