Judges 9

Judges  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Part of God’s Compassionate Rescue of Ruined Sinners is His judgment and punishment.

Notes
Transcript

Introduction:

**Turn in your bible to Judges 8:29 and pray**
I mentioned last week that Gideon’s rise and triumph only makes up half his story
-Judges 6-7 cover God’s call of Gideon and the victory that He allowed Gideon to experience
-However, chapters 8-9 are also part of the Gideon story, and they show how things took a turn for the worst
-Last week, we saw how the people of Israel unraveled under Gideon’s leadership
-They quickly fell into squabbling and fear
-And Gideon himself becomes vengeful and violent, and then makes some kind of priestly garment out of gold that the people begin to worship
-But the Gideon story isn’t quite over yet
-Because chapter 9 gives us the story of Gideon’s son, who forces his way into kingship over Israel
-And so God gives us here a pretty lengthy story of the reign of Abimelech, full of battles, bloodshed, betrayals, and political intrigue
-It’s a pretty fascinating story that begins towards the end of chapter 8 and extends through all 57 verses of Judges 9
-And when we come to stories like this in the OT, we have to ask ourselves, what do I do with this?
-When you read a story like this that’s full of all kinds of violence and betrayal and disaster, it’s certainly fascinating!
-But what does it mean for me as a Christian?
-What does it mean for the Church of Jesus Christ?
And sometimes, in OT narrative, the author gives us some theological insight
-And that’s not to say that the rest of this story isn’t theological
-It’s Scripture, it’s all theological!
-But what I mean is that the author tells us exactly what God is doing or how God views this
-And so there are 3 of these kinds of theological passages in this story that I think will serve as guideposts to understanding this story
-And they tell us that this story is all about when there is injustice and wickedness that’s going on,
First, God sees
-He sees the injustice
Second, God acts
-He doesn’t sit idly by, but intervenes
And finally, God accomplishes
-When it’s all said and done, God will always accomplish His perfect justice and punishment of sin

1. God sees (8:33-35)

-If you glance up real quick at verses 8:22-23, the Israelites had wanted to make Gideon king
-Gideon at least says the right thing:

23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.”

-However, the sincerity of those words are at least called into question as the author wraps up the story of Gideon’s life in verses 29-32
-Here the author notes that Gideon had 70 sons, because he had many wives
-A king would have this kind of harem
-And second, the author tells us that Gideon has a concubine from Schechem who bears him a son, and he cnames his son Abimelech
-Which means, “my father is king”
-And so while Gideon refuses kingship with his words, we’re left unsure how authentic his refusal really is
-But in 33-35, we get the first of our 3 theological comments from the author

33 So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. 34 Thus the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 35 nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.

