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Judges chapter 9, the treachery 
of Abimelech. Thank you. We'll actually pick 
up reading in chapter 8 at verse 29 and read the whole chapter 
of chapter 9. It's quite a lengthy section 
of scripture. We'll try to get to the whole 
thing tonight. If not, we'll try and break it 
in half. Remember, the larger context, Gideon and the Midianite 
cycle from chapter 6, verse 1 to the end of chapter 9, Abimelech 
goes along with the Gideon narratives because, of course, Abimelech 
was one of the sons of Gideon that rises up and asserts himself 
to be the king in Israel, and specifically with reference to, 
or he goes to Shechem to seek to get this underway. So he goes 
along with the Gideon narrative. So I'll pick up reading in 829. 
Then Jerob Baal, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his own house. 
Gideon had 70 sons who were his own offspring, for he had many 
wives. And his concubine who was in 
Shechem also bore him a son whose name he called Abimelech. Now 
Gideon, the son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried 
in the tomb of Joash, his father, in Ophrah of the Abizrites. So 
it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel 
again played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal-berit 
their god. Thus, the children of Israel 
did not remember the Lord their god, who had delivered them from 
the hands of all their enemies on every side. Nor did they show 
kindness to the house of Jerob-baal, or Gideon, in accordance with 
the good he had done for Israel. Then Abimelech, the son of Jeroboam, 
went to Shechem, to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them 
and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, 
saying, please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem. Which 
is better for you, that all 70 of the sons of Jeroboam reign 
over you, or that one reign over you? Remember that I am your 
own flesh and bone. And his mother's brothers spoke 
all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the men 
of Shechem. And their heart was inclined 
to follow Abimelech, for they said, he is our brother. So they 
gave him 70 shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-barith, 
with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, and they followed 
him. Then he went to his father's 
house at Ophrah and killed his brothers, the 70 sons of Jeroboam, 
on one stone. But Jotham, the youngest son 
of Jerobel, was left because he hid himself. And all the men 
of Shechem gathered together, all of Beth Milo, and they went 
and made a Bimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar 
that was in Shechem. Now when they told Jotham, he 
went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice 
and cried out. And he said to them, listen to 
me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees 
once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the 
olive tree, rain over us. But the olive tree said to them, 
should I cease giving my oil, with which they honor God and 
men, and go to sway over trees? Then the tree said to the fig 
tree, you come and reign over us. But the fig tree said to 
them, should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway 
over trees? Then the tree said to the vine, 
you come and reign over us. But the vine said to them, should 
I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men, and go to sway 
over trees? then all the trees said to the 
bramble, you come and reign over us. And the bramble said to the 
trees, if in truth you anoint me as king over you, then come 
and take shelter in my shade. But if not, let fire come out 
of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon." Now therefore, 
if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech 
king, and if you have dealt well with Jeroboam and his house, 
and have done to him as he deserves, for my father fought for you, 
risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian. 
But you have risen up against my father's house this day, and 
killed his 70 sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of 
his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he 
is your brother. If then you have acted in truth 
and sincerity with Jeroboam and with his house this day, then 
rejoice in Abimelech and let him also rejoice in you. But 
if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem 
and Beth Milo, and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from 
Beth Milo and devour Abimelech. And Jotham ran away and fled, 
and he went to Beer and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his 
brother. After Abimelech had reigned over 
Israel three years, God sent a spirit of ill will between 
Abimelech and the men of Shechem. And the men of Shechem dealt 
treacherously with Abimelech, that the crime done to the 70 
sons of Jerob Baal might be settled, and their blood be laid on Abimelech, 
their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who 
aided him in the killing of his brothers. And the men of Shechem 
set men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, 
and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it 
was told to Bimelech. Now Gael, the son of Ebed, came 
with his brothers and went over to Shechem. And the men of Shechem 
put their confidence in him. So they went out into the fields 
and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them and made 
merry. And they went into the house of their god and ate and 
drank and cursed Abimelech. And Gael the son of Ebed said, 
who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Is 
he not the son of Jeroboam and is not Zebal his officer? Serve 
the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, but why should we serve 
him? If only those people were under 
my authority, then I would remove Abimelech. So he said to Abimelech, 
increase your army and come out. When Zebal, the ruler of the 
city, heard the words of Gael, the son of Ebad, his anger was 
aroused, and he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly saying, 
Take note, Gael the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to 
Shechem, and here they are fortifying the city against you. Now therefore, 
get up by night, you and the people who are with you, and 
lie in wait in the field. And it shall be as soon as the 
sun is up in the morning that you shall rise early and rush 
upon the city. And when he and the people who 
are with him come out against you, you may then do to them 
as you find opportunity. So Abimelech and all the people 
who were with him rose by night and lay in wait against Shechem 
and four companies. When Gael the son of Ebed went 
out and stood in the entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and 
the people who were with him rose from lying in wait. And 
when Gale saw the people, he said to Zeeble, look, people 
are coming down from the tops of the mountains. Zeeble said 
to him, you see the shadows of the mountains as if they were 
men. So Gale spoke again and said, see, people are coming 
down from the center of the land. And another company is coming 
from the diviner's terebinth tree. Then Zebal said to him, 
where indeed is your mouth now, with which you said, who is Abimelech 
that we should serve him? Are not these the people whom 
you despised? Go out, if you will, and fight 
with them now. So Gael went out, leading the 
men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech chased 
him, and he fled from him. And many fell wounded to the 
very entrance of the gate. Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, 
and Zebal drove out Gael and his brothers, so that they would 
not dwell in Shechem. And it came about on the next 
day that the people went out into the field, and they told 
Abimelech. So he took his people, divided them into three companies, 
and lay in wait in the field. And he looked, and there were 
the people coming out of the city. And he rose against them 
and attacked them. Then Abimelech and the company 
that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of 
the gate of the city, and the other two companies rushed upon 
all who were in the fields and killed them. So Abimelech fought 
against the city all that day. He took the city and killed the 
people who were in it, and he demolished the city and sowed 
it with salt. Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had 
heard that, they entered the stronghold of the temple of the 
god Berih. And it was told Abimelech that 
all the men of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. Then 
Abimelech went up to Mount Zalman, he and all the people who were 
with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down 
a bow from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder. 
