Taking A Stand Against Evil

INTRO

What I love about the book of Judges is to see how these guys messed up bad and yet God chooses to still use them. I pray as you’re walking through Judges that you’ll find hope from these examples of how God will be able to use you as well. Today, we’ll be looking at Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal (also known as Gideon). Abimelech was not a judge at all but was an enemy of God.

Gideon was hiding from the enemy when God called him, and he followed God’s instructions exactly as he led a small army of Israelites against a much larger enemy. In Judges 8:22, Gideon and his grandson were asked to rule over the Israelites. But Gideon answered that only the Lord would rule over them (Judges 8:23). God brought deliverance through Gideon. Notice how the people were inclined to follow this man. They were ready to make him their king. Often when someone is used mightily by God, their pride can rear up and take over. Gideon stayed humble and obedient to God. But then, he asked for an earring from each of the soldiers from their plunder. The earrings had been used in pagan worship, but Gideon used them to create an ephod, the garment of a priest, for his son. The ephod became a point of worship. Judges 8:27 records the results: “Then all Israel prostituted themselves with it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.” Toward the end of Gideon’s life, the people began to slip farther and farther away from God.

TEACHING

Judges 9:1-6: Abimelech was the son of Gideon, whose other name Jerubbaal meant “let Baal contend.” Abimelech’s mother was one of Gideon’s concubines who was a Canaanite. As the son of a concubine, Abimelech wasn’t one of Gideon’s 70 sons and had no inheritance from Gideon. The 70 sons were living well; Abimelech was not. Abimelech struggled with jealousy and a desire for power (James 3:13-16). Out of his desire for power, Abimelech stepped way over the bounds of God’s laws. He went to Shechem to talk to his mother’s Canaanite clan, and asked if they wanted to be ruled by Gideon’s 70 sons, or by one of their own––him (vv. 1-2). The Canaanite clan convinced the rest of the lords in Shechem that Abimelech was the right person to rule since he was part of their family (v. 3). Abimelech was given 70 pieces of silver from Baal’s temple offering, which he used to hire assassins to murder his 70 brothers on one stone (vv.4-5a). Can you imagine what it would have looked like to see 70 bodies sacrificed on a stone altar? The men of Shechem then made Abimelech their king (v. 6). They anointed him their king, but he was NOT God’s king. Jotham, the youngest of Gideon’s sons, hid and survived the massacre (v. 5b). His escape shows the sovereignty of God.

Joshua 9:7-21: When Jotham found out that Abimelech had become king, he shouted the parable about trees from the top of Mount Gerizim (v.7). Within the parable:

The Trees represented the men of Shechem, productive human beings who were looking for someone to lead.

The Olive Tree produced oil and refused to stop doing what it was created to do to become king.

The Fig Tree produced sweet fruit and refused to stop doing what it was created to do to become king.

The Grapevine produced grapes and refused to stop doing what it was created to do to become king.

Notice that everyone was doing what was right in their own lives (Judges 17:6). Isn’t this true in America? We’re so busy and so focused on what we’re doing that brambles are popping up all around us to reign over us.

The Bramble produced nothing but was willing to become the king, and threatened the trees’ safety if it was not made king.

In verse 16, Jotham provided an ultimatum. If the people of Shechem had acted out of their faith in making Abimelech the king, if they had done right by Jerubbaal and his family, they would be able to rejoice in what they had done (vv. 17-19). But, if they had not acted out of their faith and had not done right by Jerubbaal and his family, they would be consumed by fire from one another (v. 20). Simply put, if they had not acted for God, if they continued to walk this out, they would destroy each other. The fire of God was going to come to these men through their dissent.

Judges 9:22-55: After Abimelech had been king for three years, God sent an evil spirit between the king and the lords of Shechem. The people of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by placing robbers to ambush trade caravans as they passed through the mountains (vv. 22-25). Abimelech lost tax monies and tariffs as well as his reputation through the attacks. A man named Gaal (whose name meant “loathsome”) saw an opportunity to take power from Abimelech. He went with the lords of Shechem to harvest grapes and celebrate in the house of their god (vv. 26-27). Gaal began to conspire to murder Abimelech (vv. 28-29). Zebul, the ruler of the city, found out about Gaal’s plan and let Abimelech know, and helped arrange an ambush against Gaal and his followers (vv. 35-36). War began between them. Abimelech killed Gaal in battle and many of the men of Shechem who followed Gaal were also killed (vv. 37-45).

After the battle, the lords and the people of Shechem entered the tower of the temple to El-berith. When Abimelech heard that they had gathered there, he used an axe to cut a branch from a tree and told all the people with him to do the same thing. They took the branches inside the tower and set them afire. About 1,000 men and women died in the tower (vv. 46-49). The curse of Jotham from Mt. Gerizim was fulfilled through this fire.

The other part of the curse was that Abimelech would be consumed by fire too. Abimelech went to Thebez and the people there took shelter in another tower. Abimelech approached the tower to burn it as well, but a woman dropped a millstone from an upper window that landed on Abimelech’s head, fracturing his skull. Abimelech called for his armor-bearer to kill him with the sword so no one would say he had been killed by a woman. The armor-bearer did as he was told, and when Abimelech was dead, the people returned home (vv. 50-55).

Judges 9:56-57: God’s plan and purpose cannot be thwarted by people. We will always see the hand of God bringing the scales of justice.

Judges 10:1-6: God raised Tola, son of Puah, as judge who “began to deliver Israel”. He judged for 23 years (vv. 1-2). After Tola, God raised Jair the Gileadean who judged for 22 years (vv. 3-5).

That’s a period of 45 years in which the Israelites were under judges, doing what they were supposed to do. But then, the Israelites again did evil in God’s sight (v. 6). Notice that each time the Israelites turned from God, the depth of their sin went deeper and the list of pagan gods they worshiped became longer. Their sin progressively got worse.

CLOSING

What does this look like for us today? There will always be Abimelechs, jealous and hungry for power, in the world. There will always be people who are hungry for power and jealous of what others have. But are we moved by that? Do we stand up like Jotham and speak God’s message against this? God is looking for us to take a stand against the chaos of our world.

My challenge is that, as we move through Judges, we don’t miss the fact that God is just. And in His justice there is mercy and love as we walk this out.