9:1-3 With Gideon dead, Abimelech wanted to take his father’s place. (Jerubbaal is another name for Gideon; see 6:32.) To set his plan in motion he went to the city of Shechem, his mother’s hometown, to drum up support. There he felt kinship with the residents. These relatives were Canaanites and would be glad to unite against Israel. Shechem was an important city, a crossroads for trade routes and a natural link between the coastal plain and the Jordan Valley. Whoever controlled Shechem would dominate the countryside.
9:2-5 Israel’s king was to be the Lord and not a man. But Abimelech wanted to usurp the position reserved for God alone. In his selfish quest, he killed all but one of his 70 half brothers. People with selfish desires often seek to fulfill them in ruthless ways. Examine your ambitions to see if they are self-centered or God-centered. Be sure you always fulfill your desires in ways that God would approve.
9:4 Politics played a major part in pagan religions such as the worship of Baal-berith. Governments often went so far as to hire temple prostitutes to bring in additional money. In many cases a religious system was set up and supported by the government so the offerings could fund community projects. Religion became a profit-making business. In Israel’s religion, this was strictly forbidden. God’s system of religion was designed to come from an attitude of the heart, not from calculated plans and business opportunities. It was also designed to serve people and help those in need, not to oppress the needy. Is your faith genuine and sincere, or is it based on convenience, comfort, and availability?
9:6 Abimelech was declared ruler of Israel at Shechem, the site of other key Bible events. It was one of Abraham’s first stops upon arriving in Canaan (Genesis 12:6, 7). When Jacob lived there, two of his sons killed all the men in Shechem because the prince’s son raped their sister (Genesis 34). Joseph’s bones were buried in Shechem (Joshua 24:32); Israel renewed its covenant with God there (Joshua 24); and the kingdom of Israel would split apart at this same city (1 Kings 12).
9:7-15 In Jotham’s parable the trees represented Gideon’s 70 sons, and the bramble represented Abimelech. Jotham’s point was this: A productive person would be too busy doing good to want to bother with power politics. A worthless person, on the other hand, would be glad to accept the honor—but he would destroy the people he ruled. Abimelech, like a bramble, could offer Israel no real protection or security. Jotham’s parable came true when Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem (9:45), burned “the tower of Shechem” (9:46-49), and was finally killed at Thebez (9:53, 54).
9:16 Jotham told the story about the trees in order to help the people set good priorities. He did not want them to appoint a leader of low character. As we serve in leadership positions, we should examine our motives. Do we just want praise, prestige, or power? In the parable, the good trees chose to be productive and to provide benefits to people. Make sure these are your priorities as you aspire to leadership.
9:22-24 Abimelech was the opposite of what God wanted in a judge, but it was three years before God moved against him, fulfilling Jotham’s parable. Those three years must have seemed like forever to Jotham. Why wasn’t Abimelech punished sooner for his evil ways?
We are not alone when we wonder why evil seems to prevail (Job 10:3; 21:1-18; Jeremiah 12:1; Habakkuk 1:2-4, 12-17). God promises to deal with sin, but in his time, not ours. Actually it is good news that God doesn’t punish us immediately because we all have sinned and deserve God’s punishment. God, in his mercy, often spares us from immediate punishment and allows us time to turn from our sins and turn to him in repentance. Trusting God for justice means (1) we must first recognize our own sins and repent, and (2) we may face a difficult time of waiting for the wicked to be punished. But in God’s time, all evil will be destroyed.
9:23 This evil spirit was not Satan himself, but one of the fallen angels under Satan’s influence. God used it to bring about judgment on Shechem. First Samuel 16:14 records how God judged Saul in a similar way.
9:45 To scatter salt over a conquered city was a ritual to symbolize the perpetual desolation of the city. It would not be rebuilt for 150 years.
9:53 In times of battle, women were sometimes asked to join the men at the city wall to drop heavy objects on the soldiers below. A millstone would have been an ideal object for this purpose. It was a round stone about 18 inches in diameter with a hole in the center. Millstones were used to grind grain into flour. The grain was placed between two millstones. The top millstone was turned, crushing the grain.
Abimelech’s death was especially humiliating: He was killed by a woman, not by fighting; and he was killed by a farm implement instead of a weapon. Abimelech, therefore, asked his armor bearer to stab him with his sword before he died from the blow of the millstone.
9:56, 57 Gideon, Abimelech’s father, succeeded in military battles but sometimes failed in his personal struggles. Gideon was not condemned for taking a concubine (8:31), but the family problems that resulted from this relationship are clearly stated.
In the end, Abimelech killed 69 of his 70 half brothers, tore apart a nation, and then was killed himself. From Gideon’s life we learn that no matter how much good we do for God’s Kingdom, sin in our lives will still produce powerful, damaging consequences.