2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Earlier in this series of devotions, I wrote about Gideon. He was a good man who God called (much to his own surprise) to liberate the Jews from the oppression of Midianite control. He humbly described himself as “the least important member of the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh” [JG 6: 15]. For the most part, the examples I have written about were good men and women who demonstrated obedience and trusted the Lord. However, there are some evil men who appear in the Scriptures who can teach us the value of trusting and obeying from the consequences they suffer after committing evil. One such man is Gideon’s son, Abimelech, whose story is found in JG 9, which I hope you will read.
Knowing the challenges I faced raising my small family, it is hard for me to relate to that of Gideon, who had over seventy sons! For Gideon’s sake it is better that the events of Abimelech’s story took place after his death. Abimelech’s mother was from Shechem (between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim north and slightly east of Jerusalem), and that is where Abimelech went to live. Abimelech’s maternal relatives spoke to the men of Shechem and convinced them to make him their leader. JG 9: 4, “They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-of-the-Covenant, and with this money he hired a band of worthless scoundrels to join him.” Now, that’s a pretty bad way to get started! Things get worse. JG 9: 5, “He went to his father’s house at Ophrah [north of Shechem just south of Mt. Tabor], and there on the top of a single stone he killed his seventy brothers, Gideon’s sons. But Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son, was not killed.” After that the men of Shechem and Bethmillo made Abimelech their king.
One of the very rare parables found in the OT follows this in JG 9: 7-21. Jotham goes up to the top of Mt. Gerizim and shouted this parable to the men of Shechem. As it goes, the trees went out to choose a king for themselves. The olive tree refused to be king, because it would have to stop producing oil, used to honor God and men. [Remember that olive oil often symbolizes the Holy Spirit]. The fig tree refused, because it would have to stop producing good sweet fruit. [Remember that good fruit symbolizes good deeds, and the fig tree often symbolizes Israel]. The grape vine refused, because it would have to stop producing wine that “makes gods and men happy.” [Note the hedonistic reference here to idol worship and intoxication. In reality the wine represents the blood of Christ shed for us. The degree of unfaithfulness is revealed here]. Only the thorn bush offers to become king with the proviso that they take shelter under it or it will burn up the cedars of Lebanon. [Note that Christ wore a crown of thorns, a symbol of his suffering, as he dragged the cross to his own crucifixion]. When finished with his parable, Jotham recalls how Abimelech, the son of Gideon by his servant girl became king [hardly in an honorable way (18)]. In (19-20) Jotham wishes the men of Shechem happiness if Abimelech acts honorably, but death by fire if he is not. After offering this curse on Abimelech, Jotham ran away in fear to live at Beer (21).
Abimelech ruled Israel for three very horrible years, after which the same men who had named him king, turned on him. God orchestrated these events so that the men from Shechem who encouraged Abimelech to kill his seventy brothers would pay for their crime. Gaal son of Ebed came to Shechem, and the men there put their confidence in him to lead. These scoundrels set up an ambush for Abimelech and robbed everyone who passed their way (38-40). Zebul, the ruler of the city, became angry after hearing what Gaal said about getting rid of Abimelech. He sent messengers to the king to tell him what was going on. He encouraged Abimelech to go to war with a surprise attack on Gaal and his men. Later when Abimelech and his men were advancing, Zebul tried to convince Gaal, “they are just shadows on the moutains” (36). In the battle that followed, Gaal and his brothers were driven out of Shechem (41). What followed truly reveals the depth of Abimelech’s evil.
In his anger over the perceived betrayal of the people of Shechem, Abimelech waited until they went out into the fields, divided his men into three groups, and ambushed them killing them all. Then, he captured the city, tore it down, and covered the ground with salt. The city leaders sought sanctuary in the temple of Baal-of-the-Covenant (48). Abimelech knew this and with his followers set the temple on fire, killing about 1000 men and women there. Abimelech was not to meet his downfall until he attacked the city of Thebez, first surrounding it and then capturing it. Some of its people had climbed into a tower. When Abimelech set the tower on fire, a woman threw a millstone down on his head and fractured his skull (53). The shame of dying in this way should not be lost on us. Abimelech than asked a young man with his sword to draw it and kill him. Once Abimelech died, the people went home. JG 9: 56-57, “And so it was that God paid Abimelech back for the crime that he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. God also made the men of Shechem suffer for their wickedness, just as Jotham, Gideon’s son, said they would when he cursed them.”
It is significant that Abimelech was killed by a stone when he had used a stone to kill his brothers. A stone or rock is often used as a symbol for Christ in the Scriptures. The following three citations shed light on this issue. IS 8: 14, “Many will stumble; they will fall and be crushed. They will be caught in a trap.” IS 28: 16-17, “This, now, is what the Sovereign Lord says, ‘I am placing in Zion a foundation that is firm and strong. In it I am putting a solid cornerstone on which are written the words, ‘Faith that is firm is also patient.’ Justice will be the measuring line for the foundation, and honesty will be its plumb line.’ “ RO 9: 32-33, “…They did not depend on faith but on what they did. And so they stumbled over the ‘stumbling stone’ that the Scriptures [IS 8: 14 & IS 28: 16-17] speak of: ‘Look, I place in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall. But whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ “
PRAYER: O Lord, You have given us the story of Abimelech to allow us to observe the ultimate justice that comes to those who continually do evil. In this You reveal to us Your righteousness, so that we will understand that while You reward those who trust and obey, You punish those who don’t. The symbolism in this story is also Your way of reminding us that You have gifted us with the Holy Spirit so that we will want to produce only the good fruit in our lives that pleases You and benefits others. You instruct us to take the bread and wine at Your table, so that we are ever conscious of that most intimate covenant relationship that we have with Your Son and thus, with You. His death on the cross is not meant to be a wasted sacrifice; we are to know that it was the utmost expression of Your love, compassion, and justice for believers. He only a Stone of stumbling for those who reject trusting and obeying You. For the rest of us, He is the one sure foundation, the cornerstone, for our lives. We humbly offer You our love, thanks, praise, adoration, worship, loyalty and honor today and always. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at the story of a man named Micah from JG 17-18 (not to be confused with the prophet Micah) who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. His story really unveils the extent of lawlessness and disobedience to God during the commonwealth period of the judges. It also allows us to see a rather interesting study of personalities which have impact on this very dark period in Israel’s history. Remember that these stories are part of God’s efforts to make clear to us today what pleases Him. If He didn’t love us so much, He wouldn’t have taken the time to reveal that to us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn