The extent of Abimelechs kingdom was very limited; only Shechem, Beth-millo, Arumah (Judges 9:41) and Thebez (Judges 9:50) are mentioned as under his jurisdiction and it is unlikely that it extended beyond a portion of western Manasseh. (Cundall), iii. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. It is well sometimes for all those who teach that they should be obliged to learn; well that they should be forced to feel that they do not know; an excellent moral lesson that they should confess it not only be conscious of it, but own it; for indeed the necessary claim of scripture is that it be confided in as the word of God, though it does not thence follow that we are competent to explain all. The bramble is a worthless plant, not to be numbered among the trees, useless and fruitless, nay, hurtful and vexatious, scratching and tearing, and doing mischief; it began with the curse, and its end is to be burned. Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and here they are, fortifying the city against you. Pride, look what it would do, even when you're dying, you know. For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. Since I understand Jotham to be a prophet, he is presumably relaying a message from God. Is it they who say to Samson, "Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?" And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron." And so in one of those instances where positions, "Okay, now where's your mouth man? Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, Abimelech probably grew up in Shechem (Judges 8:31). All promise, no performance. Should I cease giving my oil, Is it not evident that Samson feebly knew what God was teaching him by the lion which he slew, and by the lion's carcase which he found with the honey in it? So they all cut down the boughs, and he came to the tower and he laid these boughs around, and set fire to them ( Judges 9:40-49 ); And actually cremated the people who had sought refuge there in the tower. So Gaal spake again and said, Look there are people coming down by the middle of the land, another company is coming along the plain of Meonenim. Therefore is it explained with great care. His victories had then been as holy as they were brilliant; for he surely needed not to have defiled his Nazariteship by an unholy marriage in order to have punished the Philistines. 7. he . b. stood in the top of mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice--The spot he chose was, like the housetops, the public place of Shechem; and the parable [ Judges 9:8-15 ] drawn from the rivalry of the various trees was appropriate to the diversified foliage of the valley below. Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?" 11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Jotham's parable, ver. What Every Christian Should Know about the Protestant Reformation. A watchman of His Word, Interesting, how can me know the words of God to the fullest. The prophecy of Jotham was not to be immediately fulfilled. No way. It was a shame that they needed to be put in mind of this. a. 2 Samuel 12:1-4; 2 Kings 14:9-10). Note, Those who expect God to hear their prayers must be willing to hear reason, to hear a faithful reproof, and to hear the complaints and appeals of wronged innocency. But, (2.) ". The besieged city--the strong tower within--the men and women crowding its battlements--the fire applied to the doors, and even the huge fragments of stone dropping from the hands of one of the garrison on the heads of the assailants, are all well represented to the life--just as they are here described in the narrative of inspired truth [GOSS]. Both outside and inside the city, they effectively attacked and killed the people of Shechem (even those not directly involved in the rebellion). Killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal: Therefore, Abimelech killed his brothers with the support of his relatives on his mothers side. Yet they rejected the warning of God, and therefore came to ruin. unknown) Pilgrim - You ask "HOW one comes to know the words of God to the fullest?" b. c. Where indeed is your mouth now: When Zebul knew that Gaal was at a disadvantage, he could not resist rebuking him for his proud, arrogant words against Abimelech, an enemy he could not defeat. How triumphantly has it been done in Christ our Lord, but in how different a way! Difficulties, where they exist for us, would only exercise faith in God. Here God had to rebuke the people, even when morally right in the main, until the wrong their state and haste mixed up with it was purged out. When he approached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem: Everything seemed fine between the men of Shechem and Abimelech for three years. It makes wise the simple; it enlightens the eyes. The Ammonites had lost them before the children of Israel took them from others whom they might lawfully attack and despoil; but God had forbidden that the children of Israel should spoil either Ammon, or Moab, or Edom. The allusion is far more probably to the use of thorns for fuel: Exodus 22:6, If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn . b. And Jephthah vowed a vow unto Jehovah." Yet long after his death, the credit continued to be given to the woman (cf. And all the men of Shechem gathered together, all of Beth Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar that was in Shechem. He made this speech from the top of Mount Gerizim, the mountain from which Israel heard the blessings of God pronounced upon the obedient (Deuteronomy 11:29 and 27:12; Joshua 8:33) about 150 years before. The reason which all these fruit-trees gave for their refusal was much the same. For we must remember carefully this, in looking at the dealings of God with the holy land and with His people Israel, God had always destined the land of Palestine for the chosen people. ( Judges 9:28 ). That God may listen to you! ABIMELECH IS MADE KING BY THE SHECHEMITES. 