Abimelech: Judges 9

Steven W. Schenewerk

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A. Washington DC Part Two

Where was the capitol of the United States of America in 1789?

A. Wahsington DC

B. New York, NY

C. Philadelphia PA

D. Salem, OR

If you guessed Salem, OR you are way off base!

The correct answer: New York, NY. Our first president, George Washington tool the oath of office on April 30, 1789 in New York City.

Does it really matter where the president lives and serves?

Over 250 years of American history teach us that the location of the government is important - if for no other reason than the symbolism of the location.

Israel, a leaderless people after the death of Joshua and his contemporaries was without a strong leader.

Though there was no single leader for the years between Joshua’s death and the rise of Samuel, there was a place - a town or village - which was significant for God’s people.

That place: Shechem. It was near Shechem Abraham first offered sacrifices to Yahweh upon entering the Promised Land.,

A few generations later, Jacob purchases land near Shechem. Shechem is named after a ruler. During his lifetime we learn on Shechem’s son rape of Dinah and the act of revenge instigated by her brothers.

Later, Shechem is identified as the place Jacob wants to be buried after his death in Egypt.

Generations later Joshua called the people of Israel tio Shechem where as one, the people ratified God’s covenant once again.

Centuries later Shechem will be the chosen capitol of the northern kingdom, Israel as Jereboam breaks from Solomon’s son, Rehobam.

During the period of our study in Judges, Shechem is known as the location of the temple built to honor Baal-berith. Baal-berith was the chief Canaanite god, also known as ‘lord of the covenant’ - not to be confused with Yahweh!

Abimelech Crowned KING

Judges 9:6 HCSB

Then all the lords of Shechem and of Beth-millo gathered together and proceeded to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.

Abimelech, the son of Gideon and one of his concubines, allies himself with the leaders of Shechem.

They provide him money with which he hires mercenaries to kill all of Gideon’s sons - all 70 of them - through his many wives.

After murdering 69 of them (one escapes) he is recognized as king.

Notice where Abimelech is proclaimed king - in the HCSB it is called ‘the oak of the pillar.’ This may have been the place where Joshua had led his contemporaries in the covenant renewal recorded in Joshua 24.

Jotham’s Fable

Somehow Jotham the youngest of Gideon’s 70 sons escaped.

Hearing that Abimelech had been designated ‘king’ he underlined the tragedy by sharing a fable.

Judges 9:8–15 (HCSB)

The trees set out to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree, “Reign over us.” But the olive tree said to them, “Should I stop giving my oil that honors both God and man, and rule over the trees?” Then the trees said to the fig tree, “Come and reign over us.” But the fig tree said to them, “Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, and rule over trees?” Later, the trees said to the grapevine, “Come and reign over us.” But the grapevine said to them, “Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, and rule over trees?” Finally, all the trees said to the bramble, “Come and reign over us.” The bramble said to the trees, “If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”

Using a fable enabled Jotham to underline just how ridiculous the acts of those leaders of Shechem were.

Wisely, Jotham flees!

God’s Response

You may have noticed that there has been no reference to God in any of this.

God is watching!

Judges 9:23 (HCSB)

God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem.

Here is a distinct difference between all other judges to this point.

Judges 3:10 (HCSB)

The Spirit of the Lord came on him, and he judged Israel.

Judges 3:15 (HCSB)

Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjaminite, as a deliverer for them.

Judges 4:6 (HCSB)

Deborah “summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you: ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor, and take with you 10,000 men from the Naphtalites and Zebulunites?”

Judges 6:34 (HCSB)

The Spirit of the Lord took control of Gideon, and he blew the ram’s horn and the Abiezrites rallied behind him.

This time, God sends an evil spirit to separate Abimelech from the leaders of Shechem.

One specific result of this act of God:

Judges 9:26–29 (HCSB)

Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the lords of Shechem trusted him … Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech. Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal, and isn’t Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech? If only these people were in my power, I would remove Abimelech.” So he said to Abimelech, “Gather your army and come out.”

A battle occurs. Gaal’s troops are destroyed. Abimelech prevails.

Encouraged by his victory Abimelech moves against a nearby town, threatening to burn it and it’s inhabitants.

Judges 9:53–55 (HCSB)

But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull. He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, or they’ll say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his armor-bearer thrust him through, and he died. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

REFLECT AND REFLECT

THE COST OF FORGETTING

Judges 8:34 (HCSB)

The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God who had delivered them from the power of the enemies around them.

The entire episode of history occurs because God’s people don’t ‘remember’ the LORD their God.

One Bible dictionary points out

The act of remembering does not mean simply recalling information from the past, but also implies an appropriate response to that knowledge in the present. Remembering is closely linked with action (see Num 15:39–40).

Spencer A. Jones, “Memory,” in Lexham Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

One scholar notes that the text

is not suggesting that Israel forgot the identity of Yahweh nor even that they could no longer list the enemies from whom Yahweh had rescued them. It means that what they knew of Yahweh exercised no control over them, held no grip on their loyalties.

Dale Ralph Davis, Judges: Such a Great Salvation (Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2000) 118.

The Cost of Assimilation

Schechem -

where Abraham first built an altar,

where Jacob chose to have his boned interred,

the place where Joshua called Israel to a covenant renewal

Shechem had become a place of worship for a Canaanite god - Baal-berith.

When Jotham, truly a prophet of God, spoke the fable recorded in Judges 9 he was reminding Israel of their true roots -

They were not a mixed breed, they were not Canaanites, they were a distinct people set apart by God for God’s purposes.

Like the people of Israel during the era of the Judges, we are prone to forget God -

We know His Name, we sing His praise, we support His work -

do our lives reflect a constant awareness of His presence

Do our daily choices reflect His priorities, His purposes, His commands?

do our lives reflect the unique and distinct nature of God’s call?

Are we really that different from the world around us?

Are we living a distinct life - one that is causing people to notice something different about us?

Just because you know the Lord’s name, you can recite most of the Lord’s prayer, and you can attend church regularly does not mean you ‘REMEMBER’ the Lord.

In Jesus Christ God is inviting you to a life that is distinct from the life of those around you; in Jesus God is offering you a daily promise of His unending presence, and in Jesus God gives an unfailing promise of power as the Holy Spirit overflows in our lives.

We don’t need to drift away as Israel did during this period in their history.

We can stay anchored in God’s Word,

empowered by His Spirit,

and experiencing life as Jesus promised to give us.

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