Then he said to the people who were with him, what you have 
seen me do, make haste and do as I have done. So each of the 
people likewise cut down his own bow and followed Abimelech, 
put them against the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire 
above them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem died, 
about a thousand men and women. Then Abimelech went to Thebes, 
and he encamped against Thebes and took it. But there was a 
strong tower in the city, and all the men and women, all the 
people of the city, fled there and shut themselves in. Then 
they went up to the top of the tower. So Abimelech came as far 
as the tower and fought against it, and he drew near the door 
of the tower to burn it with fire. But a certain woman dropped 
an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. Then 
he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said 
to him, draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me a woman 
killed him. So his young man thrust him through 
and he died. And when the men of Israel saw 
that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place. Thus God repaid the wickedness 
of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his 
70 brothers. And all the evil of the men of 
Shechem, God returned on their own heads. And on them came the 
curse of Jotham, the son of Jerob Baal." Amen. Quite an interesting 
chapter in Holy Scripture. Bimelech is a particularly nasty 
fellow, as you can see in the reading here. Four sections that 
I want to look at this evening. The first is the State of Israel, 
just a bit of a review at the end of Chapter 8. Secondly, the 
treachery of Abimelech, third, the curse on Abimelech and Shechem, 
and then fourth, the judgment on Abimelech and Shechem. Now 
one of the things that we have noted throughout this particular 
book is that when the people of Israel sin against God, very 
often a foreign oppressor comes and brings judgment to bear upon 
them. And in this particular instance 
we see it's not only external enemies that Israel has to be 
aware of, but it's internal enemies as well. This gives further evidence 
of the canonization of Israel. They are becoming, like the Canaanites, 
the people they were supposed to dispossess from the land. 
They are carrying on in sinfulness, and in wretchedness, and in wickedness, 
and in this particular instance, Abimelech, one of their own, 
rises up and asserts, or tries to become, and actually does 
become the king, and he brings the nation into just a horrible 
state. of declension and wickedness 
so let's look first at the state of Israel remember in chapter 
8 verses 33 to 35 at the death of Gideon the children of Israel 
then again played the harlot with the bales and made Baal-berit 
their god." Gideon didn't necessarily finish all that well, but Gideon 
was a good servant from the Lord to the nation of Israel. In fact, 
this is what the author says in verse 35, nor did they show 
kindness to the house of Jeroboam in accordance with the good he 
had done for Israel. Jotham in the same or Jotham 
in chapter 9 in verses 7 to 21. He gives this fable, and then 
he interprets it. And he says, if you have treated 
Gideon or if you have treated Jeroboam justly and righteously, 
then be at peace with Abimelech. Of course, the implication is 
they had not treated Jeroboam or Gideon properly. They were 
not to be at peace with Abimelech. And God would bring judgment 
to bear upon both parties, Abimelech and Shechem. So we see that recurring 
theme. There is a man put in place, 
and while he's not a perfect man, he's got his issues, he 
nevertheless exercises some good restraint and some good influence 
upon the children of Israel. So at the death of Gideon, the 
people revert back to their wickedness and harlotry. Notice in verse 
34, the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, 
who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on 
every side. Again, it's cognitive It's not 
a cognitive knowledge, they knew who Yahweh was, but it was experiential. They had rejected him, they had 
despised him, they had forsaken him. And they had an ingratitude 
toward the house of Gideon, as evidenced there in verse 35. So that's the context, that's 
the situation. And notice the links between 
chapter 8 and chapter 9. Chapter 8 at verse 30 tells us 
that Gideon had 70 sons who were his own offspring, for he had 
many wives. And in verse 31, and his concubine 
who was in Shechem also bore him a son whose name he called 
Abimelech. So this is the story in chapter 
9 of his one son Abimelech who wanted to be the king in Israel. And that brings us secondly to 
the treachery of Abimelech. Now notice in verse 2 where it 
says, in the hearing of all the men of Shechem." And then again 
in verse 3, all the men of Shechem. It's better translated leaders 
of Shechem. It's probably the men who are 
in charge within Shechem. It's not all the men indiscriminately 
of Shechem, but it's probably specifically the leaders of Shechem. I think the ESV translates it 
that way. Does the NIV have leaders or 
citizens? Citizens of Shechem. Yeah, leaders 
is better. It's the word Baal. It's the 
same sort of word lord or master, something to that effect. So 
it's the men who have charge in the city of Shechem, not every 
single one of the men of Shechem. So let's look at the treachery 
of Abimelech. Notice first his proposal. Verse 
1, Then Abimelech the son of Jeroboam went to Shechem to his 
mother's brothers and spoke with them and with all the family 
of the house of his mother's father, saying, Please speak 
in the hearing of all the men of Shechem. Which is better for 
you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerobel reign over you, 
or that one reign over you? Remember that I am your own flesh 
and bone." He's got the hometown advantage here, doesn't he? Out 
of the 71 sons of Gideon, there's only one that hails from Shechem. 
