The Judges. Day 33, Jotham's Curse Against Abimelek And The Shechemites

Jotham is standing at a place on Mount Gerizim where he can address the treacherous men of Shechem. These men backed his half-brother Abimelek when he hired mercenaries to go with him to his father Gideon's hometown of Ophrah to kill all of Gideon's other sons. The only reason Jotham is alive is because he managed to hide from these violent men. 

Yesterday Jotham spoke a parable against Abimelek and the Shechemites. Today he pronounces a curse upon them.

First he asks, "Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you treated him as he deserves? Remember that my father fought for you and risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian. But today you have revolted against my father's family." (Judges 9:16-18a) 

While Gideon (Jerub-Baal) was judge of Israel, everyone in the region was freed from Midianite oppression. Everyone in the region enjoyed forty years of peace after Gideon and his soldiers defeated the Midianites and their allies in battle. The Shechemites were happy enough to enjoy the prosperity of those decades but as soon as Gideon died they turned on him by supporting Abimelek's plan to wipe out his competition: his half-brothers. Jotham is asking them, "How could you betray my father this way? He was good to you! Under his judgeship you enjoyed peace and prosperity. You were able to travel on the roads safely. You were able to plant crops without fear of Midianite raiding parties coming in to destroy them. You were able to build houses and live in them without fear of enemy attacks. Yet you repaid my father's goodness by murdering his sons in order to make Abimelek your king."

Abimelek is the son of a concubine and most scholars believe his mother, of the town of Shechem, was a heathen Canaanite. Typically, a son of a concubine could not be the chief heir of his father unless he was his father's only son. A concubine might be a woman taken captive from a conquered enemy city. A concubine might be a slave purchased by a family or given to a family as a gift. (You'll recall that Abraham's concubine, Hagar, was his wife Sarah's Egyptian slave.) A concubine might be a citizen of a city or town that was subject to a foreign government: for instance, Canaanites of the town of Shechem being subject to Israel. It was usually only a son of a free woman who could inherit the chief portion of his father's estate and any accompanying political or royal titles. Abimelek knew that as the son of a concubine he was not in the running as his father's successor. His father had seventy sons in all and Abimelek knew he could not compete with them. So his intention was to kill them all, leaving himself as the only living son of the now-deceased judge of Israel. Gideon's power and popularity were so great that Abimelek probably thought all the people would get behind him in time because he was Gideon's son. 

But the judgeship of Israel didn't follow family lines. It wasn't something handed down from generation to generation from father to son. The Lord Himself chose the judges of Israel and He chose them from various families and from various tribes. In addition, at this point in the Bible it is not the Lord's will to allow Israel to have a king, and that's what Abimelek really wants to be. The name given to him by his father, which means "my father is king", likely contributed to his selfish ambitions. Gideon was never the king of Israel but he was so powerful and so wealthy and so loved by the people that he almost might as well have been a king, although he eschewed the title. In Abimelek's estimation his father was a king and Abimelek doesn't see why he can't assume his father's leadership role and become not just a judge but a king. 

Next Jotham points out that the only reason the men of Shechem elected Abimelek as king is because he is half-Shechemite. It's not because he's a worthy leader. It's not because he's a godly man. It's because they preferred having one of their own townsmen ruling over them than any of the other sons of Gideon. Gideon himself would not have chosen Abimelek as his chief heir or as a leader in Israel. The men of Shechem have gone against Gideon's will (and against the Lord's will) in supporting Abimelek in his deadly bid for power. "You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you." (Judges 9:18b)

Now Jotham closes by pronouncing a curse upon the Shechemites. "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! 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!" (Judges 9:19-20) He says, "If this is truly a good thing and you did right, then may Abimelek prosper and may you prosper along with him. But if you are in the wrong, then may Abimelek meet a bad fate and may his fate be yours also."

Jotham knows they've done wrong, of course, and he knows the curse will fall on them. But Abimelek wants him dead now more than ever so he flees for his life. "Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelek." (Judges 9:21) 

This is the last we will hear of Jotham but not the last we will hear of the curse he uttered against Abimelek and his supports. To quote a passage from Deuteronomy, the Lord says this concerning the wicked: "It is Mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them." (Deuteronomy 34:35) " These wicked men will not get away with what they have done. In due time the curse will fall on them.