Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
1 Corinthians 10:11 These things happened to them (Israelites) as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.
Vs20 So have you acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today? If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too! 20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!”
Vs 56-57 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
God dedicated 57 verses to a wicked man who ruled as king in Israel for about 3 years. Why would He do that? Because the story of this evil man has something to teach us about how we should think/act as Christians?
Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
1 Corinthians 10:11 These things happened to them (Israelites) as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.
Abimelech was not a judge or a king appointed by God, nor did he deliver Israel from invaders as did previous Judges. A Biblical judge was one who was appointed by God to protect/deliver Israel from her enemies.
But God had NOT appointed Abimelech to do anything. And Abimelech wasn’t into protecting anybody’s interests but his own. All Abimelech wanted was power and prestige for himself.
Abimelech was one of Gideon’s 70 sons, from a harem of wives and concubines. Abimelech was an opportunist who usurped power through violence and treachery. He is the “anti-judge”.
Nowhere does he even acknowledge God as Lord of Israel. The Jews had been fighting external enemies; now they’re burdened from internal corruption, far more insidious than invading armies.
There have been sibling rivalries from the beginning of time—Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers—and here Abimelech against his 70 siblings. He convinced the people of Shechem, his hometown, to crown him king. He promised to look out for their best interests when he consolidates power; what we call “political favors”.
The Shechemites certainly knew this local son, but they did not know God. They worshipped Baal-Berith.
Abimelech’s claim to the throne was on the basis of being a son of Gideon, who had been offered kingship. The motive for his ambition was not to serve his people but to gain power. Abimelech’s name means “my father is king”, so Abimelech felt he might take the throne his father declined.
But there were many other potential contenders. With ruthless efficiency, Abimelech rounded up his 70 brothers and had them brutally and publicly executed.
He was inspired by his father to lead Israel, yet revealed hatred toward his father by murdering his brothers.
Of the 70 brothers, Jotham alone escaped, and he addressed the people of Shechem atop Mount Gerizim.
Jotham’s name means, “God is perfect, honest, and filled with integrity”; the absolute opposite of Abimelech, who rejected all that is holy. Jotham denounced Abimelech with a parable and a curse.
Jotham’s parable is about 3 valuable trees, native to Israel, which are offered kingship but refuse—however, the thornbush accepts with a provision, Vs15: “If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade.” That would be quite impossible—there is no shade, comfort, or protection from a thornbush, which is Abimelech.
Jotham drove home the point of his parable with a curse, Vs20 So have you acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today? If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too! 20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!”—FIRE WILL COME FROM ABIMELECH, WHO WILL ALSO BE CONSUMED.
It was very foolish for the people to make such a wicked man their king—they would reap the consequences and suffer ruin under his rule.
Why did the people let this happen? God’s people had become Canaanite in their character; rather than stand for God, they broke their covenant and adjusted to the values of the godless culture.
We have to guard against being shaped by our culture, especially when leaders do not model godly behavior. (Most pastors say the main “people dynamic” challenge they are facing in the church is people’s apathy or lack of commitment to the church.)
Do Abimelechs continue to reign today? Throughout history, we have had to contend with the “sons of Abimelech”.
One example from the 20th Century is Adolph Hitler. Like Abimelech, he hated his father and rose to political power by eliminating opponents and by making deals with power structures. Only after he attained control did the people gradually realize how evil he was. He brought devastation to his country and died a coward’s death. Hitler is only one of many graduates of the “Abimelech School of Leadership”.
When leaders serve themselves and reject God and reject what is good, it feels like evil is in control and God is absent. We wonder if and when we will be delivered, and how we will ever recover.
In such/these times we cannot lose hope. God is still sovereign over human events which move according to His pre-determined outcome and timetable.
In Jotham’s prophetic parable, he stated that fire will come from the thornbush and consume the people—when the people of Shechem finally had enough of Abimelech and rebelled against him, he and his forces killed the people, then took branches and set fire to the walls of the city temple, and a thousand men and women perished in the flames.
Abimelech’s death came from the hand of a woman, a non-combatant, using a farming implement. Similar to Sisera being slain by Jael (ch 4), a woman drops a millstone from a tower on Abimelech, crushing his skull. It was a fitting and humiliating end to an evil man.
Vs 56-57 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.
Scripture tells us, Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” God allows people to attain public office, and He can also remove them. (Graphic ways)
The main issue for Israel is that they refused to be governed by God, so they turned to Abimelech, who turned out to be the natural consequence of their apathy/apostasy.
William Penn: “If we are not willing to be governed by God, we shall be ruled by tyrants.”
There may be times when we are ruled by Abimelechs, or find ourselves in an “Abimelech Age” of moral decline. What do we do when leaders show they are not persons of God, honesty, integrity?
Our first response is to go “over their heads” and pray for them—Scripture commands us to lift up our elected officials in prayer, regardless of how corrupt they may be.
We should pray that God would protect our nation, in spite of flawed leaders, and lead us to repentance and revival. We also must respect the office, even if we cannot respect the person.
We enjoy the freedom to participate in the political process, meaning we can be a voice within political parties, and we can be agents of change. We can help campaign for issues, supporting individuals and political parties we believe will be positive agents of change. Ultimately we can vote, a tangible means of letting our desire for change be known.
We should engage in dialogue because It’s wrong to be silent in the face of injustice—yet we must be careful as to how we respond. We must be careful to not be guilty of showing disrespect that would dishonor our great God.
However we may feel about a leader, we are compelled to speak the truth—in love, even when we’re riled up by something a politician has said or done.
God promises to deal with evil but in His timeframe, not ours. Abimelech eventually got his “just deserts”, yet we might wonder why God allowed him to take office in the first place.
Perhaps to persuade the people that character counts. To elect leaders lacking in moral integrity is disastrous for any nation.
The worldview of our leaders will influence how they govern, which will, in turn, affect our lives. May God bless us with leaders of moral courage, whose foremost desire is to provide righteous leadership.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
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