Shechem's a very important city. And so Abimelech understands 
this, and he goes to his particular city to solicit the leaders there 
to try and pave the way to coronation. for Abimelech so that he can 
take the throne in Israel. The rest of Gideon's sons have 
no link with Shechem. Abimelech is related through 
his mother and it's quite interesting because what Abimelech is doing 
is pitting both sides of his family against each other. He 
goes to his mother's side of the family to try and solicit 
support so that he can become the king in Israel. Well, we 
know, of course, how he treats his father's side of the family. 
He treats them as if they are the inhabitants of a slaughterhouse. 
He murders them. He executes them. This man is 
bloodthirsty. His desire is for rule. His desire 
is for leadership. He makes this particular offer 
to the people of Shechem. The rule of one man is preferable 
than that of 70. That's his argument. That's what 
he says. Which is better for you? That 
all the 70 of the sons of Jeroboam reign over you? or that one reign 
over you is probably appealing to people like me, like small 
and limited government. I don't want 70 bureaucrats. 
One is bad enough, but it is a necessary evil. And then he 
mentions this reality. Remember that I am your flesh 
and bone. The rule of a relative is preferable 
to the rule of outsiders. He is appealing to them on a 
very basic level. And I want us to think, as we 
consider this section and Jotham's fable, something about leadership. Leadership is based on qualification. Leadership isn't based on flesh 
and blood. Leadership isn't based on desire 
alone. Leadership isn't based on, well, 
this is the only options that you have. One of the things that 
we learn in this passage, along with Jotham's fable, is the reality 
and the necessity of a qualified leadership and just how bad it 
is to have faithless leadership. In fact, in this entire chapter, 
what is highlighted is not only the wretchedness of Abimelech 
for usurping the place of the throne, or usurping the throne, 
but also the folly and the stupidity and the wickedness of the people 
of Shechem. for agreeing to such a man like 
this. You don't vote for a mass murderer. You don't select a man whose 
way to eliminate his opponents is by brutally murdering each 
other. Many have seen in Judges chapter 
9, many, at least some, have seen an anti-monarch tract. In other words, the whole argument 
here is that kingship is necessarily bad. I don't think that's what's 
in view. Kingship isn't necessarily bad, 
but bad kingship, and specifically Abimelech's kingship. And then 
the Shechemites, who wanted Abimelech, That's what's being denounced 
in Judges chapter 9. So he makes this appeal, and 
of course they agree. Verse 3, his mother's brothers 
spoke all these words concerning him in their hearing of all the 
mannered leaders of Shechem. And their heart was inclined 
to follow Abimelech, for they said, he is our brother. Again, 
we ought not to let such things dictate who we vote for. We ought 
not to let charisma, or we ought not to let brutality, or we ought 
not to let our heartstrings dictate. I remember when Bill Clinton 
ran for president in the United States of America. I was listening 
to Rush Limbaugh, and he pointed out something, that a lot of 
women that were surveyed were voting for Bill Clinton because 
they thought he was sexy. That is absolutely the wrong 
reason why you should ever vote for a government official. And 
in this instance, it is wrong to say he is our brother. Your 
brother may be a brutal, barbaric, wretched beast of a man. He doesn't 
deserve your vote for kingship. This is the point of the narrative. 
Notice in verse 4, so they gave him 70 shekels of silver from 
the temple of Baal-berit, with which Abimelech hired worthless 
and reckless men, and they followed him. 70 shekels. For how many 
murders? 70. These sons of Gideon's lives 
were reduced to a shekel apiece. That's the emphasis of the passage. And notice, these worthless and 
reckless men that he hired were hit men. They were ruthless murderers. They were men that were going 
to kill other men simply for a shackle of silver. This is 
what's going on in this particular instance. Notice, verse 5. Then 
he went to his father's house at Ofra and killed his brothers. the 70 sons of Jeroboam on one 
stone." One stone, what does that mean? It's interesting because 
that's how Abimelech meets his end, isn't it? He kills 70 men 
on one stone. This woman, this certain woman, 
throws her millstone off of this tower, one stone, and crushes 
the skull of this particular man. Which, when we get there, 
that's kind of interesting. Why would this woman bring a 
millstone to the top of a tower? Bloch said, she must have been 
a pretty sturdy woman. Davis says, the husband was probably 
saying, honey, why are you bringing that millstone to the top of 
the tower? Well, dear, you never quite know when you might need 
a millstone. I mean, that's an interesting 
turn of events. Thankfully, she had it. And that 
was the means by which, as Davis said, she exercised her crush 
on Abimelech. But notice here, this whole idea. 