-Notice that the author, who’s giving us God’s perspective, accuses Israel of 3 sins
-First, they turned to other gods once again
-The Gideon account began with Gideon pulling down the altar of Baal
-But now, right after his death, the Israelites go right back to worshipping Baal again
-Second, God tells us that the Israelites did not remember Yahweh their God who had delivered them from their enemies
-No sooner had God rescued Israel from their sin that they had already forgot him
-Instead of loving God, they try to use him to get what they really want
**It’s like the spoiled child who only pretends to love his parents in order to butter them up to get him the new toy he wants
-and as soon as he gets it, he immediately forgets them now that he got what he really wants**
-And third, God tells us also that they did not show kindness to Gideon for the good he had done for Israel
-Now, we’ve already talked about Gideon’s failings and shortcomings last week
-He was the first judge to enact violence against his own people
-He went on a revenge rampage against the towns of Succoth and Penuel
-And he even led the Israelites to worship a golden ephod he had made
-But despite these things, Gideon had been used by God to bring the Israelites out of their bondage
-In your NT, the writer of Hebrews commends Gideon as an example of faith as someone who displayed his trust in God by being willing to go to battle with only 300 men in obedience to God’s Word
-And despite his sacrifice and the risk he took for Israel’s sake, they did not repay his family with kindness
And so we see here in our text, that with everything that is about to happen, God sees all of it
-None of the evil that is about to occur goes unnoticed by Him
-And brothers and sisters, this is both encouraging and sobering for us as the people of God today:
It’s encouraging and comforting for you to remember that God always sees the injustice and mistreatment that goes on in your life
-When you are treated unfairly by a family member
-When you are accused unjustly at work
-When peers or authorities in your life mistreat you,
God always sees it
-Nothing goes unnoticed by Him
-When we look around and see corruption and injustice in our government
-Or we see rich celebrities commit horrible crimes and seemingly get no punishment
-When we see how false teachers and false prophets rise up and take advantage of people in the name of Jesus
-We can often be discouraged and overwhelmed
-But rest assured, God always sees and takes notice
-He never fails to see any of the injustice that goes on in our world
-And you, if you’re a child of God, can rest in the fact that God always sees when we are wronged
-This truth also ought to be sobering to us, because sometimes, as much as we may not like to admit it . . .
-sometimes we’re the ones who are being unrighteous or unjust
-and you need to remember that anytime you fail to treat others in a righteous way, He sees that
-He sees when we slander or gossip about someone
-He sees when we lose our temper with our child or our spouse or with some poor customer service rep on the phone
-You need to remember that God sees all injustice, and turn to Him in repentance when you fall into these kinds of sins
-So what happens?
-How do the Israelites forget God and treat Gideon’s family unjustly?
-Well, this son of Gideon named Abimelech, who was born to his concubine from Shechem . . .
-Perhaps he heard of how his father Gideon at least seemed to outwardly rejected the idea of kingship
-But he kind of likes the idea of becoming a king
-So he goes to his mother’s family in Schechem, and says to them,

9:2 “Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and bone.”

-In other words, “I’m a son of Gideon, and I’m one of you all. Why not make me your king?”
-The men of Shechem like the idea of having one of Gideon’s sons as their king, especially since has homegrown roots in Shechem
-So they give him some money from the temple of their god, and he takes that money and hires some hitmen
-So he and his army of mercenaries head down to his father’s property and Ophrah and kill all 70 of his brothers on a stone there
-Now, take note of that detail, that he killed them on a stone, because that’s going to be important later
-So, he murders all 70 of his brothers . . . except one
You see, his youngest brother, Jotham, escapes
-And so the men of Shechem hold a gathering to officially make the murdering Abimelech their king
However, when Jotham hears about this, he picks a spot on a nearby mountain
-close enough so that they’ll be able to hear him,
-but far enough away so that they won’t be able to capture him,
-And he yells to them this story:

8 “The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.

And they said to the olive tree,

‘Reign over us!’

9 But the olive tree said to them,

‘Should I cease giving my oil,

With which they honor God and men,

And go to sway over trees?’

10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree,

‘You come and reign over us!’

11 But the fig tree said to them,

‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,

And go to sway over trees?’

12 “Then the trees said to the vine,

‘You come and reign over us!’

13 But the vine said to them,

‘Should I cease my new wine,

Which cheers both God and men,

And go to sway over trees?’

14 “Then all the trees said to the bramble,

‘You come and reign over us!’

15 And the bramble said to the trees,

‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you,

Then come and take shelter in my shade;

But if not, let fire come out of the bramble

And devour the cedars of Lebanon!’

-The point of this story seems to be this:
-It’s not usually the most virtuous and qualified people who end up in leadership;
-It’s often the most dangerous and most harmful
-And we can certainly see how that’s played out in various ways in our own political scene in America!
Jotham goes on to make this point as well:

19 if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!”

-Jotham is essentially calling down a curse on the men of Shechem and on Abimelech
-He’s saying, “if you all have acted in a righteous and honest way, then I hope this all goes great for you!
-But if you’ve gone about this kingship business in a violent and underhanded way, then may Abimelech destroy the men of Shechem, and may the men of Shechem destroy Abimelech”
-And with that, Jotham escapes
-Which leads us to our second theological text
-Not only does God see . . .

