Judges 9 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Jud 9:1-21

1 Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother’s clan, 2 ‘Ask all the citizens of Shechem, “Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal’s sons rule over you, or just one man?” Remember, I am your flesh and blood.’

3 When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelek, for they said, ‘He is related to us.’ 4 They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelek used it to hire reckless scoundrels, who became his followers. 5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. 6 Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelek king.

7 When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, ‘Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. 8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, “Be our king.”

9 ‘But the olive tree answered, “Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honoured, to hold sway over the trees?”

10 ‘Next, the trees said to the fig-tree, “Come and be our king.”

11 ‘But the fig-tree replied, “Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?”

12 ‘Then the trees said to the vine, “Come and be our king.”

13 ‘But the vine answered, “Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?”

14 ‘Finally all the trees said to the thorn-bush, “Come and be our king.”

15 ‘The thorn-bush said to the trees, “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 thorn-bush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!”

16 ‘Have you acted honourably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you treated him as he deserves? 17 Remember that my father fought for you and risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian. 18 But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you. 19 So have you acted honourably and in good faith towards Jerub-Baal and his family today? If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too! 20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!’

21 Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelek.

A. Find Out:

1. Who did Abimelech go to and what did he suggest? v.1,2
2. How did they respond and what happened? v.3-5
3. What did the people go to do but what did Jotham do? v.6,7
4. As what bush did he picture Abimelech? v.8-15
5. What conditions did he put on their blessing? v.16-19
6. If they failed that test, what curse did he lay on them? v.20

B. Think:

1. How did Abimelech act unrighteously?
2. How did Jotham act well?
3. How was Abimelech different from all the judges before him?

C. Comment:

     Israel are in a bad way. They have turned from the Lord and they have turned from Gideon. He appears to have been unwise in terms of the number of wives and concubine that he had and the present story is part of the fruit of that! Abimelech is the son of Gideon’s concubine and as such,. he feels separate from the rest of the sons. He goes to his uncles in Shechem and suggests a rebellion, the end result of which is that all the other brothers, except one, are murdered. Now observe even more Israel’s folly – they go to make Abimelech king! King? Who said there should be kings in Israel? So far God had raised up judges for them, but there is no mention of the Lord in all this. This is simply an unrighteous and ungodly act by these people. One sin on another!

     But the one survivor of the sons, Jotham, doesn’t take this lying down. He goes to a high place and denounces the folly of these people. He pictures the trees going to ask one of them to be king over them. He pictures three fruitful trees declining this offer because they see it is a foolish offer that would stop them being what they were called to be. The only one left was an unfruitful, harsh thorn bush. That’s Abimelech. If you can say you’ve acted righteously, he says, then may he bless you. But if you haven’t then may he destroy you and be destroyed. He thus invokes a curse upon them – and they deserve it!

D. Application:

1. God gifts us and calls us. We are foolish to go beyond that.
2. Unrighteousness means merely create an unrighteous end. Beware.

Passage: Jud 9:22-57

22 After Abimelek had governed Israel for three years, 23 God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek. 24 God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal’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. 25 In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelek.

26 Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his clan into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. 27 After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelek. 28 Then Gaal son of Ebed said, ‘Who is Abimelek, 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? 29 If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelek, “Call out your whole army!”’

30 When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. 31 Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelek, saying, ‘Gaal son of Ebed and his clan have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. 32 Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields. 33 In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, seize the opportunity to attack them.’

34 So Abimelek and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. 35 Now Gaal son of Ebed 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.

36 When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, ‘Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!’

Zebul replied, ‘You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men.’

37 But Gaal spoke up again: ‘Look, people are coming down from the central hill, and a company is coming from the direction of the diviners’ tree.’

38 Then Zebul said to him, ‘Where is your big talk now, you who said, “Who is Abimelek that we should be subject to him?” Aren’t these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!’

39 So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelek. 40 Abimelek chased him all the way to the entrance of the gate, and many were killed as they fled. 41 Then Abimelek stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem.

42 The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelek. 43 So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. 44 Abimelek and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance of the city gate. Then two companies attacked those in the fields and struck them down. 45 All that day Abimelek pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.

46 On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. 47 When Abimelek heard that they had assembled there, 48 he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an axe and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, ‘Quick! Do what you have seen me do!’ 49 So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelek. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire with the people still inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.

50 Next Abimelek went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. 51 Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women – all the people of the city – had fled. They had locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof. 52 Abimelek went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, 53 a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

54 Hurriedly he called to his armour-bearer, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, “A woman killed him.”’ So his servant ran him through, and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelek was dead, they went home.

56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

A. Find Out:

1. What did God do and why, that explains what follows? v.22-24
2. What was the first sign of this? v.25
3. Who then came and did what? v.26-29
4. What did this result in? v.30-41
5. What then followed? v.42-49
6. Where did Abimelech next go, and with what consequence? v.50-55
7. How does the summary clearly show what had happened? v.56,57

B. Think:

1. What was the ultimate end of God’s act of judgement here?
2. How spiritually did He achieve that?
3. How was that worked out in human lives?

C. Comment:

     Abimelech and the people of Shechem have sinned and God is going to do something about that. Understanding what took place means we come to understand a completely new dimension to the spiritual world and how it impinges on the material world.

     We’re told that the Lord sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the people of Shechem. The Bible shows us that the Lord uses Satan as a tool of judgement or an instrument in bringing discipline (1 Cor 5:5) and similarly He allows evil spirits to have access to unbelievers (see also 1 Kings 22:19-23) to bring about the same thing. Now the two parties concerned already have sinful attitudes and so the Lord simply releases an evil spirit to stir up their already bad attitudes.

     The first sign of this happening is the people of Shechem abusing the rule of law under Abimelech (v.25). This is then followed by a troublesome outsider coming into Shechem who appears to have been welcomed by most of the people there. News of this comes to Abimelech and he attacks and destroys the city. Judgement, phase one complete! He then goes on to the next town to do the same thing, exerting his rule – and is killed. Judgment, phase two complete! The Lord thus allows ungodly attitudes to be stirred so that ungodly people kill ungodly people. Problem over!

D. Application:

1. We tend to be casual about sin. God isn’t!
2. We excuse sin. God judges it!