‘Who struck down Abimelech, the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ - 2 Samuel 11:21
This morning we will be discussing Abimelech. Unlike others we’ve highlighted in recent weeks, Abimelech was not a judge. The Bible never refers to him as one. The judges were called and/or used by God to deliver His people from the hands of their enemies (either militarily or diplomatically). As we will see in today’s message, Abimelech was never chosen by God nor did he deliver the Israelites from anyone. On the contrary, he caused them great harm.
Though Abimelech was not a judge, his story is included in the book of Judges. It is an addendum to the account of Gideon, which we’ve covered over the past 2 weeks. Abimelech was Gideon’s son, born of a concubine in Shechem, and he had 70 brothers (Judges 8:30-31). Abimelech has been dubbed the “anti-judge” by some commentators because of his vile and destructive behavior.
I. ABIMELECH BECOMES KING (Judges 9:1-21)
After Gideon’s death, Abimelech went to speak with his mother’s family in Shechem. He asked them whether they would prefer having the 70 sons of Gideon rule over them or have 1 man - a relative - rule over them. He was, of course, referring to himself. The men of Shechem naturally chose Abimelech to be their ruler and gave him 70 pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, a Canaanite god. Abimelech used the money to hire a band of ruthless killers and they went to his hometown of Ophrah. There he rounded up his 70 brothers and murdered them all except for Jotham, the youngest, who somehow managed to escape. Then the men of Shechem and Beth-millo assembled together and crowned Abimelech as their king.
Upon hearing this, Jotham came out from hiding and climbed up to the top of Mt. Gerizim. He cried out using an analogy of various trees to illustrate how the men of Shechem had rejected the more honorable, noble sons of Gideon and had instead selected a wicked, worthless son to be their king. Jotham pronounced a curse upon the men of Shechem and Beth-millo and their newly anointed king Abimelech, that they might consume each other. Then Jotham fled to Beer where he would be safe from his evil brother.
It is important to point out that, several years earlier, when the sons of Israel asked Gideon to rule over them he outright refused, stating that only God should rule over them (Judges 8:22-23). In contrast, Gideon’s son Abimelech was eager to rule over Shechem and even killed his own brothers to prevent any possible challenges to his authority. This story is an early indication that portions of Israel were already desiring to replace tribal judges with kings.
II. ABIMELECH DESTROYS SHECHEM (Judges 9:22-49)
Abimelech ruled over the Israelites in and around Shechem for 3 years. Then God sent a divisive spirit between him and the men of the city, so that they began to conspire against him. The men of Shechem met with Gaal, the son of Ebed, and threw their support behind him in hopes of overthrowing Abimelech. When Abimelech’s lieutenant Zebul learned of their conniving intentions, he notified the king.
So Abimelech set an ambush around the city and when morning came he attacked Gaal’s forces. At first Gaal didn’t realize what was happening, and by the time he did it was too late. Abimelech’s men soundly defeated Gaal’s followers and crushed their attempted coup. Gaal and his relatives were driven out of Shechem. The next day, Abimelech also struck the people of Shechem who had sympathized with Gaal’s failed conspiracy. He captured the city, killed its citizens, burned it with fire, and sowed its ruins with salt.
Abimelech learned that the leading families of Shechem - those who had supported Gaal’s attempted rebellion - had taken refuge in the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith. He and his followers went to the wooded area of nearby Mount Zalmon to cut branches and limbs from the trees. They returned to the temple of El-Berith, placed the wood over it, and set it afire. The blaze killed all of those who had gathered inside the chamber - about 1,000 men and women. Thus, all of the men of Shechem were destroyed.
III. ABIMELECH IS KILLED (Judges 9:50-57)
Apparently Abimelech was still concerned that other rebels, besides the men of Shechem, were still out there plotting against him. So the enraged king set his sights on the neighboring city of Thebez. He and his men camped against it and captured it. When they came into Thebez, they discovered that its citizens had retreated into the city’s tower. Abimelech decided to burn the tower of Thebez down, which would kill all those trapped inside, as he had done previously to the temple in Shechem.
However, when Abimelech approached the entrance of the tower to light the fire, a woman threw an upper millstone from the top of the tower at him. It struck Abimelech on the head and crushed his skull. Not wanting to be killed by a woman, the dying king ordered his armor bearer to pierce him with a sword. The young man did so, and Abimelech died. Upon his death, Abimelech’s followers disbanded and everyone returned to their homes.
Thus, God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech. He had disparaged the good name of his father Gideon and had murdered all of his brothers except Jotham. So also, God repaid the wickedness of the men of Shechem who had initially supported Abimelech’s violent rampage. In the end, God’s prophetic warning as declared by Jotham came to pass - the king and his supporters were all consumed (Judges 9:20).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, let me reiterate that Abimelech was not a judge. He was not called or used by God to deliver Israel from her enemies. On the contrary, he convinced his relatives to make him king and was violent and cruel towards his own people. He killed the citizens of Shechem and almost killed those of Thebez as well. Abimelech was an evil, wicked man who had a lust for power and control.
Remember, at this point Israel was not a united nation. Abimelech was only king over Shechem and the surrounding area, not over all of Israel or even over a single tribe. His dominion was limited and localized. Nevertheless, it foreshadowed the coming era of the monarchy in which kings would rule over the nation of Israel rather than judges over the various tribes. Abimelech’s brief and disastrous reign should have served as a warning about the dangers of having a human king, but ultimately the people would demand one anyway (often to their own detriment). Gideon was right when he said that only “the LORD shall rule over you.” (Judges 8:23)
This morning we will be discussing Abimelech. Unlike others we’ve highlighted in recent weeks, Abimelech was not a judge. The Bible never refers to him as one. The judges were called and/or used by God to deliver His people from the hands of their enemies (either militarily or diplomatically). As we will see in today’s message, Abimelech was never chosen by God nor did he deliver the Israelites from anyone. On the contrary, he caused them great harm.
