Judges 9:1 ¶ And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. 3 And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. 4 And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him. 5 And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. 6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
Abimelech is wicked and seeks power for himself at the expense of
his brethren. Matthew Henry wrote that Shechem was an important city in the
tribe of Ephraim. He noted that Joshua had his last assembly there. This was
not only where his bloodline was but also an important political move. He
gathered people to him who, as we used to say down South, “weren’t about
nothing,” meaning they were, as it says, vain and light persons.
The War of the Roses in England between the house of Lancaster and
the house of York in the 1400s was between two cadet (that is not the first
sons due the inheritance) branches of the Plantagenet dynasty. In one general
sense they were still related but in a more detailed way they were not. They
had no problem slaughtering each other in any event.
We have this, though, stating that Shechem, the person, was of the
tribe of Manasseh.
Joshua 17:2 There was also
a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the
children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of
Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and
for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son
of Joseph by their families.
Wicked Abimelech seeks that which Gideon rejected, being a king
over the people. Why didn’t the rest of Israel reject this usurpation of power?
What does a people deserve in their leaders when the people don’t seem to care
about what they have done to get the rule over them?
Judges 9:7 ¶ And when they
told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and
lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of
Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. 8
The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and
they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. 9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I
leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be
promoted over the trees? 10 And the
trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. 11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I
forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?
12 Then said the trees unto the vine,
Come thou, and reign over us. 13
And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God
and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble,
Come thou, and reign over us. 15
And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over
you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let
fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. 16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and
sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with
Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of
his hands; 17 (For my father fought for
you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
18 And ye are risen up against my
father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons,
upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over
the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;) 19 If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely
with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in
Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: 20
But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of
Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem,
and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. 21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to
Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
From the last passage the youngest son of Gideon was left alive,
named Jotham. He now chooses a place that clearly had the acoustics to allow
him to be heard by a large group of people to utter his curse. It is evident in
the amazing acoustic qualities of ancient Greek and Roman theater (not to
discount other cultures like China, India, or Persia, just sticking to the
Mediterranean world) that they had expertise in understanding how natural
landmarks could facilitate great acoustics.
Mount Gerizim is across from Mount Ebal in the Samaritan highlands
with Shechem resting in a pass between the two.
Joshua 8:33 And all Israel,
and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark
and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them;
half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount
Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should
bless the people of Israel.
It seems clear that Jotham’s words were heard just as the
evangelist George Whitefield’s sermons could be heard, according to Benjamin
Franklin, when he was preaching at Philadelphia, up to a half mile away
clearly.
Judges 9:22 ¶ When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, 23 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: 24 That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. 25 And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. 26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. 27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. 28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? 29 And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out. 30 And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee. 32 Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field: 33 And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion. 34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. 35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. 36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. 37 And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim. 38 Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them. 39 And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate. 41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. 42 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. 43 And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them. 44 And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. 45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. 46 And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith. 47 And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. 49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
An evil spirit in verse 23 doesn’t mean a demon or devil
here. It refers to a spirit intent on malice and destruction. Note the
following;
1Samuel 16:23 And it came
to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp,
and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil
spirit departed from him.
1Kings 22:20 And the LORD
said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And
one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood
before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he
said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and
do so.23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD
hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD
hath spoken evil concerning thee.
As I have explained before notice how evil is used in other contexts;
Genesis 37:33 And he knew
it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is
without doubt rent in pieces.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the
light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all
these things.
Matthew 6:34 Take therefore
no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of
itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
The treachery against the treacherous Abimelech results in the
destruction of Shechem and the slaughter of its inhabitants. This sowing the
ground with salt was also done by the Romans against the city of Carthage in
North Africa, the colony of Phoenicia, that burned 300 infants to death in one
day in prayer to Baal to deliver them. A Roman battle-cry in Latin was
“Carthage must be destroyed!” Indeed, it was destroyed but then rebuilt as
Roman Carthage. The men and women of Shechem are also revealed to be
idolaters. Berith is a god’s name meaning covenant which is used in Jewish
sources as BaalBerith, lord of the covenant. He is said to be the same god as Baalzebub,
the lord of the flies, at Ekron.
2Kings 1:2 And Ahaziah fell
down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick:
and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of
Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.
Judges 9:50 ¶ Then went
Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 51 But there was a strong tower within the city,
and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it
to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower. 52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought
against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a
millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull. 54 Then he called hastily unto the young man his
armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not
of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
55 And when the men of Israel saw that
Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. 56 Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech,
which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: 57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did
God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of
Jerubbaal.
Women do some pretty seemingly out of character stuff in the Bible
when men’s hearts are weak. Think of Deborah’s leadership of Israel early in
Judges and of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, in her disposing of Sisera. Think
of later the wise woman in 2Samuel, chapter 20, and Huldah, the
prophetess who had the nerve to preach to the king’s men in 2Kings, chapter 22.
Jeremiah 31:22 How long
wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a
new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
The treasonous Abimelech suffers as his brother, Jotham, had
cursed him. So may it be to all men and women who gain executive power by
deceit and treachery.
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