Then he went to his father's house at Ofra and killed his 
brothers, the 70 sons of Jeroboam, on one stone." Bloch, dealing 
with this statement, on one stone, says, the most helpful clue comes 
from 1 Samuel 14, 33 and 34, where Saul calls for I think the word is abattoir, 
slaughterhouse, calls for a slaughterhouse stone on which he slaughters 
all the oxen and sheep his forces had kept after the defeat of 
the Amalekites. Assuming a similar use of the 
stone, all of Gideon's sons could have been killed on one stone, 
listen to this, only by murdering them serially, one after the 
other. This was a calculated, brutal 
act of murder, not a quick slaughter of unsuspecting victims. How 
does he deal with the last 1,000 people in Shechem? They're in 
a tower sealed off, and he burns them to death. This Abimelech 
is a nasty character. He's a bad man. This is not a 
good thing. The author wants us to feel what's 
going on in this chapter. He looks more like a Canaanite 
leader than he does a king in Israel. Notice that Jotham escapes, 
the end of verse 5. But Jotham, the youngest son 
of Jeroboam, was left because he hid himself. Thankfully, that 
detail is given to us so that when Jotham addresses the congregation 
and the people of Israel, In verses 7 to 21, we know how he 
got there. Verse 6 tells us they crowned 
him. And all the men of Shechem gathered 
together, all of Bethmela, which was probably a portion or a part 
of Shechem, and they went and made a Bimelech king beside the 
terebinth tree at the pillar that was in Shechem. It's interesting 
because it was at Shechem that Joshua ratifies the covenant 
in Joshua 24. It's at Shechem that Jacob affirms 
fidelity to God. Now Abimelech, according to Davis, 
and I think he's right, uses the place to sanctify his treachery 
under the auspices of Baal-Beirit. So there's a coronation going 
on in verse 6. The men of Shechem gathered, 
they went, they made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree. 
So it's one of those sort of installation ceremonies. It's 
a time of Royal pomp, it's a time of celebration. That brings us 
thirdly to consider the curse on Abimelech and Shechem, verses 
7 to 21. Verse 7, now when they told Jotham, 
he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice 
and cried out. He couldn't go to the coronation. 
He couldn't wander amongst the rabble. Here was one of the escaped 
sons of Gideon. If they found him, they would 
have cut his throat just like they did with the other brothers. 
But it's interesting. Mount Gerizim. Remember, there 
were two mounts. There was Mount Gerizim and there 
was Mount Ebal. One was a mount of blessing. 
One was the mount of cursing, according to Deuteronomy 27. 
Mount Gerizim, interestingly enough, was the Mount of Blessing. So Jotham takes his place on 
the Mount of Blessing to pronounce a curse upon Abimelech and upon 
the Shechemites. That's what's going on here in 
the hearing of these men during this coronation scene. Now, when 
they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, 
lifted his voice, and cried out. And he said to them, listen to 
me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you. And then 
he tells this fable. There's trees, and they want 
a leader. These trees first ask the olive 
tree. This is another interesting thing. 
People who see this as a tract against monarchy say that genuinely 
productive people don't want to be kings. Genuinely productive 
people that contribute to society can't be bothered with serving 
in government. It's brambles. It's thorn bushes. It's those kinds of rabble that 
want to serve in public office. Now, I'm not agreeing that this 
is a track against monarchy as an institution. But it does seem 
interesting that very often those attracted to public service in 
terms of government, in terms of that sort of thing, oftentimes 
have a desire for power, they have a desire for money, they 
have a desire for ease and comfort and all those sorts of things. 
When you look at this particular parable, or fable rather, look 
at verse 8. the trees once went forth to 
anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, 
rain over us. The olive tree said to them, 
should I cease giving my oil with which they honor God and 
men and go to sway over other trees? I've got positive contributions 
to make. I don't need to lord it over 
men. I simply need to serve and give and do what I'm supposed 
to do. Simply the opposite of what Abimelech 
was about. Verse 10, Then the tree said 
to the fig tree, You come and reign over us. The fig tree said 
to them, Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway 
over trees? Then the tree said to the vine, 
You come and reign over us. But the vine said to them, Should 
I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men, and go to sway 
over trees? You see, in each of these instances, 
and again, it's not strictly parallel, this isn't what happened 
in terms of them searching out this king of Bimelech, but this 
is what essentially happens when we get to this bramble. Verse 
14, Then all the trees said to the bramble, You come and reign 
over us. And the bramble said to the trees, 
if in truth you anoint me as king over you, then come and 
take shelter in my shade. Isn't that government? Take shelter 
in my shade. I will provide for you. I will 
take care of you. I will harbor you. No, just leave 
us alone and let us do our thing. That's preferable. But if not, 
let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon. This is fulfilled. in the destruction 
of Shechem. When he torches the place, it 
is what we see in this particular instance. So what we see here 
is not, again, a track against monarchy per se. It's not even 
a track against government, as I'm seeming to hint. Just expressing 
my disappointment with government, I guess. But what is in view 
specifically? We know who the bramble is. This 
is a bimolet. Davis says it this way. The main 
concerns of the fable are the stupidity of the trees, verse 
14, then all the trees said to the bramble, you come and reign 
over us, and the uselessness of the bramble. The fable does 
not stress the worthlessness of kingship, but the worthlessness 
of a bimilac. The concern is not that the worthy 
candidates depreciate the offer of kingship, but that a bramble 
accepts it. The problem is not kingship, 
but the character of the king and his cronies, as Jotham makes 
clear in verses 16 to 20. Jotham's theme is the foolishness 
and peril of accepting clearly unqualified leadership. Brambles 
make good fuel, but poor kings. They burn better than they rain. 