Though Abimelech was not a judge, his story is included in the book of Judges. It is an addendum to the account of Gideon, which we’ve covered over the past 2 weeks. Abimelech was Gideon’s son, born of a concubine in Shechem, and he had 70 brothers (Judges 8:30-31). Abimelech has been dubbed the “anti-judge” by some commentators because of his vile and destructive behavior.
I. ABIMELECH BECOMES KING (Judges 9:1-21)
After Gideon’s death, Abimelech went to speak with his mother’s family in Shechem. He asked them whether they would prefer having the 70 sons of Gideon rule over them or have 1 man - a relative - rule over them. He was, of course, referring to himself. The men of Shechem naturally chose Abimelech to be their ruler and gave him 70 pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, a Canaanite god. Abimelech used the money to hire a band of ruthless killers and they went to his hometown of Ophrah. There he rounded up his 70 brothers and murdered them all except for Jotham, the youngest, who somehow managed to escape. Then the men of Shechem and Beth-millo assembled together and crowned Abimelech as their king.
Upon hearing this, Jotham came out from hiding and climbed up to the top of Mt. Gerizim. He cried out using an analogy of various trees to illustrate how the men of Shechem had rejected the more honorable, noble sons of Gideon and had instead selected a wicked, worthless son to be their king. Jotham pronounced a curse upon the men of Shechem and Beth-millo and their newly anointed king Abimelech, that they might consume each other. Then Jotham fled to Beer where he would be safe from his evil brother.
It is important to point out that, several years earlier, when the sons of Israel asked Gideon to rule over them he outright refused, stating that only God should rule over them (Judges 8:22-23). In contrast, Gideon’s son Abimelech was eager to rule over Shechem and even killed his own brothers to prevent any possible challenges to his authority. This story is an early indication that portions of Israel were already desiring to replace tribal judges with kings.
II. ABIMELECH DESTROYS SHECHEM (Judges 9:22-49)
Abimelech ruled over the Israelites in and around Shechem for 3 years. Then God sent a divisive spirit between him and the men of the city, so that they began to conspire against him. The men of Shechem met with Gaal, the son of Ebed, and threw their support behind him in hopes of overthrowing Abimelech. When Abimelech’s lieutenant Zebul learned of their conniving intentions, he notified the king.
So Abimelech set an ambush around the city and when morning came he attacked Gaal’s forces. At first Gaal didn’t realize what was happening, and by the time he did it was too late. Abimelech’s men soundly defeated Gaal’s followers and crushed their attempted coup. Gaal and his relatives were driven out of Shechem. The next day, Abimelech also struck the people of Shechem who had sympathized with Gaal’s failed conspiracy. He captured the city, killed its citizens, burned it with fire, and sowed its ruins with salt.
Abimelech learned that the leading families of Shechem - those who had supported Gaal’s attempted rebellion - had taken refuge in the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith. He and his followers went to the wooded area of nearby Mount Zalmon to cut branches and limbs from the trees. They returned to the temple of El-Berith, placed the wood over it, and set it afire. The blaze killed all of those who had gathered inside the chamber - about 1,000 men and women. Thus, all of the men of Shechem were destroyed.
III. ABIMELECH IS KILLED (Judges 9:50-57)
Apparently Abimelech was still concerned that other rebels, besides the men of Shechem, were still out there plotting against him. So the enraged king set his sights on the neighboring city of Thebez. He and his men camped against it and captured it. When they came into Thebez, they discovered that its citizens had retreated into the city’s tower. Abimelech decided to burn the tower of Thebez down, which would kill all those trapped inside, as he had done previously to the temple in Shechem.
However, when Abimelech approached the entrance of the tower to light the fire, a woman threw an upper millstone from the top of the tower at him. It struck Abimelech on the head and crushed his skull. Not wanting to be killed by a woman, the dying king ordered his armor bearer to pierce him with a sword. The young man did so, and Abimelech died. Upon his death, Abimelech’s followers disbanded and everyone returned to their homes.
Thus, God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech. He had disparaged the good name of his father Gideon and had murdered all of his brothers except Jotham. So also, God repaid the wickedness of the men of Shechem who had initially supported Abimelech’s violent rampage. In the end, God’s prophetic warning as declared by Jotham came to pass - the king and his supporters were all consumed (Judges 9:20).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, let me reiterate that Abimelech was not a judge. He was not called or used by God to deliver Israel from her enemies. On the contrary, he convinced his relatives to make him king and was violent and cruel towards his own people. He killed the citizens of Shechem and almost killed those of Thebez as well. Abimelech was an evil, wicked man who had a lust for power and control.
Remember, at this point Israel was not a united nation. Abimelech was only king over Shechem and the surrounding area, not over all of Israel or even over a single tribe. His dominion was limited and localized. Nevertheless, it foreshadowed the coming era of the monarchy in which kings would rule over the nation of Israel rather than judges over the various tribes. Abimelech’s brief and disastrous reign should have served as a warning about the dangers of having a human king, but ultimately the people would demand one anyway (often to their own detriment). Gideon was right when he said that only “the LORD shall rule over you.” (Judges 8:23)