We all know how many politicians are corrupt these days; we’ve read about it in our newspapers and heard about it on the news. And for many politicians, it’s all about a quest for power, and as we all know, power can corrupt. We also know of individuals who’ve been seduced by power and will do whatever it takes to get to the top.
Abimelek was a man who, like many politicians, promised a better future for the people if he got into power, and he, too, is just as corrupt as many of the politicians we see today.
Abimelek was one of Gideon’s seventy sons, from a harem of wives and concubines, Judges 8:30-31. He wasn’t a judge appointed by God, and he didn’t deliver Israel from invaders as the previous leaders did.
Abimelek was an opportunist, and as we’ll see, he took power through violence and treachery. He’s what some call the ‘anti-judge’ because nowhere does he even acknowledge God as Lord of Israel.
Remember, the Jews had been fighting external enemies up to this point, but now they’re about to be burdened with internal corruption, which is far more dangerous. And as we know sibling rivalry has been going on since the beginning of time.
Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:1-16, Isaac and Ishmael, Genesis 21:1-21, Jacob and Esau, Genesis 25:29-34. Joseph and his brothers, Genesis 37:18-21, and now we have Abimelek against his seventy siblings.
Abimelek goes to his mother’s brothers in Shechem, Joshua 24:11 / 1 Samuel 23:11-12, and said to them and to all his mother’s clan, ask all the citizens of Shechem, which is better for them, is it to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal’s, that is Gideon’s, sons rule over them, or just one man? And he reminds them that he is their flesh and blood, Judges 9:1-2.
Remember, his father Gideon refused to be king because he recognised God was their ruler, Judges 8:23. When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelek, for they said, he is related to them, Judges 9:3. Remember he was related but he was born of one of Gideon’s concubines, Judges 8:30-31.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The Ephraimite pride revolted from Abi-Ezrite rulers and inclined them to one who was a Shechemite by birth. (Compare the same spirit in the time of David and Rehoboam, 2 Samuel 20:1 / 1 Kings 12:16.’
It’s interesting that the Shechemites certainly knew this local son, but they didn’t know God. Their religion had devolved into a hybrid fusion of theism and idolatry; they mixed the Jewish Law with pagan practices.
Let me say a few words about Baal because I think it’s important that we understand who or what this is. Remember, before the Hebrews entered the Promised Land, the Lord God warned them against worshipping the Canaanites’ gods, Deuteronomy 6:14-15, but Israel turned to idolatry anyway.
Baal was the name of the supreme god worshipped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. The practise of Baal worship infiltrated Jewish religious life during the time of the Judges, Judges 3:7. It wasn’t long before it became widespread in Israel during the reign of Ahab, 1 Kings 16:31-33, and also affected Judah, 2 Chronicles 28:1-2.
The word Baal means ‘lord’, and the plural is Baalim and in general. Baal was a fertility god who was believed to enable the earth to produce crops and people to produce children.
Different regions worshipped Baal in different ways, and Baal proved to be a highly adaptable god. Various areas emphasised one or another of his attributes and developed special doctrines of Baalism.
For example, Numbers 25:3 refers to Baal of Peor, and later it is known as Baal-Berith in Judges 8:33; in other words, it became a localised deity. According to Canaanite mythology, Baal was the son of El, the chief god, and Asherah, the goddess of the sea.
Baal was considered the most powerful of all gods, eclipsing El, who was seen as rather weak and ineffective. In various battles, Baal defeated Yamm, the god of the sea, and Mot, the god of death and the underworld.
Baal’s sisters were Ashtoreth, a fertility goddess associated with the stars, and Anath, a goddess of love and war. And as we know, the Canaanites worshipped Baal as the sun god and as the storm god.
He’s usually depicted holding a lightning bolt, who defeated enemies and produced crops. They also worshipped him as a fertility god who provided children.
Baal worship was rooted in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. At times, appeasing Baal required human sacrifice, usually the firstborn of the one making the sacrifice, Jeremiah 19:5.