That's the point. That's what Jotham is expressing 
through this fable. And now he comes to bring it 
home specifically by interpreting or by pronouncing a curse in 
verses 16 to 20. Notice, he calls them to examine 
themselves. Now, therefore, if you have acted 
in truth and sincerity in making a Bimelech king, and if you have 
dealt well with Jeroboam and his house, and have done to him 
as he deserves, we know they hadn't. He's doing this simply 
to set them up. He's doing this simply to accuse 
them and to show them their culpability before God. he puts in and reminds 
them in verse 17 how they should have shown respect for my father 
fought for you he risked his life and delivered you out of 
the hand of Midian but you have risen up against my father's 
house this day and killed his 70 sons on one stone and made 
a Bimelech the son of his female servant king over the men of 
Shechem because he is your brother Now notice, if then you have 
acted in truth and sincerity with Jerob Baal and with his 
house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also 
rejoice in you. In other words, if you are operating 
according to honesty, faithfulness, and integrity, then I hope you 
enjoy Abimelech, and I hope Abimelech enjoys you. You're a match made 
in heaven if everything's been done on the up and up. Well, 
Jotham knows full and well that it hasn't been. And this brings 
us to the curse of verse 20, and this explains all that follows 
in the chapter. Verse 20, but if not, let fire 
come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Bethmelech. That happens, doesn't it? In 
vivid detail, that's what happens in the remainder of the chapter. 
and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Milo 
and devour Abimelech. Probably Thebes was in alliance 
with Shechem. So that when Abimelech goes to 
destroy Thebes, this is when the fire, via a millstone from 
a certain woman, comes and crushes the head of Abimelech. Verse 
20 is a curse pronounced upon this unholy alliance. Abimelech 
has usurped authority that was not his, and the people of Shechem 
foolishly appoint a man who has no business whatsoever leading 
the covenant nation of Israel. Verse 20 is fulfilled in the 
remainder of this chapter. So this is what follows, verse 
21, Jotham ran away and fled and he went to Bir and dwelt 
there for fear of Abimelech, his brother. So that sets us 
up for the judgment. The judgment. Let me just read 
this quote, hang on, real quick, with reference to this situation 
that Jotham just addressed. Bloch says, if the people of 
Shechem have acted with complete integrity toward Jeroboam and 
his family, then let them celebrate with Abimelech, and let them 
celebrate with them. But if not, then let the two 
parties to this treacherous alliance destroy each other. That's what's 
going to happen. And you know what's amazing is 
that God is hardly mentioned at all in what follows, except 
at the beginning and at the end. And the point that we are supposed 
to derive from this is that the sovereignty of God, God who sovereignly 
orchestrates this whole affair, uses means, uses Abimelech toward 
Shechem, uses Thebes toward Abimelech to accomplish his holy purposes. This brother goes on to say, 
people tend to get the leaders they deserve. people tend to 
get the leaders they deserve. When Shechem fails to do its 
job in scrutinizing Abimelech, and they allow a brutal murderer 
to be their king, they've got what's coming to them. This is 
one of the first instances in the book where we see a strict 
eye-for-eye dealing with God. Remember the common theme, they 
sin, there's oppression, they cry out, and God delivers. Amazing 
grace. Here we see amazing strict justice, 
right down to the one stone that Abimelech employs to murder these 
70 men to the one stone that falls upon his head from this 
tower in Thebes. God does not play games in this 
passage. He is dealing with sinners that 
need judgment. Bloch says also, the fable is 
not only a polemic against treacherous kingship, but is also directed 
at people who are foolish enough to anoint worthless men to be 
king. People tend to get the leaders 
they deserve. That is so, so evident in this 
passage. So let's look at the judgment 
on Abimelech and Shechem. Notice, first, the theological 
explanation in verses 22 to 24. After Abimelech had reigned over 
Israel three years, God sent a spirit of ill will. Literally, 
God sent an evil spirit. We've seen heretofore the spirit 
of the Lord coming upon the human deliverer or the human judge 
to go out and conquer enemies. In this instance, God sends an 
evil spirit to confound, to confuse, and to disrupt both Abimelech 
and Shechem to turn them against each other. Shechem is the vehicle 
by which Abimelech makes it to the throne. And now there's such 
disarray between them that Abimelech wants to exterminate them. This 
is of God. This is God's plan. This is his 
predetermined plan in order to deal with this situation. So 
after Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years, God sent 
an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. And the 
men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, that the crime 
done to the seventy sons of Jeroboam might be settled and their blood 
be laid on Abimelech, their brother, who killed them, and on the men 
of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers." 
