Judges 8:33
The Bible says in Judges 8:33-35, And it came to pass,
as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went
a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.[34] And the
children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them
out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:[35] Neither shewed
they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the
goodness which he had shewed unto Israel. How quickly some people turn away from the Lord. That is why
Jesus asked the question, When the Son of man cometh, will he find faith on
the earth? That is why we are told that in the last days, There shall be a falling
away. Verse thirty-three also shows the critical importance of good
leadership. When did the children of Israel turn away from God? They turned
away as soon as Gideon died.
When the
children of Israel turned away from the one true God, they turned to a false God.
Every human being serves a god. If you do not serve the Lord Jesus Christ, then
you serve and worship a substitute: someone or something else that takes the
place of God in your heart. Notice that verse thirty-four says that they remembered
not the LORD their God. One way to keep serving God faithfully is to keep remembering the
Lord and what He has done for you. Jesus died for you on the cross. The Spirit
touched your heart and brought you to Jesus. God blessed your life millions of
times to guide you and provide for you. One would think it to be easy to always
remember God and all His benefits. But it will take an effort and a desire.
Seek the Lord, and He will be found.
Verse
thirty-five shows us that when develops a hard heart to God, they will also
mistreat believers. Jesus said that we are not greater than our Lord. If they
hated Him, they will hate us also. Just make sure that you do not hate them
back. Here is the number one reason for anti-Jewish and anti-Christian
sentiment in this world: the people who have such hatred are of the wrong spirit.
The evil Spirit hates Gods people.
The Bible says in Judges 9:1-6, And Abimelech the son
of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with
them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,[2]
Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for
you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten
persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am
your bone and your flesh.[3] And his mother's brethren spake of him in
the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined
to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.[4] And they gave
him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith,
wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.[5]
And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons
of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding
yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.[6]
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and
went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. This is a story of the lust for power. Things have not
changed in thousands of years. Some people still have this type of lust. It
started with Nimrod when he established the first human kingdom, called Babylon
in the book of Genesis; and it will end with the antichrist ruling over the
last human kingdom, also called Babylon in the book of Revelation. The seventy
pieces of silver were probably paid to Abimelech so that he would use the money
to get rid of the seventy brothers. Abimelech used deceit, and money, and bad
people, and violence to gain the power that he wanted.
The Bible says in Judges 9:7-20, And when they told it
to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his
voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that
God may hearken unto you.[8] The trees went forth on a time to anoint a
king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.[9]
But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me
they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?[10] And
the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.[11] But
the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit,
and go to be promoted over the trees?[12] Then said the trees unto the
vine, Come thou, and reign over us.[13] And the vine said unto them, Should
I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the
trees?[14] Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and
reign over us.[15] And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye
anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not,
let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.[16]
Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made
Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and
have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;[17] (For my
father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of
the hand of Midian:[18] And ye are risen up against my father's house
this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone,
and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of
Shechem, because he is your brother;)[19] If ye then have dealt truly
and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in
Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:[20] But if not, let fire
come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo;
and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and
devour Abimelech. After Abimelech killed the seventy
sons of Gideon, there was still one son left whose name was Jotham. Jotham
immediately went to the people of Jotham, and Jotham spoke to them. That is all
that he did. He did not seek vengeance, but he did seek to tell the truth. We
can see that Jotham was a thinker and a spiritual young man. Jotham told the
people of Shechem a parable that had to do with choosing a king. The conclusion
to the parable is found at the end of verse fifteen that says if the people did
not do right in the choosing of their king then, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars
of Lebanon. Jotham relies upon justice from
God. That is why when he tells the people of Shechem to let fire come out, that
Jotham is expressing his desire for justice, but Jotham himself is not going to
get revenge. That is the attitude that God wants the servants of Christ to have.
Remember God. God said, Vengeance is mine,
saith the Lord, I will repay.
The Bible says in Judges 9:21-24, When Abimelech had
reigned three years over Israel,[23] Then God sent an evil spirit
between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt
treacherously with Abimelech:[24] That the cruelty done to the
threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon
Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which
aided him in the killing of his brethren. The words that Jotham spoke did come to pass. No human being did
anything to fix this terrible situation, but God something. God is in charge of
all people. God can change any heart at any time so that the person will do what
God wants them to do. By the way, God is doing that every day with every person.
How you respond to the people around you will demonstrate how much faith in the
every-where present God. God gave Abimelech three years, and then verses
twenty-three says that Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of
Shechem. Why did God wait three years? That we do not know, but maybe to
give Abimelech a chance to repent. That certainly is happening now. The judgment
is coming, but God is waiting to see who will turn to Christ. Hurry up and
turn. Your time is running out. Verse twenty-four makes it clear just why God
decided to intervene: That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of
Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother,
which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of
his brethren. A holy God must bring justice against the unholy ones. A holy
God must punish sin. How fortunate believers are because we have Jesus who took
our punishment on Him.
The Bible says in Judges 9:25-33, And the men of Shechem
set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that
came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.[26] And Gaal the
son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem
put their confidence in him.[27] And they went out into the fields, and
gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into
the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.[28]
And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we
should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve
the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?[29]
And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech.
And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.[30] And
when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his
anger was kindled.[31] And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily,
saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and,
behold, they fortify the city against thee.[32] Now therefore up by
night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field:[33]
And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise
early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with
him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find
occasion. All of these
things happened involving all of these people because it was Gods will. God
decided to do this to bring judgment on Abimelech, and used all these people
and dealt in their hearts and made it happen. This is just one example. Every
incident in life is God leading and causing and doing. He is God.
The Bible says in Judges 9:34-57, And Abimelech rose
up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against
Shechem in four companies.[35] And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and
stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the
people that were with him, from lying in wait.[36] And when Gaal saw the
people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the
mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as
if they were men.[37] And Gaal spake again and said, See there come
people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the
plain of Meonenim.[38] Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth,
wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this
the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.[39]
And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.[40]
And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and
wounded, even unto the entering of the gate.[41] And Abimelech dwelt at
Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell
in Shechem.[42] And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went
out into the field; and they told Abimelech.[43] And he took the people,
and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked,
and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against
them, and smote them.[44] And Abimelech, and the company that was with
him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the
two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew
them.[45] And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he
took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city,
and sowed it with salt.[46] And when all the men of the tower of Shechem
heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.[47]
And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were
gathered together.[48] And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and
all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and
cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and
said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste,
and do as I have done.[49] And all the people likewise cut down every
man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the
hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also,
about a thousand men and women.[50] Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and
encamped against Thebez, and took it.[51] But there was a strong tower
within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the
city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.[52]
And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto
the door of the tower to burn it with fire.[53] And a certain woman cast
a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.
[54] Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and
said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman
slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.[55] And
when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man
unto his place.[56] Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which
he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:[57] And all
the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them
came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. Abimelech was a violent man. He
lived and ruled by violence. But God saw and God knew. Abimelech thought that
he would just keep killing in large numbers and thus increase his power. But
God said, no, it is time for your violence to stop. Just as the case where
God used the woman Jael to use a nail and send Sisera to hell, God also used a
woman to bring Abimelechs life to an end. Jesus said, They that live by the
sword shall die by the sword. The life of Abimelech was an example of that true
teaching. God is in control. Jotham did no violent acts, but only spoke words
of truth. Jotham was the victor.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2020 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved