Judges 9
Notes
Transcript
When George Washington’s army defeated the British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, the end of the Revolutionary War began. Winning the war didn’t automatically end the problems that the colonies faced.
Things became so bad economically that one of George Washington’s colonels wrote Washington a secret letter, urging him to use his army to make himself king or dictator. To the colonel, this was the only way to get the affairs of the young nation under control. Washington rejected the plan, but with his popularity and power he probably could have become king if he had so desired.
Abimelech was just the opposite. He had such a passionate desire to be king that he allowed nothing to stand in his way, not even the lives of hundreds of innocent people. This is the longest chapter in the Book of Judges and one of the most depressing.
1 Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem and spoke to his uncles and to his mother’s whole clan, saying,
2 “Please speak in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you or that one man rule over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”
3 His mother’s relatives spoke all these words about him in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, and they were favorable to Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
4 So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith. Abimelech used it to hire worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.
5 He went to his father’s house in Ophrah and killed his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, on top of a large stone. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid.
6 Then all the citizens of Shechem and of Beth-millo gathered together and proceeded to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.
1. Seizing the kingdom (Jdg. 9:1–21)
Abimelech was the son of Gideon by a slave woman who lived with her father’s family in Shechem (8:30–31; 9:18). His name means “my father is a king.” Although Gideon had certainly lived like a king, he had still refused to establish a dynasty in Israel, but Abimelech felt that his father had made a mistake. After his father’s death, Abimelech decided that he should be king, thus he moved from Ophrah to Shechem, where he started his campaign. I
The Jews had been acquainted with the people of Shechem since the days of the patriarchs (Gen. 12:6; 33:18–20; 34:1ff). Both Jews and Canaanites lived in Shechem during Abimelech’s days, which explains why he started his campaign there. His mother was a Shechemite and his father was a Jew. Therefore, if Abimelech became king, he could represent both constituencies!
Abimelech had another plank in his political platform: The Canaanites in Shechem had no indebtedness to Gideon’s sons, while Abimelech was definitely one of their own. Furthermore, which of Gideon’s seventy sons should be chosen king and how would he be selected? Or would all seventy try to rule the land together? With this kind of logic, Abimelech enlisted the support of both his relatives and the men of the city; and now he was ready to move into action.
It’s obvious that he was his own god and that he had no interest in God’s will for the nation. His accepting money from the Baal worshipers to finance his crusade was a public announcement that he had renounced the God of Israel and was on the side of Baal.
With the tainted money from the heathen temple, he hired a group of no-account mercenaries who helped him gain and keep control over the people. These vile terrorists also assisted him in his evil plot to murder his seventy half brothers and remove every rival to the throne.
beginning in Ophrah with their slaughter of sixty-nine of Abimelech’s seventy half brothers.
Why didn’t somebody stop these murderers and defend Gideon’s family? Because the people of Israel had forgotten both the goodness of the Lord and the kindness of Gideon (Jdg. 8:33–35). They had neither the conviction to be concerned nor the courage to intervene. It doesn’t take long for society to change yesterday’s hero into today’s scoundrel.
Abimelech’s “coronation” was a farce, an empty ritual that was never accepted or blessed by the Lord. The new “king” not only blasphemed God by the promises he made, but he defiled a place sacred in Jewish history. The coronation took place at the “great tree at the pillar in Shechem” (Jdg. 9:6, NIV). This is probably the “oak of Moreh,” where the Lord appeared to Abraham and promised to give him and his descendants the land (Gen. 12:6). It was near this site that the nation of Israel heard the blessings and curses read from the Law and promised to obey the Lord (Deut. 11:26–32; Josh. 8:30–35). Jacob buried the idols here as he called his family back to God (Gen. 35:1–5), and here Joshua gave his last speech and led the people in reaffirming their obedience to the Lord (Josh. 24:25–26). All of this sacred history was degraded and dishonored by the selfish acts of one godless man.
7 When they told Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and called to them: Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, and may God listen to you:
Jotham was the only brother to escape the massacre (v. 5). Perhaps the coronation celebrations were still in progress when Jotham interrupted with his parable from Mount Gerizim, which was adjacent to Shechem and the oak of Moreh. It was from Mount Gerizim that the blessings were to be read (Deut. 27:12; 28), but Jotham’s story was anything but a blessing. It’s worth noting that the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) was to stand on the mount of blessing; but Abimelech certainly hadn’t brought any blessing to Gideon’s tribe of Manasseh.