The judgment of God may be delayed. Thankfully, it was only a three-year 
reign of Abimelech before God intervened. But three years is 
still a long time, isn't it? Imagine if 70 of our relatives 
were brutally slaughtered in a slaughterhouse, we would want 
justice right now. A year, two years, three years, 
that would start to be tedious upon the person that was victimized 
by this crime. So though the judgment of God 
is delayed, we learn from this that judgment is nevertheless 
going to be brought to bear. The judgment of God is sure. 
He will punish the wicked. And the judgment of God is comprehensive. He doesn't just deal with the 
king Abimelech. He deals with the Shechemites who put Abimelech 
into place, into power. He deals with everyone that's 
involved in this act of treachery. So this is what's going on. Again, 
this explains so much of what follows in the chapter. So we've 
got theological explanation, verses 22 and 24 to 24. Now notice 
the dispute with the Shechemites in 25 to 29. Verse 25, they set 
up ambush, why? because the king would be blamed 
if in his own domain people couldn't walk the streets without being 
robbed. This was in an effort, in an 
attempt to make the king look bad. He promised good to them 
when he assumed the throne. What actually happens is that 
the countryside or that the city the roads are such that men are 
robbed. It was told to Abimelech. He's 
getting wind that in Shechem not all is well. Now notice this 
man by the name of Gael. This is called a coup. This is 
called a revolt. Gail comes along and he throws 
another wrench into the machine. Verse 26, Gail, the son of Ebed, 
came with his brothers and went over to Shechem, and the men 
of Shechem put their confidence in him. So they went out into 
the fields and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod 
them and made merry. This means they drank a lot. 
It means they went into the temple of Baal-Berith and they drank 
a lot of wine. and probably as they drank a 
lot of wine it loosened Gael's lips to say the sorts of things 
that he was saying here and this served to rally Shechemites in 
their unity against Abimelech. Notice, they went into the house 
of their god and they ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. You see how it's all flowing. 
God's purpose, God's plan was to deal with Abimelech and to 
deal with Shechem. He sets the ball rolling, not 
in some deistic way. He's orchestrating and ruling 
over all things. But you see how the second causes 
are not invalidated. Because there's a first cause, 
therefore, the second causes are legit. And this is what we 
have in this case. Then Gael, the son of Ebed, said, 
Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve 
him? Is he not the son of Jeroboam?" 
You see, he doesn't highlight that he's the son of a Shechemite 
woman. He highlights that he's the son 
of the Israelite Jeroboam. What Gale is doing in essence 
is saying, yeah, this Abimelech is only a half-breed. It is me, 
Gale, that's a true Shechemite. And we ought to take this Abimelech 
down. We ought to crush him and we 
ought to destroy him. This is what's going on. And 
again, I think the alcohol probably helped lubricate the wheels so 
that there was some free speaking here. In fact, Davis points out, 
verse 28 is a notoriously difficult verse. In the footnotes, Davis 
says he wondered if this is exactly what he said when he was drunk. 
And that's how come it reads so difficult in verse 28. But 
you get the gist of it. He says, who is Shechem that 
we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jeroboam? 
And is not Zebal his officer? Serve the men of Amor, the father 
of Shechem. But why should we serve him? 
If only this people were under my authority, then I would remove 
Abimelech. So he said to Abimelech, increase 
your army and come out. He's challenging, he's taunting, 
he's playing. He wants Abimelech to meet. Remember, 
why is this happening? Because it's not just Abimelech 
who's being set up for a fall, but it's also Shechem. Shechem 
is being judged as well. So God's going to use Abimelech 
to deal with Shechem, and then he's going to use Thebes slash 
Shechem to deal with Abimelech, according to his plan specified 
in 22 to 24. If you have a problem with the 
sovereignty of God, if you do not see the comprehensive reality 
that God orchestrates all things according to His purpose and 
plan, you will really stumble and struggle as you read the 
book of Judges. Because the biblical author has 
no problem saying, this is the sovereign plan of God and this 
is how it was carried out. There's not all this kind of 
wondering and curiosity and head scratching and how can this all 
be? It is the way that he has specified. God is comprehensively sovereign. He has purpose for this to take 
place and this is the historical means by which it is carried 
out. Notice, Zeebel gets wind of this, 
so he sends word to Abimelech. He essentially says, you need 
to ambush Gael. You need to neutralize this particular 
threat. That's what's going on in verses 
30 to 33. Verses 34 to 38, Abimelech neutralizes Gael. He takes him out. He devastates 
him to the point that Gale and his men run off. So Abimelech 
destroys Gale and his supporters. They run off. They flee. And 
then in verses 42 and following, we're just kind of running quickly 
through some of this because it's just telling us how these 
people are executing the plan. So verses 30 to 33, Zeebel hears 
about Gael, tells Abimelech what's going on, lie in wait in the 
field, ambush these people, neutralize the threat. So then Abimelech 
and his men advance, Gael sees it, obviously Zebal is out front, 
and they have this interchange. And what happens then is that 
Zebal says, where indeed is your mouth now? I mean, this is great 
writing. This is great dialogue. What 
do we find in verse 29? If only this people were under 
my authority, then I would remove Abimelech. So he said to Abimelech, 
increase your army and come out. He's got a big mouth. He's a 
blabbermouth. Perhaps the alcohol, whatever 
it is, when Zeeball comes to deal with him, he says, where's 
your mouth now? Put up or shut up, we might say. 
