Judges 9

           Verses 1-6: Abimelech is not the next judge. We know this because the author doesn’t introduce him as such. All of the judges in this book are labeled by the author with that title, and they are also described as being sent by God to judge Israel. Since none of that is applied here to Abimelech we can safely conclude that he is not the next judge.
            Instead, the events related in this chapter are used as a postscript to the Gideon narrative. They also demonstrate the direct result of the sin of polygamy as well as Israel’s consistent apostasy and disobedience to God. No sooner has Gideon been buried than Abimelech goes to his mother’s family and relatives and persuades them to back him for the position of king. (v.1-2) What Gideon had refused from the elders of Israel in the previous chapter, Abimelech now pursues with reckless and foolish abandon. The Moody Bible Commentary summarizes chapter 9 in this way: “In a polygamous society, when jealousy and warfare break out between half-brothers, the refugees would flee to their mother’s relatives for help. This is what seems to have happened at Shechem. The purpose of the author is to emphasize the anarchy that results when anyone but the Lord is the leader of Israel.”
            Nowhere in this chapter does it say that Israel consulted with the high priest to seek God’s direction and guidance. Abimelech is a wicked and selfish man, full of pride and a lust for power, and he convinces his uncles and the men of Shechem to back him as king. (v.3-4) They pay him seventy pieces of silver to hire mercenaries and thugs (“…vain and light persons…”), and, with this rebel gang, he sets out for Gideon’s home in Ophrah. The phrasing in verse 5, “…upon one stone…” indicates that Abimelech and his men capture sixty-nine of his seventy half-brothers and kill each one execution style in one place, probably one of the groves that was used for Baal worship. Only Jotham, the youngest, successfully hides and thus escapes the slaughter. (v.5)
            Abimelech is crowned king by the men of Shechem, at the center of the village or town, as indicated by the phrase “…the plain of the pillar…”. Every town or village of the ANE had some kind of monument or tower where the men of the city would gather to make law or settle disputes. It was also the site of important events such as this one, hence Gideon’s choice of retribution against the men of Penuel in the previous chapter.
            Verses 7-15: When Jotham learns of the fate of his half-brothers he boldly stands on mount Gerizim, the same spot from which half the tribes of Israel had called out the blessings for all the nation upon first entering the promised land. (Deuteronomy 11:29, 27:12, Joshua 8:33) From there, Jotham proclaims a fable for all the men of Shechem. In the ANE, this type of story serves as a morality lesson, a tale with an allegorical meaning, usually a satirical one. (The most famous of these types of stories that we know today are those of Aesop, the Greek writer who lived in the 6th century B.C.)
          In Jotham’s narrative, the plants represent the men of Shechem, and they are searching for a king among their fellow plants. Notice that the olive tree, fig tree, and the vine are all vegetation that bring forth good fruit and are profitable for man and beast. But the bramble is worthless, little more than a weed that serves no real purpose. It, of course, represents Abimelech. In the story, the bramble agrees to be king of the plants, and it says to the trees, “…come and put your trust in my shadow…” (v.15), a clearly satirical and sarcastic comment. The bramble is a lowly bush that has no substance and casts very little shadow when compared to the other three tall and stately trees mentioned in verses 8-13. The last phrase of verse 15, “…let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon”, is also a deeply insulting and cutting commentary. In the ANE, as well as scripture, the cedars of Lebanon are always used as a symbol of true power and might, and therefore it’s laughable that a mere bramble would possess any real threat against such magnificent trees. Yet that is exactly what will happen because the trees are foolish enough to allow a bramble to rule them.
 
         Verses 16-21: Now Jotham interprets the fable for his listeners, just in case any of them missed the point. He rebukes the men of Shechem for betraying Gideon’s legacy (v.17-18) and predicts that Abimelech will be the cause of their downfall and destruction. (v.20) In like manner, they will also be the cause of Abimelech’s downfall. Following this proclamation, Jotham is able to escape to Beer where he remains for the rest of Abimelech’s short reign. (v.21)
 
         Verses 22-25: God stirs the hearts of the men of Shechem, turning them against Abimelech, just as Jotham predicted. (v.23) The reason for this is stated clearly in verse 24: divine justice is served on behalf of the innocent whom Abimelech slew. Their blood cried out to the LORD in the same manner as Abel’s. (Genesis 4:10) Put simply, God allows Abimelech to reap what he sowed. (1 Kings 2:32, Esther 9:25, Matthew 23:35-36, Galatians 6:7-8) The beginning of this is seen in verse 25. Abimelech’s enemies set up robbers to lie in wait for the caravans that pass through Shechem. This has the effect of severely disrupting trade and commerce.
 