This is the first parable recorded in Scripture.
Jotham pictured the trees looking for a king. They approached the olive tree with its valuable oil, the fig tree with its sweet fruit, and the vine with its clusters that could be made into wine; but all of them refused to accept the honor. They would each have to sacrifice something in order to reign, and they weren’t prepared to make that sacrifice.
All that remained was the thornbush that was a useless nuisance in the land, good only for fuel for the fire. This, of course, was a symbol of Abimelech, the new king. Often in the summer, fires would break out in the bramble bushes; and these fires would spread and threaten the safety of the trees.
Jotham had made his point: Abimelech, the “bramble king,” would be unable to protect the people, but he would cause judgment to come that would destroy those who trusted him.
19 so if you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you.
20 But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”
2. Defending the kingdom (Jdg. 9:22–49)
After three years of relative success, Abimelech found himself in trouble. It’s one thing to acquire a throne and quite something else to defend and retain it. The citizens of Shechem, who had helped crown him king, began to give him trouble, as well as an intruder named Gaal.
22 When Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years,
23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully,
The activities of at least three days are described in this section.
Day one—the boasting of Gaal (vv. 25–33).
26 Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the citizens of Shechem trusted him.
27 So they went out to the countryside and harvested grapes from their vineyards. They trampled the grapes and held a celebration. Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.
The Lord created a breech between the king and his followers, so much so that the Shechemites started to work against the king. They began to rob the caravans that passed by the city on the nearby trade routes. Abimelech was living at Arumah (v. 41), and the activities of these bandits were robbing him of both money and reputation. The merchants would hear about the danger, take a different trade route, and not have to pay Abimelech whatever tariffs were usually levied upon them. But even more, the word would get out that the new king couldn’t control his people and protect area business.
Into this volatile situation stepped a newcomer, Gaal the son of Ebed, a man who knew a good opportunity when he saw it. In a short time, he gained the confidence of the men of Shechem, who were already unhappy with their king; and when a crowd was gathered to celebrate a harvest festival, Gaal openly criticized Abimelech’s administration. He reminded the people that their king had a Jewish father, while they were sons of Hamor, not sons of Jacob (Gen. 34). The plank in Abimelech’s platform that he thought was the strongest (v. 29) turned out to be his thorn in the flesh.
His approach in verse 29 was effective. Gaal was living in Shechem while Abimelech was living in Arumah. The people could tell Gaal their problems, and he could give them the help they needed, but how could they go to Arubah for help? Years later, Absalom would use this same approach and steal the hearts of Israel (2 Sam. 15:1–6). Gaal closed his festival address by saying, “I would say to Abimelech, ‘Call out your whole army!’ ” (Jdg. 9:29, NIV) It was a challenge that he dared the king to take up.
Abimelech’s representative in Shechem was Zebul, who wasted no time getting the information about Gaal to the king. Not only did Zebul share the contents of the speech, but he also gave the king some strategy for dealing with this boastful intruder. Zebul would be working for the king within the city, and the king would gather his troops outside the city.
Day two—the defeat of Gaal (vv. 34–41).
34 So Abimelech and all the troops with him got up at night and waited in ambush for Shechem in four units.
Abimelech used some of Gideon’s strategy (v. 34), although he didn’t have Gideon’s faith or the weapons Gideon and his men used. You get the impression that Zebul had convinced Gaal that he was his friend, for Gaal actually believed the lie Zebul told him. As the two men stood by the gate early that morning, Abimelech was setting the trap and Zebul was going to put in the bait.
When it was obvious that an army was attacking Shechem, Gaal had to act. In the decisive words of American slang, he had to “put up or shut up.” If he hid in the city, he would have lost his following, been disgraced, and eventually caught and killed. If he tried to run away, Abimelech’s men would have chased him and killed him. All he could do was gather his followers and go out to face Abimelech. His army was routed, and he and his cohorts were driven out of the city.
39 So Gaal went out leading the citizens of Shechem and fought against Abimelech,
40 but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. Numerous bodies were strewn as far as the entrance of the city gate.