Fish or cut bait. Let's do this. And they do it, 
and Abimelech decimates these people. And then 42 to 49 shows 
us the reality of the end of Shechem. Notice in verse 42, 
it came about on the next day that the people went out into 
the field, and they told Abimelech. So probably these are just the 
common folk. These are the normal, regular 
people. They thought, as far as they 
were concerned, Abimelech dealt with Gael and all of the people 
that were with Gael, all the Shechemites that rallied around 
him in his revolt and in his coup. They were squashed, they 
were put down. Life is back in order as we know 
it. Not with Abimelech. You see, 
you get a bloodthirsty, brutal king and they don't stop. They 
don't want to just say, well, everything's done at this particular 
point. Notice, the people thought everything 
was back to normal. Verse 42. The people went out 
into the field, and they told Abimelech. So he took his people, 
divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field. 
And he looked, and there were the people coming out of the 
city. And he rose against them and attacked them. Then Abimelech 
and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood 
at the entrance of the gate. of the city and the other two 
companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and killed 
them. So Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He took 
the city and killed the people who were in it and he demolished 
the city and sowed it with salt. And then the remaining people, 
these thousand, when it says the men of Shechem, it doesn't 
mean every single one in every single instance. Shechem was 
a big place, pockets of people. Now in verses 46 to 49, now when 
all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered 
the stronghold of the temple of the god Beri. Then we know 
what happens at that particular point. So what happens is that 
Abimelech brings judgment to bear upon the people of Shechem 
in accordance with Jotham's curse in chapter 9, verse 20, when 
it says, and let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men 
of Shechem and Beth Milo. That is precisely what takes 
place up to this particular point. Now, lest we think that that 
twofold curse is not going to be carried out, we see that in 
fact it is. Verses 50 to 55. The Tower of Thebes, again, probably 
an alliance with Shechem, so Beneluk goes to destroy it as 
well. He's got the same plan. What's 
he going to do? He's going to burn it down. It worked for the 
tower in Shechem. It's going to work for the tower 
in Thebes. Except in Shechem, there wasn't 
a woman lugging around a millstone. In Shechem, they didn't have 
a lady who, however she did it, dragged a millstone up to the 
top of that tower. This one thing Abimelech never 
bargained for. He never thought in his wildest 
dreams that he would meet his end by the crushing of his skull 
with a big rod. So the woman with her millstone, 
the skull crushing blow to Abimelech, and then notice the final request 
of Abimelech. He calls quickly to the young 
man after he has his head smashed, his armor bearer, and said to 
him, draw your sword and kill me lest men say of me a woman 
killed him. So his young man thrust him through 
and he died. Now was this a good strategy? 
Of course it wasn't because it's written in the Bible that a woman 
dropped a big millstone on this dummy's head and crushed it. Everybody who's ever picked up 
a Bible sees the shame of a Bimelech who was killed or bested by a 
woman. Bloch makes this statement, the 
man who had accomplished so much so quickly, gaining the kingship 
of the significant city of Shechem, murdering 69 of his sibling rivals, 
staving off a revolt and destroying all the rebels, conquering the 
city of Thebes, falls victim to a woman. Indeed the story 
of Abimelech, the macho man, is framed by two women. How does he make his appeal to 
the men of Shechem in order to get to the throne? My mother 
is a Shechemite! He comes in to prominence via 
a woman, and he goes out of this life via a woman. And so for 
all of his blathering, God has shown that this man was, in fact, 
a brutal thug that never deserved the kingship in Israel, and that 
the people who put him into that place were as guilty and as culpable 
and as blood guilty of those 69 men that were the sons of 
Gideon. as was Abimelech who carried 
out this particular treachery. So then we find a theological 
conclusion. Remember I said two places in 
this bigger narrative where God is mentioned. At the beginning, 
lest we think we're entering into an atheistic world, and 
at the end, lest we think we're exiting an atheistic world. Notice 
in verse 56, thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, 
which he had done to his father by killing his 70 brothers. And 
all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, 
and on them came the curse of Jotham, the son of Jerob Baal." 
So the text, the narrative, goes right along with what Jotham 
promises in chapter 9 at verse 20 very specifically. A couple 
of lessons and then we close. First, the necessity of faithful 
leadership. We don't want to hyper-spiritualize 
a text that deals with the king in Israel, but we should observe, 
as I've mentioned, that this man should have never been placed 
into office. Davis says this, our anxiety, 
he's talking about, he quotes from Shire. Shire wrote a book 
about Hitler, and he was a man that was present when Hitler's 
rise to power. He said he would hear Hitler 
speak, and he would blather on, he would make all these promises 
that turned out to be lies, and he was just so full of folly. 
