1. (Judges 9:22-25) A spirit of ill will between Abimelech and Shechem
Now Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. The men of Shechem set men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who might pass by them along the road; and it was told to Abimelech.
Now Abimelech ruled over Israel three years: Verse 22 explains for three years Shechem followed Abimelech despite Jotham's warning. Now the judgment of God which had been patiently suspended begins to descend. The Shechemites turned against their newly appointed leader. It is interesting that even though the wicked plans of evil men can be hidden from people for a time, eventually it all comes to light. Furthermore, it is only a three year period of time which passed before the Shechemites realized they were deceived. Now, they wanted a change in leaders. In the future, it is going to take three years from the time of his coronation as king of the world, swept into office by an adoring public willing to turn everything over to him, before the world finds out the true intentions of the Anti-Christ.
Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem: It appears Abimelech did not live and rule from Shechem. Rather, he appointed an overseer to govern named Zebul to deal with Shechem. Zebul lived in Shechem, guided the city and made regular reports to his boss, Abimelech. Abimelech choosing to live in Arumah was a great insult to those who made his reign possible. His very own family lived in Shechem and put their own reputations on the line to get Abimelech coronated. There was an implied agreement which stated Shechem would be the seat of government over Abimelech's kingdom.
But after three years, the people of Shechem caught on to Abimelech and realized his only agenda for power mattered, and they were just a means to an end.
The trouble which started was a direct result of God's intervention. It was God who sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the baals (leaders) of Shechem. God was using a demon to bring about the demise of Abimelech and his so-called kingdom.
Does it surprise you that God would order a demon, an evil minion of Satan to cause treachery among men? And it was all to serve His purposes? Do not be surprised. We will see it again in the other parts of the Bible. As a result of a demonic attack (at God's command), the citizens of Shechem began to plot against Abimelech. There would have been practical reasons for the citizens of Shechem to go after Abimelech (at least in their minds there was), but in the end, the LORD used a demon to foment it. What was the reason for the LORD doing this? Verse 24 explains that it was necessary to avenge the blood of the sons of Jerubbaal (Gideon).
If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. You shall not take ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to live in the land before the death of the priest. So you shall not pollute the land in which you are, for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel. (Numbers 35:30-34)
So that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother: Remember one of the God-principles established in the Torah is murder (blood) must by dealt with by executing the murderer. The reason is blood (unjust killing) pollutes the land spiritually. The only way in which spiritual pollution ends is when the blood of the killed is spilled. Otherwise, the land is under the curse of the law. So, God takes the matter in these lawless times into His own hands and arranges for the circumstances to bring the perpetrator (Abimelech and his henchmen) to justice.
They robbed all who might pass them along the road: The people of Shechem made plans to counter Abimelech's efforts as a first step towards deposing him. Among those plans was the one stated in verse 25 where they stationed liers in wait on the mountaintpos above Shecehm. In other words, they put some willing men upon the twin mountains of Ebal and Gerizim so they could look down upon the main trade highways running through Shechem which connected the east with the west and the north with the south. They then robbed the caravans which passed through the area.
Not only did this give these robbers a boost in their personal incomes, it caused a great deal of trouble for Abimelech, which was the intent. The kings of this era forced taxes and tolls from the traders and merchants who traveled the trade routes which ran through their territories. Part of the reason these traders agreed to pay the tolls was so they received the king's protection from thieves and nomads. If the local king failed to provide security and the thievery got too out of hand, the traders would avoid the area. The king would lose a major source of funds for his treasury. Abimelech soon learned of this, understood immediately what was happening and the stage was set for a showdown.
Brief Recap
Gideon had 70 sons by his legal wives and one son (Abimelech) by a Canaanite woman from the city of Shechem. Having so many wives and sons meant Gideon had became very wealthy and lived a kingly lifestyle. Gideon's legal wives were Hebrew women. His concubine (Abimelech's mom) was the exception. As Abimelech matured, he became ambitious and wanted to begin his own kingdom. He strategized and decided the best place to start was with the ethnically mixed city of Shechem, his mother's family's hometown.
Shechem was a city which called Baal its god. There was a temple to Baal built there. Both the Canaanites and the Hebrews who lived in Shechem bowed down to this god. Abimelech convinced his mother's family to back him in approaching the townspeople for a proposition: let me by your king. They agreed. Abimelech was accepted because he appealed to both major ethnic groups since he was half Canaanite and half Hebrew.
With this step of his plan accomplished, Abimelech took a deceptive approach to obtaining and maintaining his hoped for power and authority by hiring thugs from Shechem to help him murder all 70 of his brothers. However, one brother, the youngest, escaped. The surviving son was named Jotham. When Jotham found out the people of Shechem intended to crown Abimelech as their king, he climbed up Mount Gerizim, which overlooked the city and shouted out a prophetic parable of warning to the naive citizens.
The parable consisted of the story of a forest of trees (representing a group of people) who were looking for a king to rule over them. The trees approached an olive tree, who refused the offer. Then, a fig tree also refused. Then, a grapevine also refused. Each had the same reason for their refusal of what seemed like such an amazing honor and rise in status--God had created them for their own special purposed. They were each bearing the fruits of that purpose and to abandon their divine purpose merely to rule over other trees was a misuse of their God-ordained gifts.
As a last resort, the trees approached the loathsome bramble. This was a stick-bush which grew upon the soil as a carpet lies on the floor. It was low to the ground and was nothing but a menace, serving no good use. The bramble jumps at this opportunity to rule over these mighty trees. However, it adds a not so subtle warning: it expects the trees to fully submit to it and to fully depend upon its goodness and mercy as it sees fit. If the trees do not submit, the bramble will destroy the trees.
Jotham then ended his parable with a curse. As a result of Abimelech's murder of Gideon's sons, God will intervene and cause Abimelech to destroy the people of Shechem, and the people of Shechem will do the same to Abimelech.
After three years under Abimelech's selfish and oppressive rule, the people of Shechem had enough. The friction between their king was reaching a point of combustion.
Up to chapter nine, we saw the problem for Israel was not just a lack of leadership, but it was also a lack of leaders. What few leaders they had did not lead; they only enjoyed the benefits of their positions, in which most of the leaders obtained by birthright and not by their own merit. Thus, the essentially leaderless Israelites would follow their own human nature, which was to pull away from God and His commands, and to adopt the attractive gods and customs of their neighbors. In response to this, God would send some foreign nation to oppress Israel, the Israel would call out to God and finally the LORD would raise up a Judge to deliver Israel from their oppression. That Judge would rule over Israel for a time. Then, the Judge died, and Israel went right back in to idolatry.
The various Judges (all God appointed) generally provided godly, albeit imperfect, leadership over Israel for some number of years during which time Israel prospered and enjoyed peace. However, here in Judges chapter nine, a small portion of Israel found itself under self-appointed leadership. Abimelech was not God's chosen leader for Israel. Gideon's sole remaining son used his own cunning and violent ambitions to gain power. In this, we learn some valuable lessons about leadership, especially in regards to ruling over a nation.
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