2. God Acts (9:22-24)

22 After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years, 23 God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 that the crime done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers.

-Whether or not Jotham was a faithful follower of God and was praying to God for vengeance, or just expressing his desire for justice to be served
-God saw the injustice against Gideon’s family
-And God heard the words of Jotham
-And God now decides to act
-Notice what God does
Verse 23 says that God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem
-Now, we need to be careful in understanding this kind of language
-How is it that God can send a spirit of ill-will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem?
**There are two truths we always need to hold to when we try to understand God’s sovereignty
First, God is sovereign over all that happens!
-There is nothing that happens apart from God’s sovereign decree
-Even when someone does evil against you and sins against you, God is sovereign even over that
-How else could Joseph say
Genesis 50:20 “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.”
However, the second truth we need to understand is this:
-God does not cause sin, nor does he tempt men to sin
James 1:13 “No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone.”
-So then, when we come to a passage like Judges 9:22, we need to keep both those truths in mind
-And so when it comes to the work of evil spirits, or when it comes to evil people like Abimelech and the men of Shechem doing evil towards one another
-We need to understand that when God decrees and allows evil spirits or evil men to do evil things, He is not forcing them to do something against their nature
-Rather, He is allowing them to do the evil that is already in their own hearts
-So, when God sends this spirit of ill will . . .
-presumably it’s some kind of demonic spirit . . .
-God is simply allowing this evil spirit to do what it wants to do: cause division
-And when Abimelech and the men of Shechem turn on each other, he’s not making them sin or tempting them to sin
-Rather, these men have already shown how wicked and violent they are, and so he’s allowing them to act in accordance with their own sinful nature
-That’s what it means that God is sovereign over all things that happens, but He doesn’t cause evil in the same way that He causes good
-Rather, when it comes to evil spirits or evil men, God allows them to act in accordance with their own sinful nature, while still maintaining sovereign control over all that happens
-And what’s the purpose of all of this?

9:24 that the crime done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers.

-God is a God who not only sees that evil and injustice that goes on in the world, but He’s a God who acts on it
-Isn’t that important for us to remember?
-Every single wrong that you suffer at the hands of others
-whether it’s from a family member, a friend, a coworker, or the government that your under
-Every single wrong that you suffer, God not only sees that but also will act to make it right
-God alone has the omniscience and wisdom to see and understand every instance of wrong and injustice that people commit
-And He’s also the only One who has the power to exact punishment on those who sin against others
-Don’t think that any person, any celebrity, any politician, any government, or any false teacher will get away with the way they wrongly take advantage of or harm other people
-God will always bring about perfect justice
-Even though it may not always be in the timing we desire
-God seemed to leave Abimelech and the men of Shechem alone for 3 years
-But He was always going to enact vengeance in His timing
-So how does He do that?
-How does God bring justice down on the heads of Abimelech and the men of Shechem?
-Well, the men of Shechem begin to get fed up with Abimelech after 3 years
-So they begin to set up ambushes on the tops of the mountains and rob people, presumably some of Abimelech’s men or people who would do business with Abimelech
-Finally, Abimelech hears of what’s going on
-Now, around this time, a guy named Gaal and his gang of men come to Shechem to hang out and drink
-So he and his men, and the men of Shechem, basically have a big drinking party in the house of their false god
-Verse 27 says that they ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech
**It’s almost like a bunch of coworkers going to the bar after work in order to get drunk and talk about how much they hate their boss**
-And Gaal in particular, probably drunk, begins to boldly proclaim that he would make a better king than Abimelech
-And if Abimelech was man enough to face him, he and his group of soldiers would really put the beat down on Abimelech
-Now, Zebul, the ruler of Shechem, is still loyal to Abimelech
-So hears about what Gaal is saying, so he quickly sends word to Abimelech, who was probably in some nearby town, telling him:
“This guy Gaal is over here in Shechem trash-talking you.
Go round up your men and come attack these guys early in the morning while they’re all still sleeping off their hang-over”
-So Abimelech receives the message and does just that
-He gathers up his men and waits in ambush outside the city
-Gaal gets up the next morning and stands near the city gate with Zebul
-And he looks up at the mountains and says, “are those people running down at us?”
-And Zebul tells him, “No, the early morning shadows are just playing tricks on you.”
-So Gaal looks again and says, “No, I think there really are people running down here at us.”

