It is interesting Abimelech knew he could not FORCE himself upon the people of Shechem. Instead, he had to convince them to CHOOSE him. Abimelech did not march into Shechem with an army and take the city. He did not threaten the city with violence if they refused. Rather, he asked the people to make him their king because he convinced them it would be to their benefit. He made promises to them which sounded good to their ears. No one considered his true character even after murdering 69 of his siblings. Shechem was convince they wanted Abimelech to be its king.
It is self-evident not every last citizen of Shechem agreed with the choice of Abimelech to be king. Not every citizen participated in the mass murder of Gideon's sons. Not every citizen wanted a king. Yet, centuries before there was even the concept of democracy, the majority often ruled. That is exactly what happened here. The majority can exert tremendous peer pressure to twist the arms of the minority to go along with them. In tribal societies, going against the will of the majority could be a matter of keeping or losing your livelihood, your family and even your life!
Even though it is likely many within Shechem did not choose Abimelech, they went along with the crowd and accepted his rule. (We do not read of any opposition in the text.) As we see in this story, those who did NOT choose Abimelech suffered and died alongside those who did. From a spiritual standpoint, there would be no distinction. All would share in the fate of the nation's choice of leadership and in the results of that leader's decisions.
People born under a king or a dictatorial ruler have little or no choice in the matter of national leadership. They all live and die by the choices made by their leader. Those who have true freedom to choose their leaders (as we do in the USA and in many Western democracies) carry the utmost responsibility for not only its choice of leaders but in regards to their decisions and actions. We are not able to choose a leader and then divorce ourselves from his policies and actions. Never in history had there been a freer, more open system of choosing national leadership than what exists in the USA. We have legal means to remove leaders who have violated the laws of the land.
Shechem ceased to exist as a national entity for a long time after they unwisely chose the amoral and ungodly Abimelech to rule over then.
2. (Judges 9:26-29) The men of Shechem choose a new leader
Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his relatives, and crossed over into Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him. They went out into the field and gathered the grapes of their vineyards and trod them, and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god, and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. Then Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is Zebul not his lieutenant? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? Would therefore, that this people were under my authority! Then I would remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, "Increase your army and come out."
Gaal the son of Ebed: About this time, a new character enters the scene. His name is Gaal, the son of Ebed. This was not the man;s real name; rather, it was a cruel nickname in which he became known at a later date. The name means "the abhorred son of a slave".
Gaal led a band of men who bore no allegiance to any particular tribe or king. Rather, they were like pirates who would sail into an area they wanted to control and took charge of it. They were like a hired mercenary army and would do the bidding of a king or a group of people if there was sufficient gain in it for themselves.
Under God's providential guidance, this group of thugs arrives in Shechem at the time of the grape harvest and the accompanying festival. Since we now understand the rather amoral character of the residents of Shechem, Gaal and his bunch fit right in. The people of Shechem trust Gaal.
They went out into the field and gathered the grapes of their vineyards and trod them and held a festival: Gaal showed up at a very auspicious time: the Great New Year event of the pagan Mystery Babylon religious. The event of this celebration was the gathering of grapes, fermenting their joice into wine and then having a long drinking party in honor of Baal. Its counterpart in Israel was Sukkot, aka the Feast of Tabernacles.
If we look at the original Hebrew in verse 27, where is says in English, "they went into the house of their god, and ate and drank" (depending on your translation), what it actually says is that they went to the house of their god to "give hillulim"; this means praise offerings. It is directly connected to the Hebrew word hallel which means praise. (It is where we get the phrase hallelujah (praise God).) Praise is the central theme to the Feast of Tabernacles. So, here we have words reserved for describing the singing of praises to God, but they are being used to sing praises to Baal!
Under the influence of the Canaanites, Sukkot melded with the pagan New Year wine feast. It became nothing more than an over-indulgence drunken gathering; it lost all its spiritual meaning. Does this sound familiar? As we enter the holiday season in which Christians choose to commemorate the birth of our Savior, but it has been heavily influenced by secular ways. Top the majority of the population, it is simply a party time with no spiritual meaning. It is filled with fir trees, ornaments, lavish parties, Santa Claus and reindeer. People go into debt to buy unneeded but desired possessions. This all melds with praising God for sending His Messiah. How very strange and sad. It seems there is little different between how our Messiah's advent is celebrated today by most of His followers and what we are witnessing in verse 27 of Judges chapter nine. The Israelites represented the majority of the population in Shechem. However, the felt perfectly justified in adopting these pagan practices in lieu of the God-ordained ones Moses gave the people.
Then Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him: At this time of feasting and drinking, Gaal uses the moment to challenge the people of Shechem to openly revolt against Abimelech. He says, "Who is Abimelechm...that WE should serve HIM?" After all, Abimelech is nothing more than the son of Jerubbal. Remember Jerubbal is a nickname for Gideon. It means Baal fighter.
Here we have the people of Shechem having a drunken bash in honor of Baal, and Gaal says, "Why should we have a king over us who is the son of a man who hates Baal and broke down his altar?"
Serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem: Gaal goes on to say that if they were to have a ruler, he ought to be from Hamor, the father of Shechem. Remember Hamor was a Hivite king who founded the city of Shechem. So now whereas Abimelech used his Cannanite (Hivite) blood as a reason for the people of Shechem to invite him to be their king, now Gaal is reminding the people that Abimelech is also half Hebrew. So, Gaal is using Abimelech's Hebrew blood line against him. Oh what a tangled web we weave when we decide to deceive.
Would therefore, that this people were under my authority! Then I would remove Abimelech: Gaal throws out a not so subtle hint that if he were in control of the people, he would get rid of Abimelech. In other words, Gaal is saying to the people, if you will agree to help me dispose Abimelech, then I will become your leader. Gaal continues by challenging Abimelch to come to Shechem with whatever loyal army he has and fight.
3. (Judges 9:30-33) The role of Zebul, the ruler of the city
When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger burned. He sent messengers to Abimelech deceitfully, saying, "Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shcehem; and behold, they are stirring up the city against you. Now therefore, arise by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field. In the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you shall do to them whatever you can.
When Zebul the ruler of the city heard: When Zebul, who is loyal to Abimelech, hears this challenge by Gaal, he sends a message to Abimelech to come out and lie in wait for Gaal. Zebul was able to continue on in the face of this growing rebellious minset due to the divided nature of Shechem. Just as there was no consensus in choosing Abimelech three years earlier, there is no consensus now to revolt against him.
Zebul suggests to Abimelech to get his army together, com to Shechem under the cover of darkness and then lie in wait in the fields which surround the city. When the dawn breaks, Abimelech should attack. Gaal's men are bound to respond. In drawing them out from behind the city walls into the open, if Abimelech is properly prepared, he should be able to defeat Gaal. Abimelech acts in accordance with Zebul's advice.
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