7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. Then follows the story of his companions and the riddle a riddle which he was clever enough to put, but which he had little faith to understand or appropriate himself. Though Abimelech sought a place of leadership in Israel, God did not raise him up as a judge. When a suitable occasion arose and Abimelech was in another town, a group of Shechemites plotted to overthrow him. 308.]. His abortive rule, however, ran roughshod over the divine requirements for that office. (Wolf), ii. With a little exertion of voice, he could easily have been heard by the people of the city; for the hill so overhangs the valley, that a person from the side or summit would have no difficulty in speaking to listeners at the base. This was an ungodly leader given to an ungodly people, who first rejected Gods leadership over the nation and then embraced a cruel and brutal man. Still this became their relationship, yet the children of Israel have the answer from Jehovah, "Go up against him." Let fire come out of the bramble.Some suppose that there is a reference to the ancient notions of the spontaneous ignition of the boughs of the bramble when rubbed together by the wind. Here's old Abimelech down there, you know, trying to set the door on fire and she "knock" drops the millstone and cracks his skull. They were filled with thoughts of destruction against Benjamin, and the remembrance that he was their brother had not even entered their minds before. So Abimelech and all the people who were with him rose by night, and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies. And go to sway over trees? But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day." And all of the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and they went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. In the case of Abimelech it is seen most conspicuously, yet is it always true, though it may be occasionally more marked than at other times. As long as the world is under the usurped rule of the enemy of God, the path of obedience must always be one of suffering, and this, I may add, increasingly, as we see in Him. The olive pleads (Judges 9:9; Judges 9:9), Should I leave my wine, wherewith both God and man are served and honoured? He has no doubt secrets of grace above all difficulties and wrongs: of this we cannot doubt for a moment; and indeed we have abundant proofs of it here. Well, Gideon had probably a concubine in every city and so in Shechem this concubine who had born this fellow Abimelech.Abimelech came to the men of Shechem and he said, "Look, is it better that one man rule over you or seventy that rule over you? Could they therefore suppose that such a low-born, uneducated, cruel, and murderous man, could be a proper protector, or a humane governor? threescore and ten persons--A round number is used, but it is evident that two are wanting to complete that number. WebWhen the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, his cords were loosed: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, and those are free indeed who are thus set free. These features reflect the authors unambiguous stance toward the nation and the characters: Israel has been totally Canaanized; Baal has contended for himself and prevailed." What courage and confidence may they not then cherish! And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.". So it was a pretty good-sized tower, actually. For what can be more humiliating than that one's death should be more important than one's life? The consequence was that he allowed himself to be drawn into an ambush, was defeated, the city of Shechem destroyed and strewn with salt. This only gains the day; for it alone is as wise and holy as it is good. Now; in Abimelech's history we see that he had begun with the most intense selfishness taking an utterly reckless advantage of those who had a better claim to represent their father than himself. "It was of Jehovah, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. Now the moral importance of this was immense, for if they were simply doing the will and word of God, who could stand in their way? This would have the effect of reducing the number of travelers and caravans in such a troubled area, thus emptying the pockets of Abimelech as well as hitting as his pride, for he could not guarantee the safety of travel in his domain. (Cundall), Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. This, at least, was right. He gives a parable how that the trees of the forest came to the olive tree and they said, "Rule over us. Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez--now Tubas--not far from Shechem. The title of the children of Israel therefore to that land was indefeasible. One very brief definition that may help is to describe a parable as an earthly story that speaks beyond itself.. "And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. It is not the vanity of setting up oneself as possessed of exclusive powers or special means of attaining or explaining anything; for I should distrust anyone who pretended to anything of the sort, no matter who or where he might be. or, as the margin reads it, go up and down for the trees? They did not believe that God would enforce His claims. especially to posterity, when the benefactor if forgotten, as Joseph was among the Egyptians. . 2 Samuel 11:21). (Wolf), ii. And this, beyond all doubt or fear, we are entitled always to keep before our hearts in reading the Bible. Resent it? WebAnd his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. This graphically fulfilled the warning of Jotham earlier in the chapter (Judges 9:19-20). Let none expect to do ill and fare well. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. Dear Searching (i.e. You've been saying who's Abimelech? And this is the great point for us that we can and ought to count on. The sound travels. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men; and they followed him. But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women; all the people of the city; fled there and shut themselves in; then they went up to the top of the tower. Still more is what follows; for God fails not to deal with us on our own ground. And he looked, and there were the people, coming out of the city; and he rose against them and attacked them. If Ammon could or would not seek to recover it previously, they had no title to claim now from Israel. There is no difference as to form. Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem--The idolatry which had been stealthily b. We have seen how grace overruled, broke up an evil association before it was consummated, and gave him righteous ground to take vengeance on the Philistines, followed by his judging Israel for twenty years. But then, how can he claim that God will listen to the people if they listen to him (Jotham)? Jothams fable was a parable with a moral (cf. Proud member These verses contain the interpretation of the fable. Chapter 9Now here's what happened. You'd never come up for sure.Well now there was this woman in the tower and she had a piece of a millstone. God held even to the distant tie of connection a most striking proof and witness of the ways of our God. Not only were they in slavery, but content to be slaves, yea, traitors. What's best? We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. Those that bear fruit for the public good are justly respected and honoured by all that are wise more than those that affect to make a figure. Abimelech was no doubt the son of a concubine; but here we descend lower still. All are aware there are a great many who try to explain the difficulty away or soften it down. But if not, let fire come out of the bramble a. The condensed moral of the whole fable is this: Weak, worthless, and wicked men, will ever be foremost to thrust themselves into power; and, in the end, to bring ruin upon themselves, and on the unhappy people over whom they preside. (Clarke). What a man sows he must reap: if he sows to the flesh, of the flesh he reaps corruption. We are sanctified both by the Father's word and by Christ glorified on high. On the other hand, is there not real beauty in the obscurity in which Scripture treats a matter so painful? a. "Now gentle Jesus meek and mild, look upon this little child." "Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. He decided to teach his subjects a lesson. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And Jotham ran away, and he fled, to Beer, and dwelt there, for the fear of Abimelech his brother. The bramble said to the trees, If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon. How much more are we, brethren, who are the followers of One who knew nothing but a life of continual sorrow and shame for the glory of God! Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. Gaal . (1.) We could not go lower than Samson; but we have what was. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. He could tell his troops to do as I have done, and they did. Proud even in death, he then had to answer to God for his wicked actions. Now I am far from denying that it is right for us to feel the pain and shame of Samson's ways. i. When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was aroused. He got an opportunity of speaking to them from the top of Mount Gerizim, the mount of blessings, at the foot of which probably the Shechemites were, upon some occasion or other, gathered together (Josephus says, solemnizing a festival), and it seems they were willing to hear what he had to say. . You come and reign over us! We ought to be serving Hamor and his family, let them be the kings. (Psalm 61:3). And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." Nor ought anyone to allow a suspicion until he has the certainty of that which can be accounted for in no way save by guilt. be consumed; Psalm 58:9, Or ever your pots be made hot with thorns; Ecclesiastes 7:6, the crackling of thorns under a pot.. On human grounds there might be a just right of conquest; but all this would not do for God, who must decide everything even in the battles of His people. exceedingly necessary for us to learn the fact that the dismally wretched condition that we have seen throughout all the Judges was true even from early days; and therefore the Spirit of God giving us this as a sort of supplement, or a conclusion, but with such marks of time