But the people were eating it up. The people were just ingesting 
it. They were loving it, everything 
this man said. But others saw that this is not 
right. You see stuff like this in our 
own day. You get a political figure, a 
man who's able to at least pretend to speak, and he can rally up 
a crowd, but he's not saying anything of any substance. So 
Davis points this out and then he says this, but our anxiety 
does not center on Bramble leaders within history in general but 
among God's people in particular. He says, woe to Israel or a section 
of it when it covenants with an Abimelech. We should hold 
Jotham in proper esteem. He is no mere spinner of fables 
but an instructor of the church. What care God's people should 
take in seeking and selecting their leaders. That is a lesson 
we ought to glean from this time in Judges chapter 9. We don't 
vote for people because he's our brother. We don't vote for 
a person because he's a Shechemite. We don't vote for a person because 
his father was Jeroboam. You vote for a person because 
he's qualified. And if there isn't anything more 
frustrating in the church today, it's in the area of eldership 
and deacons. Well, we use the popularity scale, 
or we use he's good with people, or we use he's nice, or we use 
he's effective in his business. Is he qualified? What happened 
to First Timothy 3? What happened to Titus 1? There 
are men in pulpits that shouldn't be there. And that's because 
there's fools in pews that vote them into office. It is a twofold 
promise. It is one thing to blame a Benny 
Hinn, to blame a Joel Osteen. But they've got hordes and scads 
and oodles of people that are hanging upon their every word. 
Jesus says if a blind man leads a blind man, both of them will 
fall into a pit. It's not just the leadership, 
but it's the people as well. When the people are irresponsible 
and neglectful of clear, basic Bible verses, like 1 Timothy 
3 and Titus 1. And we put people into office 
that cannot handle accurately the Word of God. I mentioned 
recently, click here and get your degree. I saw another thing 
just recently. It was a popular Christian university 
that has a deal set up with, I think, Benny Ann. where you 
watch 10 hours of video, take a simple quiz, and then you join 
Benny Hinn's band of weirdo preachers. That just ought not to be. Listen 
to Jotham's fable. Why would we pick a bramble? 
Why would we pick a fool that's ultimately going to send fire 
upon us instead of blessing? You cannot live and you cannot 
function based on your feelings, based on your emotions, based 
on your whims. You have to function based on 
the word of God. What saith the Bible? If the 
Bible says this is what a man must be, then this is what a 
man must be. So listen to Jotham when it comes 
to such matters. I think we see the curse of faithless 
leadership. Abimelech was not a help and 
a boon to the nation, was he? You certainly didn't have blessing 
when Abimelech wore that crown. It was a curse upon the nation. It cost the city its entire identity. It was the death of Shechem. Thirdly, we've pointed this out, 
the sovereignty of God. All these things are orchestrated 
and overruled and ordained by the living and true God. for 
his glory and for the good of his people and for the punishment 
and the chastisement or rather the retribution and vengeance 
upon those who are not his people. And then that brings us to consider 
the justice of God. Bloch says, he who had slaughtered 
his brothers upon one stone had his skull crushed beneath one 
stone. And Davis says concerning justice, 
here lies a firm comfort for God's beleaguered people. God 
destroys the destroyers of his people. Now what's going on? Abimelech and Shechem were functioning 
within Israel to destroy Israel. In fact, the summary statement 
at the end of chapter 9 in verse 55, after Abimelech is dead, 
when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed 
every man to his own place. They went home. No need to battle 
and war. This fool that was brutal that 
ruled over us is God. We can go home now. We can hang 
out with our wives and kids and do what we're supposed to do 
as Israelites. He says, God destroys the destroyers 
of his people. The rulers of this age have never 
learned that whoever touches the flock of God touches the 
apple of his eye. and therefore place themselves 
under God's sword or millstone. Similarly, if God's people are 
God's sacred temple, how careful the church's teachers and members 
must be not to destroy that temple by teaching error or brewing 
strife. Judges 9 shows Israel that destruction 
can come from within as well as from without, from Israel 
as well as Midian. Yet even Judges 9 preaches a 
word of hope to Israel. God does not abandon his people 
to their Abimelechs, but keeps his people from utter destruction. Those are some good lessons. 
One commentary said, there's nothing really practical in Judges 
9. There's a lot of practical in Judges 9. leadership, sovereignty 
of God, and this whole idea of God's holy justice. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word. We thank you for your grace and your mercy. And God, 
we thank you for the attributes of righteousness and justice 
and judgment. God, as Davis points out and 
as the Bible so clearly pictures, you will punish those who hurt 
your people, and in this we do rejoice, God. We know there is 
a day coming when you will right every wrong, when you will usher 
in a new heavens and a new earth wherein righteousness will dwell. 
We know, Father, that you are good and glorious and gracious 
to your people, and I pray that passages like these would continue 
to reaffirm these things in our own hearts and minds, cause us 
to walk by faith, cause us to obey the scriptures, cause us 
not to live based on whim or experience or emotion, but to 
be principled men and women when it comes to the things of Christ. 
And we pray in His most blessed name. Amen.