One of the most famous incidents in the Bible involving Baal was during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel. At the height of Baal worship in Israel, God directly confronted the paganism through His prophet Elijah.
First, God showed that He, not Baal, controlled the rain by sending a drought lasting three and a half years, according to 1 Kings 17:1. Then Elijah called for a showdown on Mount Carmel to prove once and for all who the true God was.
And if you remember all day long, four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal called on their god to send fire from heaven, which was surely an easy task for a god associated with lightning bolts. But as 1 Kings 18:29, tells us, ‘there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.’
And after Baal’s prophets gave up, Elijah prayed a simple prayer, and God answered immediately with fire from heaven. The evidence was overwhelming, and the Bible says in 1 Kings 18:39, ‘the people fell prostrate and cried, ‘The LORD, he is God! The LORD, he is God!’ In other words, Baal was a god who didn’t exist except in the minds of those who wanted him to be real.
Now, going back to our text, notice they gave Abimelek seventy shekels of silver, which is around one and three-quarters pounds from the temple of Baal-Berith, Judges 9:4.
This tells us that the Israelites were involved in worshipping Baal-Berith, which literally means ‘the Baal of the covenant’. The Israelites were supposed to be in a covenant relationship with God, but they were now in a covenant relationship with Baal.
He uses the money from the temple to hire reckless scoundrels, who became his followers, Judges 9:4 / Zephaniah 3:4. Abimelek’s claim to the throne was on the basis of being a son of Gideon, who had been offered kingship.
The motive for his ambition wasn’t to serve his people, but to gain power. As a son of Gideon, his name meant ‘my father is king’, and Abimelek felt he might take the throne his father declined.
There were many other potential contenders, but Abimelek had a plan; he rounded up his seventy brothers and had them brutally and publicly executed, Judges 9:5.
Yes, he was inspired by his father to lead Israel, but he revealed his hatred toward his father by murdering his brethren. He wanted to be king at any cost, and he wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This type of wholesale murder was often practised in antiquity, as in the cases of the seventy sons of Ahab, 2 Kings 10:7, the seed royal of Judah, 2 Kings 11:1, the whole house of Jeroboam, 1 Kings 15:29, and the whole house of Zimri, 1 Kings 16:11-12.’
But there was one brother whom he didn’t murder, Jotham, of the seventy brothers, and so Jotham hid, Judges 9:5. Jotham’s name means, ‘God is blameless, honest, and filled with integrity’, which is the absolute opposite of Abimelek, who rejected all that is holy.
Abimelek promised to look out for their best interests when he consolidated power, Judges 9:1-3, and he convinced the people of Shechem, his hometown, to crown him king, Judges 9:6 / Judges 8:22-23.
Jotham escaped, and he addressed the people of Shechem on top of Mount Gerizim and asked the citizens of Shechem to listen to him, so that God may listen to them, Judges 9:7.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Jotham’s fable was a parable with a moral, 2 Samuel 12:1-4 / 2 Kings 14:9-10. It is generally recognised as the first parable in the Bible. The olive and fig trees and the grape vine represented productive human beings-oil, figs, and wine being among the most important products of Canaan. Brambles bore no fruit and offered no shelter or protection. They only injured those who got too close to them.’
Jotham’s fable is about three valuable trees, native to Israel, which are offered kingship, Judges 9:8. First the olive tree was asked to their king but the live tree refuses and says, should it give up its oil, by which both gods and humans are honoured, to hold sway over the trees? Joshua 9:8-9.
Next, the fig tree is asked to become their king, but the fig tree refuses and says, Should it give up its fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees? Judges 9:10-11.
Finally, the vine was asked to be their king but refuses and says, Should it give up its wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees? Judges 9:12-13.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Alluding to the constant use of oil in the meat-offerings, Leviticus 2:1-16, and in the holy ointment, Exodus 30:24-25. In like manner, the allusion in Judges 9:13 is to the drink-offerings of wine, Leviticus 23:13 / Numbers 15:10.’
However, when the thornbush is asked to be their king, the thornbush accepts the position with a provision: ‘If you really want to anoint me, king over you, come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon! Judges 9:14-15 / Psalms 58:9.
The thornbush represents Abimelek, and I don’t know about you, but this would be quite impossible because there’s no shade, comfort, or protection to be found from a thornbush.
Jotham continues to drive home his point and asks three questions. Have they acted honourably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? Have they been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have they treated him as he deserves? Judges 9:16.
Jotham asks them to remember what his father Gideon did when he fought for them and risked his life to rescue them from the hand of Midian, Judges 9:17. He tells them they have revolted against Gideon’s family and they have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, Judges 9:5, and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem, Judges 9:6, because he is related to them, Judges 9:1-3 / Judges 9:18.
He continues and asks them again, have they acted honourably and in good faith toward Gideon and his family today? Judges 9:19 / Judges 9:16. He says if they have, may Abimelek be their joy, and may they be his, too, but if they haven’t, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume them, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from them, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek! Judges 9:19-20.
Jotham wanted the people to know that it would be madness to make such a wicked man their king and if they did, then they would reap the consequences and suffer ruin under his rule.
We may wonder, why did God’s people let this happen? When we spend too much time in the world and in the presence of wickedness, we will ultimately become like them. There are times when we think we can change people by our conduct and by our speech if we just spend enough time with them.
But if we have a barrel full of rotten apples and we put a good apple into that barrel, is the good apple going to help turn those bad apples good over a period of time? No, the bad apples are going to make the good apple bad, Proverbs 12:26 / Proverbs 13:20 / 1 Corinthians 15:33.
God’s people had become Canaanite in their character, rather than standing for God. They broke their covenant and adjusted to the values of the godless culture. We have to be on our guard against being shaped by our culture, especially when leaders don’t model godly behaviour. God is always in control, and so God raised up opposition to Abimelek, and He can use human means to oppose all leaders who refuse to live for Him.
After Jotham had stated his fable, he fled and let the political game between Abimelek and the Shechemites run its course, Titus 3:9-11. Jotham understandably flees and escapes to Beer, which means ‘well’, 2 Samuel 17:18-21, and lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelek, Judges 9:21.
After Abimelek had governed Israel three years, notice that God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek, Judges 19:22-23.
God did this in order that the crime against Gideon’s seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelek and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers, Judges 9:24.
God worked in this situation between Abimelek and the Shechemites, 1 Samuel 16:14. God allowed all the politics to happen in order to bring an end to the reign of Abimelek.
In opposition to Abimelek, the citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelek, Judges 9:25.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It was at an idolatrous feast in the house of Baal-Berith, on occasion of the vintage, and when they were excited with wine, that the rebellion was matured. Those present began to ‘curse Abimelech,’ to speak insultingly of him, and to revile him, Leviticus 20:9 / 2 Samuel 19:21 / Isaiah 8:21.’
Gaal, son of Ebed, moved with his clan into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him, Judges 9:26. No one is sure when this festival took place, here, it was used by Gaal as a chance to win the confidence of the men of Shechem, Judges 9:27.
Then Gaal asks who Abimelek is, and why should we Shechemites be subject to him? Isn’t he Jerub-Baal’s son, and isn’t Zebul his deputy? Serve the family of Hamor, Shechem’s father!
Why should we serve Abimelek? Judges 9:28. He says if only this people were under his command, then he would get rid of them and tells Abimelek to call out his whole army, Judges 9:29.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The fatal flaw in this ill-advised insurrection was that Zebul, Abimelech’s deputy governor of Shechem, was present and reported the whole affair to Abimelech.’
Many years before, Simeon and Levi were killed because his son, Shechem raped Dinah, who was Simeon and Levi’s sister, Genesis 34:2. Because of this Gaal appealed to the pride of the men of Shechem and he challenged them concerning their desire to have an Abiezrite, Judges 6:11, Abimelek, the son of Gideon, reigns over them rather than one of their own.