as show that it was of a comparatively early date (and this can be proved before we have done with the book), is, I think, of considerable interest and importance. Judges 9 Commentary So, heres the secret the end of Judges chapter 8 here shows us how Israel did wrong to God. And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and he laid in wait in the field, and he looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; he rose up against them, and smote them. WebGod tells us every human life has value. The olives are among the most beautiful trees that grow in the Holy Land. 50 - 57. Jotham may have hidden in some empty well for a long time (cf. The world was large enough for all. Hear what a solemn appeal Jephthah makes to the elders before he acts. Scripture does not in any way vouch for the immaculateness of those even who wrought in faith. "And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. He was crucified in weakness, but rose in the power of God; but there, instead of folly, instead of shame, instead of unhallowed alliance with the enemies of God, how does unsullied perfection shine in Him of whom we boast! They only injured those who got too close to them. "Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? i. Abimelech, the son of his maidservant: Abimelechs mother is called a slave girl, a term usually referring to a wifes servant who is also a concubine, such as Hagar or Bilhah. (Wolf). But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelechs head and crushed his skull. Thus it was proved that Israel had, in whatever light regarded, a valid title, not only from long-continued possession, but from a right founded on their conquest of one of the enemies devoted to destruction by God Himself, but an enemy who had wantonly attacked them, when they would have left him unharmed, as they would the Ammonite now. The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). i. Now when they told Jotham: Jotham was the only son of Gideon to escape the massacre at the stone (Judges 9:5). If this be submitted to (and you might more consistently reject the Bible altogether, if you do not submit), one sees the hollowness and falsehood of sitting in judgment upon it: for who can question that to doubt that which comes directly from God Himself would be to take the place, not merely of an unbeliever, but of a blasphemer or an atheist? And so the men of Shechem began to set an ambush for him and the top of the mountains, or for the people, and they robbed all of those that were going along that way and it was told to Abimelech.And then this guy Gaal, sort of a big mouth kind of a guy, said to the men, he came with his brothers and he went over to Shechem. communed . In Him we may confide, who loves us to the end. On them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal: God had warned the men of Shechem through Jotham. I have taken no ground beyond your own, my brethren; but surely this is a ground that calls you to assert the very same inestimable privilege that I boast as by grace a man of faith. i. Only Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, who by a special providence escaped the common ruin of his family (Judges 9:5; Judges 9:5), dealt plainly with the Shechemites, and his speech, which is here recorded, shows him to have been a man of such great ingenuity and wisdom, and really such an accomplished gentleman, that we cannot but the more lament the fall of Gideon's sons. It is the perfection of the creature, giving God His place, and man his own; it is the lowliest, and withal the morally highest place for one here below, as for the angels above. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: but the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.". Judges 18:1-31 shows that the moral condition, especially of the priest-Levite, was as bad as the religious state. (1-3) God tells Gideon to tell all his soldiers who are afraid to go home. Literally, the Hebrew text reads that they committed fornication with the idol, which reflects the marriage language that God often uses when conveying his There is not a single jot in the Scriptures that God has written or ordered which is not worthy of Himself; nor is there the least possibility of improving either. And so when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years." Judges 9:8 - Niobi aka Patchworkid's Personal Study Bible Notes Gideon had about seventy sons. Dear Pilgrims Christianity is singular and not plural all things plural become corrupt Jesus begins each letter/epistle in Revelation to a church (plural) but He ends each letter/epistle addressing individual/s (singular) (i.e. TO ANOINT A KING, i.e. Eastern people are exceedingly fond of parables and use them for conveying reproofs, which they could not give in any other way. (30-33) The role of Zebul, the ruler of the city. I speak of course of David, the son of Jesse. The law was right there, but Israel refused to read or heed it. His heart was glad of a better living and of a larger sphere (verses 19, 20), as he goes off from the house of Micah with the lawless children of Dan to blot out Laish with fire and sword, and call their new city after their own name, where the graven image was set up, and a succession that failed not till the day of the captivity of the land; for error takes root faster, and bears fruit more luxuriantly as well as permanently than the truth.
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