41 Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers from Shechem.
Day three—the punishment of Shechem (vv. 42–49). Abimelech had one more score to settle, and that was with the citizens of Shechem who had cursed him (v. 27) and were attacking the caravans and robbing him of both money and reputation. The next morning, when the people of Shechem went out of the city to work in the fields, Abimelech set an ambush, blocked the city gate, and slaughtered the trapped citizens. Thus the Lord avenged the blood of Gideon’s sons. Indeed, the fire did “come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon” (v. 15). The phrase “cedars of Lebanon” represents the leading citizens of the city, who had supported Abimelech’s rule (v. 20).
42 The next day when the people of Shechem went into the countryside, this was reported to Abimelech.
43 He took the troops, divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the countryside. He looked, and the people were coming out of the city, so he arose against them and struck them down.
44 Then Abimelech and the units that were with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two units rushed against all who were in the countryside and struck them down.
45 So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.
In order to make sure the city didn’t rebel against him again, Abimelech destroyed it and sowed salt over it. The sowing of salt on a conquered city was a symbolic action that condemned the city to desolation so nobody would want to live there. “Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her towns will become desolate, with no one to live in them” (Jer. 48:9, NIV; and see Jer. 17:6).
The “tower of Shechem” may have been the same as “the house of Millo” mentioned in Judges 9:6. It was the place where the aristocracy of Shechem lived, although we don’t know where it was located with reference to the main city. The people fled from Beth-Millo to the temple of El-Berith (“god of the covenant”; Baal-Berith, v. 4, and see 8:33). Apparently they felt safer in a building devoted to one of their gods, hoping that Abimelech would respect it and leave them alone. But he turned the temple into a furnace and killed all the people in it.
46 When all the citizens of the Tower of Shechem heard, they entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.
47 Then it was reported to Abimelech that all the citizens of the Tower of Shechem had gathered.
48 So Abimelech and all the troops who were with him went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his ax in his hand and cut a branch from the trees. He picked up the branch, put it on his shoulder, and said to the troops who were with him, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.”
49 Each of the troops also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire; about a thousand men and women died, including all the men of the Tower of Shechem.
50 Abimelech went to Thebez, camped against it, and captured it.
51 There was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and citizens of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.
52 When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.
53 But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull.
54 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 ran him through, and he died.
55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.
3. Losing the kingdom (Jdg. 9:50–57)
The shedding of innocent blood is something that God takes very seriously and eventually avenges (Deut. 19:10, 13; 21:9; 1 Kings 2:31; Prov. 6:17; Isa. 59:7; Jer. 7:6; 22:3, 17; Joel 3:19). The year 1990 was a record year for murders in the United States, with 23,438 persons being killed, an average of nearly three an hour all year long. When you add to this the thousands of innocent babies killed in their mother’s wombs, it’s easy to see that “the land of the free” is stained with innocent blood; and one day we will pay for it.
Abimelech paid for the murders he committed, and it happened while he was attempting to protect his throne. Since the people in the city of Thebez, about ten miles from Shechem, had apparently joined in the general rebellion against Abimelech, he went there with his army to punish them as well. Like the people from Beth-Millo, the citizens of Thebez fled to their tower; and Abimelech tried to use the same method of attack that he used so successfully at Shechem.
However, he made the mistake of getting too close to the tower, and a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and killed him. Abimelech experienced a triple disgrace: (1) He was killed, but not really in a battle; (2) he was killed by a woman, which was a disgrace to a soldier; and (3) he was killed with a millstone, not a sword. The fact that his armor-bearer finished the job with a sword didn’t change anything; for centuries later, Abimelech’s shameful death was remembered as being accomplished by a woman (2 Sam. 11:21).
Abimelech lost his life and lost his kingdom. The curse pronounced by his half-brother Jotham was fulfilled on both Abimelech and the people of Shechem (Jdg. 9:20). “Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned” (Ps. 34:21, NIV). “The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin” (Prov. 21:12, NIV).
56 In this way, God brought back Abimelech’s evil—the evil that Abimelech had done to his father when he killed his seventy brothers.
57 God also brought back to the men of Shechem all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
Next Week Judges 10-12
Next Week Judges 10-12