The Judges. Day 34, The Downfall Of Abimelek, Part One

The wicked Abimelek has been crowned king by the men of Shechem which is his mother's hometown. The Lord allowed him to think of himself as a king and to behave like a king for three years before the curse began to come true which Jotham, Abimelek's half-brother, pronounced against him in our last study.

"After Abimelek had governed Israel three years, God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek." (Judges 9:22-23) These men had a treacherous spirit to begin with. If this were not so, they would not have given Abimelek seventy shekels of silver so he could hire mercenaries to help him kill all the other sons of his father Gideon. For the first three years after crowning him king, these men either liked or tolerated having him in authority over them. But for whatever reason, the honeymoon is over (so to speak), and they wish to depose him. That's the thing about treacherous people: they can't be trusted. One day they'll be on a person's side and the next day they'll be against him, and when they turn against him they'll behave just as treacherously toward him as they once behaved for him. 

Three years must have seemed like a long time to anyone who despised having this half-Canaanite upstart behaving as if he is a legitimate ruler in Israel. Whenever we are waiting for the Lord to judge the enemies of His children, time seems to move slowly, but the Apostle Peter encourages us to hang in there. God is not going to break His promise to avenge all the wrong that's been done to His children. But what seems to us as a delay in judgment is actually an opportunity the Lord is giving the wrongdoer to repent. "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord knows who will and who will not accept His offer of redemption and who will come to Him in sorrow over their sins. But He gives the opportunity to all so that no one can ever claim He never gave them a chance. During the three years when Abimelek comports himself as a king, the Lord is giving him time to repent. 

But Abimelek does not repent. The Lord knew he would not but Abimelek can never claim he didn't have time to think about his sins and feel sorry for them. When the time allotted for his opportunity of repentance has passed, the Lord allows the treacherous Shechemite men to turn their treachery on the man they once supported. "God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelek and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers." (Judges 9:24) 

Blood is on the hands of the men of Shechem, although they themselves didn't wield the swords that put Abimelek's brothers to death. They financed this slaughter and are as guilty as anyone else involved in it. Without their monetary support, Abimelek would have had a hard time convincing mercenaries to go with him to Ophrah to round up and murder all his half-brothers. I sincerely doubt Abimelek's half-brothers or the people of Ophrah gave in without a fight. Abimelek could scarcely have persuaded men to attack this town without financially compensating them to risk their lives. 

A prosperous trade route ran through the region and the men of Shechem begin disrupting it. The disruption of the trade route is a disruption in Abimelek's prosperity. "In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelek." (Judges 9:25) They are hitting him where it hurts: in his wallet. He can't and won't ignore their actions. 

But, as we'll see tomorrow, there's a new man in town whom the Shechemites prefer over Abimelek. He intends to usurp Abimelek, with their support. He'll announce his candidacy at a drunken idolatrous feast and the people will get behind him. This new contender is not half-Israelite like Abimelek, which is a fact he'll use to his advantage. In tomorrow's study the people of Shechem show their true colors of racial prejudice when they give their allegiance to a man who basically says, "Why should this half breed rule over you?" If Abimelek thought he already had troubles, he hasn't seen anything yet.