          Verses 26-29: Gaal is one of the elders of Shechem and, presumably, one of the men that did not support the movement to make Abimelech king. Gaal is readily accepted by the other men who are opposed to Abimelech’s rule, and they welcome him by throwing a wild party. (v.27) He, too, is full of pride and lust for power, and he brags about his ability to defeat Abimelech. (v.28-29)
 
          Verses 30-41: Gaal’s treachery and planning are reported to Zebul, Abimelech’s ally and ruler of Shechem, and he informs Abimelech. (v.30-31) Zebul advises Abimelech to gather an army and be ready to fight Gaal at daybreak (v.32-33), and Abimelech readily complies, using the cover of darkness to divide up his men and position them around the outside of the city. (v.34) When Gaal sees the army of Abimelech and reports this to Zebul, Zebul tells him at first that he’s jumping at shadows. (v.35-36) But after Gaal presses him further, Zebul throws Gaal’s boasting back at him. (v.37-38) Zebul taunts him by telling him, essentially, to put his money where his mouth is.
           Gaal and his men battle Abimelech and his army, and Abimelech is the clear victor. (v.39-40) He succeeds in capturing or wounding most of Gaal’s army, and Gaal himself escapes back into the city, seeking Zebul’s protection. (v.39-40) But Zebul refuses and expels Gaal and the rest of the traitors from the city. (v.41)
 
          Verses 42-49: Abimelech slaughters Gaal and his men, but he doesn’t stop there. (v.42-43) In a show of excessive cruelty and petty vindictiveness, Abimelech utterly destroys Shechem, the principal city of his realm, slaughtering almost all of its inhabitants. (v.44-45) This is confirmed by the phrase “…sowed it with salt…”, meaning that Abimelech made the land unsuitable for planting crops for several generations.
         The same men who had once supported Abimelech in his rise to power at the beginning of this chapter now flee to the same tower where they had crowned him king. (v.46) When Abimelech learns of this, he and his men gather firewood and lay siege to the tower, burning it. (v.47-48) The thousand men and women trapped inside are killed, thus fulfilling Jotham’s prophecy. (v.49)
 
            Verses 50-55: Abimelech decides to attack Thebez, though there’s no explanation in the passage for the reason why. According to the Moody Bible Commentary, Thebez is a strategic fortress situated about 10 miles northeast of Shechem, in the Jezreel valley, at the northern border of Abimelech’s domain. Perhaps there is an uprising here as well, or maybe some of the inhabitants of Shechem escaped to Thebez. Whatever the case, the same scenario that played out at the tower of Shechem begins to play out here. The citizens of Thebez flee to their tower fortress for refuge, and Abimelech begins to lay siege to it in the same manner as he did at Shechem. (v.51-52)
         But this time there’s a very different outcome. A woman is able to cast a large millstone from the uppermost room of the tower directly onto Abimelech, crushing his skull. (v.53) The millstone is a large, cylindrical stone used to grind grain against another stone that is fixed in place. The millstone, however, is able to be removed, and the fact that it’s a woman that kills Abimelech adds justly deserved humiliation to his death. This is why he uses his last breath and strength to beg his armourbearer to pierce him with his sword. (v.54) Once Abimelech’s men see that he is dead, they give up the fight, and they disperse back to their homes. (v.55)
 
           Verses 56-57: The author makes clear that God orchestrated all of these events as divine retribution against Abimelech for the slaughter of his half-brothers. (v.56) All of Jotham’s prophecy came true. God was also punishing the men of Shechem for supporting Abimelech when it was clear that God had not appointed him as ruler of Israel. (v.57) This is also an illustration of the Biblical truth that the LORD will humble the proud while exalting the meek and lowly. Abimelech was a wicked and prideful man that defied God and, therefore, God allowed him to reap the bitter fruit of his own actions and foolish choices.