Judges Abimelech
Gideon dies and his son Abimelech decides he is going to take his father’s place. He is a treacherous man and is NOT called by God to this office.
As with every other judge, Israel turned back to the Baals after Gideon’s death. Gideon hadn’t planned to be a leader in Israel, nor did he plan for one of his sons to replace him once he died. Gideon clearly said that God would rule over Israel; not him.
Abimelech doesn’t share Gideon’s reluctance to rule. He WANTS power more than anything else. And he will do anything to achieve it. This includes murdering ALL of his brothers. Let’s look in on Israel as Abimelech takes matters into his own hands.
♥ ♦ ♥
Gideon lived to a good old age. He accumulated wives like some accumulated herds. Gideon had seventy sons with his wives. He also had one son, born to a concubine in Shechem. This son, Abimelech, felt left out. He wasn’t from a “wife” of Gideon. He didn’t grow up in the compound of Gideon’s house. He didn’t associate or train with Gideon’s sons from his wives. And he felt that division DEEP in his soul.
Abimelech had capitalized on his father’s name in Shechem as much as possible. The people knew him as Gideon’s son. So, he didn’t need to establish any unknown links. He mother also had relatives who had the ears of the leaders of Shechem.
After Abimelech had grown older, he moved his home closer to his “brothers” so he could be included more often. His brothers knew him well and began to trust him. Now, Gideon is dead and the brothers are not scrambling for power. They assume that they will share the duty or that God will call on someone, when HE is ready.
Not Abimelech. He WANTS the place that Gideon held. The place where all Israel came to seek his advice or favor. But he is the lowest of all the brothers. He is the son of Gideon’s concubine. He will be the LAST one to inherit anything from Gideon.
Abimelech refuses to sit idly by and watch his dreams of power go up in smoke. He hatches a plan and puts it in motion. He returns to Shechem, where his mother still lives. If he can get her and the rest of her family on board with his plan, he might stand a chance of realizing his dreams.
Abimelech goes to his mother’s home to plead his case. “Ima, you KNOW how wise I am. You know that I would be a great leader. And I am YOUR son. None of Gideon’s other sons have half my ability. And I am flesh and blood of the people of Shechem. We are from a much stronger clan that that of Abiezrites. We should rule. Not one of Gideon’s weak-minded sons.”
“This is true, but what can we do about it?”
“Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.” (Judges 9:2) Abimelech added a personal touch. “Have everyone from your whole clan do this. They will listen to you.”
“I will begin at once!”
Withing two days, all the leaders of Shechem had heard Abimelech’s argument. The leaders came together to discuss the issue.
“I think it is a good idea to have ONE ruler, rather than seventy.”
“I agree, and Abimelech IS our ‘brother.’”
“How is he going to accomplish the task of taking power for himself?”
“I don’t know that I want to know.”
“He will need money for whatever he has planned.”
“Agreed!”
“I don’t want to draw from the city coffers to pay him.”
“Then how do you expect him to be paid?
“Let’s take it out of Baal-berith’s treasury. After all, Abimelech will be serving Baal-berith.”
“How much should we give him? How much will he need?”
“Let’s bring him in and ask him.”
Abimelech was summoned to the meeting of the elders. He is ushered into the chamber and stands before the assembly. Abimelech puts on his best manners and bows his head in respect to the elders of the city.
“How may I be of assistance” Abimelech asks.
“We are wondering how we may be of assistance to you, in installing you as king over Shechem instead of bowing down to seventy leaders.”
“It is indeed a great honor to serve you! I will need money to hire men to assist me in ‘paving the way’ for my ascension to the top.”
“How much do you require?”
“One hundred pieces of silver should be good.”
The leaders were shocked at the amount Abimelech mentioned. That much would clean them out.
“We can come up with 70 pieces of silver.”
“That will have to do then” Abimelech smiled.
The money was given into Abimelech’s hands immediately. He bowed again then walked from the room. He went straight to an alley that he knew well. This is where all he ruthless and worthless fellows hung out. Abimelech knows this well as he hung out in the same alley in his younger days. He sees several of his old friends. Abimelech greets them warmly then gets right down to business.
“I need to hire some men for a job. It’s going to be ‘messy’. Whose in” he asks as he jingles his money purse.
Several men step forward, ready to whatever Abimelech has in mind. With the crew assembled, Abimelech leads them out of town to a secluded place so no one can overhear their plans.
“My father has died and I plan to seize power. This means that my brothers have to die; ALL of them.”
“How many are we talking?”