38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where indeed is your mouth now, with which you said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out, if you will, and fight with them now.”

-So Gaal goes out to fight, and it turns out he’s a lot better at talking than fighting, because Abimelech routs Gaal and his men
-the next day, the inhabitants of Shechem think it’s all over and so they go back out to the fields to resume their normal lives
-But Abimelech gathers up his men again and attacks these innocent civilians, and they end up killing all the people of the city and demolishing the city
-Apparently, some of the men of the city weren’t around
-So when they hear about the devastation, they enter into the stronghold, which is also a temple for their false god, hoping to wait out the disaster that Abimelech surely has in store for them
-When Abimelech hears about these men hiding out in the stronghold, he has an idea
-He goes up to the mountain with his army, he takes an ax, and cuts down a branch from a tree
-He puts the branch on his shoulder, and he tells everyone
-grab a branch and follow me

49 So each of the people likewise cut down his own bough and followed Abimelech, put them against the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire above them, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

-And so the men of Shechem get repaid for their evil of being involved in the slaughter of Gideon’s family
Well, what about Abimelech?
-Is he going to get away with his sin?
-Abimelech thought that his new tactic of burning down the enemy stronghold was pretty effective
-So he goes to another town called Thebez and attacks it
-The men and women of the city flee into their stronghold, so Abimelech probably thinks, “perfect, I’ll set this tower on fire too”
-However, this attempt doesn’t go quite as well for him

52 So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. 54 Then he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place.

-Just as Abimelech killed his 70 brothers on a stone, a random, unnamed woman drops a stone on Abimelech’s head
Which brings us to our last theological comment by the author

3. God Accomplishes (9:56-57)

56 Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

-God sees
-God acts
-God accomplishes His vengeance
-In the end, God will always wins
-The sinner cannot escape God’s justice
-Whether it’s in this life or the next, God will always meet out perfect justice to every single person who sins
-Every king or president
-Every powerful influencer or celebrity
-Every man and woman will stand before God and receive the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing
-God will always bring back the evil on the head of the sinner
-And this should do 2 things for us:
First, this should comfort us when we suffer wrong at the hand of others

1 Thess 1:6

-this is why Paul says,

Romans 12:19

-We can trust God to deal out punishment as He sees fit
-When we see wrong being done
-When we see people being trampled down or taken advantage of
-When we’re mistreated
-We have this innate sense of justice that says,
“This is wrong! That person deserves punishment!”
-And that’s not a bad impulse!
-God has created us that way
-However, we are not the ones that God has appointed to mete out perfect justice
-We aren’t perfectly wise and just like God is
-And so that’s why we’re not to go take vengeance
-Rather, we are to let God be the One to punish sin and wrong-doing
-We are to entrust ourselves to His perfect justice, and allow Him to be God, not us
-Brothers and sisters, if you’re longing to see justice done
-If you’re longing for the day when all wrongs will be made right
-You can trust God
-He will perfectly deal with all sin and all evil-doers
-Second, these truths ought to cause us to flee to Christ for forgiveness
-Any sin or wrongdoing that we commit will also be punished
-And the only escape from punishment is to flee to Christ for salvation and forgiveness
-Only He can forgive us for our sins and avert God’s punishment that we deserve
-When we really begin to think about this story and let is sink in, the real question to ask is: why is God so gracious to rescue any of us?
-None of us deserve any better than Abimelech and the men of Shechem
-And yet, God in His grace, won’t leave His people alone
If you look at the next 4 verses in chapter 10, God continues to raise up deliverers for His people, because that’s who He is
-He’s a God who compassionately rescues ruined sinners
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