It was the ruler of Shechem, Zebul, who heard what Gaal said, and he was very angry, Judges 9:30. He was the one who informed Abimelek what was happening, Judges 9:31. Zebul was the one who came up with the idea of a surprise attack against those who wanted to overthrow him as their king, Judges 9:32-33.
Abimelek takes Zebul’s advice and so his troops set out by night and take up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies, Judges 9:34. Gaal had gone out and was standing at the entrance of the city gate just as Abimelek and his troops came out from their hiding place, Judges 9:35.
When Gaal sees them, he says to Zebul, look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains and Zebul replies and says, he mistakes the shadows of the mountains for men, Judges 9:36.
Gaal speaks again and says to Zebul, look, people are coming down from the central hill, and a company is coming from the direction of the diviners’ tree, Judges 9:37.
Zebul replies and asks, Where is his big talk now, he who said, who is Abimelek that we should be subject to him? Aren’t these the men they ridiculed? Go out and fight them, Judges 9:38.
Gaal now led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelek. Abimelek chased him all the way to the entrance of the gate, and many were killed as they fled, and then Abimelek stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem, Judges 9:39-41.
The next day, the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelek, Judges 9:42. So, he took his men, divided them into three companies, and set an ambush in the fields, Judges 9:43. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them, Judges 9:43.
Abimelek and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance of the city gate and then two companies attacked those in the fields and struck them down, Judges 9:44.
Those who lived in Shechem were totally slaughtered by Abimelek’s army, Judges 9:25. The city was also totally destroyed and the land was sowed with salt, Judges 9:45, as a symbol that it should never produce again, Deuteronomy 29:23 / Jeremiah 17:6.
We are reminded that God doesn’t create evil men but He can use them for His purposes. We read that God judged the Shechemites through the commission of Abimelek’s men.
When news about what had happened reached the citizens in the tower of Shechem, they went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith, Judges 9:46. When Abimelek heard that they had assembled there, he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon, Judges 9:47-48.
Notice what he did, he took an axe and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders, and then he ordered the men with him, Do quickly what they have seen him do, Judges 9:48.
So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelek, and because the tower of Shechem was a wooden tower or refuge for around one thousand men and women, and it became a furnace for their execution, Judges 9:49. Abimelek burned to death all those who took refuge in this tower to false gods.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The mention of women here is significant. They were most likely the wives of the lords of Shechem. and the women attending the priests of Baal.’
In Jotham’s prophetic fable, he stated that fire would come from the thornbush and consume the people, Judges 9:20. Jotham’s fable was fulfilled, and they certainly reaped the consequences for choosing such an evil king.
Abimelek now goes to Thebez and besieges it and captures it, Judges 9:50. Inside the city, there was a strong tower, to which all the men and women, all the people of the city had fled, and they had locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof, Judges 9:51.
Abimelek’s death ultimately came from the hand of a woman, not a soldier, using a farming implement. This is very similar to what happened to Sisera, if you remember who was killed by Jael, Judges 4:21, when a woman drops a millstone from a tower on Abimelek, crushing his skull, Judges 9:52-53.
The New Bible Dictionary says the following.
‘The upper millstone the woman threw down on Abimelech was probably about 18 inches in diameter.’
Abimelek calls to his armor-bearer and asks him to kill him, so that they can’t say, a woman killed him and so, his servant killed him and he died, Judges 9:54. When the Israelites saw that Abimelek was dead, they went home, Judges 9:55, and notice that it was God who took credit for the death of Abimelek, Judges 9:56-57 / Judges 9:6, though it was the woman who cast down the stone upon his head.
Once again, Jotham’s fable warning came to fulfilment, Judges 9:57 / Judges 9:20. Israel refused to be governed by God, so they turned to Abimelek, who turned out to be the natural consequence of their apostasy.
Abimelek failed because he didn’t recognise who his true Father was; he didn’t want to recognise or accept God as his Father, and all that followed was disaster. Once again, the Bible assures us that God allows people to attain public office, but He can also remove them when He chooses, Daniel 2:21.