And Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
Gideon — the verse calls him Jerubbaal — had refused the crown of Israel and said the LORD alone would rule them. Now his son by a servant woman goes to his mother's hometown to seek that very throne, and the whole chapter grows out of that visit.
Abimelech means "my father is king." It says the opposite of what Gideon said.
He rises as king. Someone gave him his name — perhaps his mother, to show his link with the great man of Israel, and to cover the shame of his birth. That name shows how the subtle spirit was at work, whether it found expression or not: "My father was king." That is the very thing his father was not. His father refused to be king, and said God alone should be their king. And yet here is the son of his father declaring that his father was king. He declares further, in the strongest way, that his son also is going to be king.
This son did not appear from nowhere.
His enormous family and many wives do not suggest the spiritual vigour seen in men of faith, even in the days of the patriarchs. And surely Abimelech, son of the concubine, is too closely tied to this coarseness for us to miss the lesson. Ease and self-pleasing give birth to many a fruitful source of evil later on.
Refusing a crown is not the end of the danger.
It teaches us this. We may refuse a public place of exaltation and still have no defence against the most subtle and more dangerous snare: supposing that the memorials of our service can in any way add to the worship of God. This is using service as a way of exalting self, and that must "become a snare to us and to our house."
Abimelech's first move is not to Israel but to his mother's people.
Having cut off all rivals, he goes to Shechem, the town of his mother, the town according to nature. It matters that this town lies in the tribe of Ephraim, which is always, as you know, reaching out for rule. There he gets the men of Shechem to endorse him and recognise him as king.
Where did his power come from? Another writer points to his birth.
The sources of his power are that he is half Canaanite, half Israelite — son of Gideon on the one side, though son of the slave woman on the other. In this he is another Ishmael, and he carries the same symbolic meaning that the apostle gives to Ishmael in Galatians 4.
Here is the case he asks his mother's family to put to Shechem.
Abimelech did not only forget his father's example; he deliberately chose the opposite path of proud self-pleasing. He wanted to rule over Israel. He saw that to do this he must find a following that would reject all seventy of Gideon's sons born to him by his wives. So he persuaded his mother's relatives to speak to the men of Shechem. They were to ask which is better: that seventy of Gideon's sons should rule over them, or just one. He points out that he himself is their own flesh and bone. No one had suggested that Gideon's seventy sons should rule over Israel. Those sons likely knew that their father had refused the place of ruler. But a small minority can often force its way into prominence.
He moved as soon as his father died, and one writer names what drove him.
As soon as the judge, his father, was dead, he gathered his mother's family together and urged them to use their influence with the men of Shechem on his behalf. The glory of the LORD and the blessing of His people were not before him; he wanted to exalt himself — he would be king... It was by fair speeches that the son of Gideon won his way.
The chapter ends where such a beginning must end.
The ninth chapter of Judges records for us the bitter harvest of his pride and their folly. It teaches us to beware of trusting in man — the bramble in Jotham's parable — and above all when it is a question of God's things.
- Seed — Ease and self-pleasing at the end of Gideon's life produced the son who opens this chapter; the ephod he kept became a snare "to us and to our house."
- Name — "My father is king" claims for Gideon the very thing Gideon refused, and stakes the son's claim to follow him.
- Kin — His first appeal goes to his mother's family and hometown: rule built on natural ties, not on God's calling.
- Words — Fair speeches win his way for him. The offer of one ruler instead of seventy rests on kinship, and no one had asked for seventy rulers.
- Harvest — Judges 9 is the bitter crop of that sowing. It teaches us to beware of trusting in man, above all in the things of God.
Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem, Which is better for you, that seventy persons, all sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you? And remember that I am your bone and your flesh.
reason: claim not in quotes; very hard sentences
The question — seventy rulers or one — never came from Abimelech's own mouth. One writer shows who he sent to ask it.
Abimelech did not just forget his father's example. He deliberately chose the opposite path of proud self-pleasing. He wanted to rule over Israel. He saw that this meant finding a following that would reject all 70 of Gideon's sons, the sons his wives bore him. So he persuaded his mother's relatives to speak to the men of Shechem. They were to ask which was better: rule by 70 of Gideon's sons, or rule by one man. His appeal is that he himself is their own flesh and bone.
Abimelech's question assumes that seventy men were reaching for power. One writer points out that this threat was invented.
No one had suggested that Gideon's 70 sons should rule over Israel. Those sons likely knew that their father had refused the place of ruler. But a small minority can often force its way into prominence.
The name Abimelech carries a meaning. One writer finds in it the sad slide of Gideon himself.
As Gideon grew older, his faith grew dimmer, and I fear his pride increased. His concubine, the servant woman, bore him a son, and he called him "Abimelech." And what does "Abimelech" mean? It means "My Father is King." The very place Gideon had refused in his early days, he now seeks to seize, and his son's name betrays his sad fall. "My Father" (that is, Gideon) "is King": sad, sad departure from the noble faith he once had. Earlier he had said, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you." Now he seeks the place of king.
The verse ends with a claim of kinship. One writer shows what kind of throne that claim builds, and why Shechem was the town for it.
He sets himself to rule over the people of God, and to do that he builds his throne on violence. There must be violence if there is rule of that kind; if there is the rule of man, it must be by violence. Therefore he kills all his brothers, all the many sons of Gideon, with a single exception. Having cut off all rivals in this way, he goes to Shechem, the town of his mother, the town according to nature. Shechem lies in the tribe of Ephraim, and Ephraim is always reaching out for rule. There he gets the men of Shechem to endorse him and recognize him as king.
No force appears in this verse, only words. One writer names both the method and the principle that finally caught up with Abimelech.
The Lord has declared that whoever humbles himself will be exalted, and whoever exalts himself will be brought low. Abimelech proved that true. Gideon's son won his way by smooth speeches. "His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords" (Psalm 55:21). All this deceives the crowd and leads it away, as it led the men of Shechem.
The verse leaves a question for the reader. One writer asks whether we want the chair another man stepped away from.
Let us not be seeking a place. Let us not be like Abimelech, who wanted to step into the empty chair of the man before him — a chair his own father had refused… Wherever people think that certain ones are rulers, and will be rulers despite anything in themselves or in the saints, you can be sure it is the bramble. And the bramble has no fruit for God.
- Ambition. Abimelech wanted to rule, so he first invented a reason for Shechem to reject his seventy brothers.
- Invention. The rival he warned about never existed. None of Gideon's sons wanted the place their father refused.
- Kinship. His claim was not right but blood: Shechem was his mother's town, the town according to nature.
- Flattery. Smooth speech opened the door. Then came the murder of his brothers, because a man who seizes rule must keep it by violence.
- Fruitlessness. The man who grasps at a place others refused is the bramble — no fruit for God. Whoever exalts himself will be brought low.