Chapter 92. Judges 9:22-5722When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, 23Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: 24That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. 25And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. 26And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. 27And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. 28And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? 29And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out. 30And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee. 32Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field: 33And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion. 34And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. 35And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. 36And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. 37And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim. 38Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them. 39And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 40And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate. 41And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. 42And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. 43And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them. 44And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. 45And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. 46And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith. 47And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. 49And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women. 50Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 51But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower. 52And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull. 54Then he called hastily unto the young man his armorbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. 56Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: 57And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. (Judges 9:22‑57). Abimelech.
FOR three years Abimelech reigned over the Shechemites. But they soon tired of their cruel king. God remembered all that Abimelech had done to his brothers, and He could not let him go unpunished. The people of Shechem rebelled, and tried to kill him. They set men to hide and wait for him in the mountains, and they would rob anybody who passed that way.
A man named Gaal went to live with the Shechemites and won their confidence. One day when they had gone to the vineyards to gather the grapes and tread them down to make wine, they were merry, and having a good time. They went into the house of their god, ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. And Gaal said: “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Is not he the son of Jerubbaal (Gideon) and is not Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? Would to God this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech. Increase thine army and come out.”
When Zebul, the ruler of the city heard these words, he became very angry and sent, secretly some messengers to Abimelech, to tell him of Gaal’s coming, and that they were fortifying the city against their king. He also advised Abimelech to come during the night with his army and lie in wait in the field and at the break of day, to fall upon the city. Abimelech followed Zebul’s advice and came against Shechem, with his men divided into four companies.
In the morning Gaal saw them and said to Zebul: These are men coming down from the mountain; but Zebul said: They are shadows of the mountains. After a while Gaal said: There are more people coming by the high land, others by the plains. Then Zebul answered: Where is now thy mouth which said: Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Is not this the people thou hast despised? Go out now, and fight against him.
Gaal went, and fought with Abimelech but the latter chased him, and he fled; and many were killed and wounded, even to the gate of the city. Zebul drove them away from the city, so that they could not live there anymore. The next day, the Shechemites went into the fields, and Abimelech, hearing of it, went out against them. Those who had been left in the city rushed out, and fought with him all that day; but they were slain, and Abimelech took the city, beat it down and sowed it with salt.
The Shechemites who escaped, ran to their idol’s temple, but Abimelech and his soldiers, followed them there. They cut down boughs of trees and put them around the temple and set fire to them. All those in the tower died—one thousand men and women. Then Abimelech went to a city named Thebez and tried to take it. The people all fled to a strong tower within the city. Abimelech pursued them there, fighting against it. Then a woman on the top of the tower took a large mill stone and threw it down upon his head. He was badly wounded by it, and knew he could not live, and he cried to his armor bearer, “Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew me.” The soldier did so and Abimelech fell dead. And when the Israelites saw that he was dead, they returned each man to his house.
So was fulfilled Jotham’s prophecy that Abimelech would destroy the Shechemites, and they him. And so did God punish him for his dreadful crimes. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” for He must punish sin. Happy, indeed, those whose sin is covered, to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. (Ps. 32:1-2). The blood of Jesus Christ alone can blot out our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:1212Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12).
ML 05/19/1912