“Seventy.”
“That’s a BIG ask. Do you have enough to see it through?”
“Indeed I do. I have 70 pieces of silver. One for each man that is killed.”
“How will we do it?”
“We will go to my father’s house in Ophrah. We will find all of them there. They never seemed ready to leave ‘Abba’s’ protection. We will capture them in one room and hold them fast as we take them out one at a time and kill them. When we are all done, we will set the house of fire. No need to let everyone know what all happened.”
Abimelech and his men quietly entered the house of Gideon and began rounding up his sons. As they were coming to one room, Jotham and one of his older brothers heard their approach. The elder brother quickly his Jotham and told him to remain hidden. “You may be the only one of us to survive. You will have to keep our Aba’s name alive.”
Jotham stayed hidden as Abimelech rounded up all the other brothers and began putting them to death; one at a time. He took each one to a large stone in the garden. There he slit their throats and let them bleed out, like one would do for a sacrificial animal. After they had bled out, Abimelech had their bodies rolled off an embankment. They accumulated in a mass pile at the bottom of the hill.
Abimelech and his hired men were tired once the day’s work was complete. They decided they needed a little refreshment. They ransacked the house for food and drink first. Then they stripped it of anything of value. They were so drunk during their search that they never found Jotham. He remained hidden, as his brother had told him to do.
Abimelech and his men finally withdraw from the house. They tried to light it on fire, but when it wouldn’t catch, they gave up. They were beyond drunk at this point. Jotham was saved by their drunkenness.
Jotham waited until he could no longer hear the voices of the men before emerging from his hiding place. He ran through the house looking for his brothers. Then he ran to the garden. He saw the stone, covered in his brother’s blood. So much blood that it created a huge pool at the base of the stone. He could also see where their bodies had been dragged across the garden to the embankment. Jotham looked over and fell to his knees weeping. He wanted to tear his cloths and scream, but he was afraid that he would be overheard by the men who had done this. And he knew EXACTLY who it was who had committed this atrocity. He heard the men speaking to one another and his brother, Abimelech, was called by name more than once during the ordeal.
Jotham cautiously followed Abimelech and his band of followers. It was an easy thing to do, as they had no idea that anyone had survived their murderous visit. He maintained his distance, so he was unable to hear their conversations. He watched and waited to see what they would do next.
The following morning, “all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.” (Judges 9:6) A large group had gathered for the purpose of the ceremony. Jotham snuck in on the back side of the group. He asked a question of another man who was in the crowd.
“What is happening?”
“They are making our brother Abimelech king. This way we will have one king, instead of bowing down to all of Gideon/Jerubbaal’s sons.”
Jotham quietly slipped from the crowd and climbed Mt. Gerizim. He stood on top of a large rock and called out to the leaders of Shechem.
“Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
“Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved— for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative— if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” (Judges 9:7-20)
As soon as Jotham finished giving his prophecy, he hopped down from the rock and disappeared from sight. He crept away, fearing that Abimelech would do to him as he had done to his brothers. Jotham went and lived quietly in the village of Beer. It was far enough away from Shechem that he felt safe.
The leaders of Shechem had stood still while Jotham called out to them, but his words didn’t penetrate their hearts or alter their actions. Abimelech figured that Jotham wasn’t worth chasing down. He already had everything he wanted.
(to be continued)
This isn’t the only story we will read of one brother killing another brother, but this is the largest mass murder within brothers. Cain and Able were the first instance of brother killing brother, but they were NOT the last. I cannot fathom the hate or warped mind necessary for such an act. I have more than once wished one of my brothers gone, but murder was not an option I contemplated. Can you imagine the depravity of Abimelech to even consider killing ALL his brothers for a seat of power.
Unfortunately, there are still men just as depraved as Abimelech living today. All I can say is that God knows who they each are and HE will judge them for their actions. We will see how he judges the leaders who helped Abimelech with his depraved plan. He did NOT act alone. He had help.
Father God, I KNOW that You see all the evil in the world and that You have a plan for dealing with it. I pray for those who are in the path of such evil. I pray that Your hand is over them and can hide them. Tuck them under Your wing. Send someone to help them. And if they go to meet You, welcome them into Your arms.
For those who don’t know You and are in the path of evil, I pray that their eyes would be opened before it’s too late. For those who are perpetrating this evil, I pray that Your hand will grab them and ‘shake some sense’ into them. That You will stop their reign of terror and NOT allow them to be glorified by others. Or to glorify themselves.
Come Jesus come!
