Judges 9

Prophecy Update

2 Thessalonians 2:9–12 ESV

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Paul is addressing the Thessalonians and their fear that they missed the rapture

2 Thessalonians 2:1 ESV

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,

The rapture won’t happen until man of lawlessness comes first

That man of lawlessness is the Antichrist

vs. 4 He is going to oppose every so-called god or object of worship and proclaim himself to be God

He is being restrained until the his time

2 Thessalonians 2:9 ESV

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,

There will be a strong delusion on the people of earth so that they may believe what is false

This all happens because they did not believe the truth but had pleasures in unrighteousness

For those who know and love the truth this is easy to see playing out in front of us

There is a strong delusion coming and is even now starting to form for those who oppose the truth of God’s Word

It going to cause them to believe what is false

Isaiah 5:20 ESV

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Three areas of delusion in last two years

COVID treatment

Joe Rogan

In December Joe Rogan had two podcasts on COVID with two doctors that aren’t part of the narrative

One is an expert on treating people who get covid, the other was creator of the MRNA technology that created the vaccine

These guys are experts in their field and are pushing back against the narrative

Both of those podcasts got 60 million views

The legacy media and the government tried to cancel Joe Rogan for causing vaccine hesitancy

Rogan shot back and said that issues like masks, vaccines, and lab leaks, which would’ve gotten you kicked off of social media last summer are now being reported by Legacy media

China

Black Lives Matter

Read Judges 9:1-6

I. Gideon’s 70 Sons vs. 8:29-35

Before we get to chapter 9 we need to do a bit of back tracking

After Gideon defeated the Midianites he became judge of Israel

He ruled for 40 years and Israel had rest

During that time he had 70 sons and 1 from a concubine

Now some look at this as God’s endorsement on having multiple wives

That was never God’s design or desire

It became necessary at times for a man to have multiple wives, especially if the brother died and she was homeless

That was not the case with Gideon

This was by choice and while he lived under God’s blessing during his life, it went sideways after his death

Judges 8:29–32 describes the lifestyle of a monarch, not that of a judge or a retired army officer.

Gideon was quite wealthy, partly from the spoils of battle and partly from the gifts of the people; and he had many wives and at least one concubine.

His wives bore him seventy sons, his concubine bore him one.

In fact, he named the son of the concubine Abimelech, which means “my father is a king”; and this son later tried to live up to his name and become ruler over all the land.

Gideon also seems to have assumed priestly duties, for he made his own ephod and probably consulted it on behalf of the people.

Nobody would deny that this courageous soldier-judge deserved honor and rewards, but his “retirement plan” seemed a bit extravagant.

Gideon missed a great opportunity to bring reformation and perhaps revival to the land.

He had torn down his father’s idols, but there were many households in Israel that were still devoted to Baal, and those idols needed to be destroyed as well.

The great victory over Midian gave Gideon good reason to call the nation back to the Lord and obedience to His Law.

But instead of using the occasion for God’s glory, he used it for his own profit; and the nation eventually lapsed into sin once again.

What caused Gideon’s spiritual decline?

I think it was pride.

Before the battle against Midian, Gideon humbly depended on the Lord.

During the “mopping up” operations, however, he became authoritative and even vindictive.

You don’t find Gideon honoring the Lord or calling the people together to make a new covenant to obey the Lord.

Gideon started out as a servant, but now he was an important celebrity.

The result was decline for him, his family, and his nation

Andrew Bonar was right: “Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle.”

After all, there may still be some land mines scattered around!

II. Uncontrolled Ambition vs. 9:1-6

Abimelech was the son of Gideon by a slave woman who lived with her father’s family in Shechem (8:30–31; 9:18).

His name means “my father is a king.”

Although Gideon had certainly lived like a king, he had still refused to establish a dynasty in Israel, but Abimelech felt that his father had made a mistake.

After his father’s death, Abimelech decided that he should be king, thus he moved from Ophrah to Shechem, where he started his campaign. In what he did, Abimelech broke several of God’s laws and as a result brought destruction to himself and trouble to the people.

Selfish ambition (vv. 1–2).

“You shall not covet” is the last of the Ten Commandments, but breaking it is the first step toward breaking the other nine.

Of itself, ambition isn’t an evil thing, provided it’s mixed with genuine humility and is controlled by the will of God.

If it’s God’s wind that lifts you and you’re soaring on wings that He’s given you, then fly as high as He takes you.

But if you manufacture both the wind and the wings, you’re heading for a terrible fall.

Abimelech went to his hometown to drum up support

He spoke to his mother’s family and they agree to support him

They probably did this because he was Gideon son and there was a natural succession

The town agrees to support him and gives him 70 shekels of silver

They were inclined to follow him because he was a relative

Abimelech hires worthless and reckless men who go and kill 69 of Gideon’s sons, Abimelech’s half brothers

After this Shechem makes Abimelech king

These first verses reek of ambition and arrogance

First, he is opportunistic when his father dies

He was living in Orpah with his dad but goes to his mother’s home

They see Gideon’s son and their lust for prestige among the tribes

He gathers their support, hires thugs, kills his brothers, and is coronated king

None of this is in alignment with the will of God

III. Bramble Bush vs. 7-21

Jotham was the only brother to escape the massacre (v. 5).

Perhaps the coronation celebrations were still in progress when Jotham interrupted with his parable from Mount Gerizim, which was adjacent to Shechem and the oak of Moreh.

It was from Mount Gerizim that the blessings were to be read (Deut. 27:12; 28), but Jotham’s story was anything but a blessing.

It’s worth noting that the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) was to stand on the mount of blessing; but Abimelech certainly hadn’t brought any blessing to Gideon’s tribe of Manasseh.

This is the first parable recorded in Scripture.

Many people have the idea that Jesus invented parables and that they are found only in the four Gospels, but neither is the case.

Jotham acts like a prophet, by reading Abimelech’s mail

He uses the metaphor of a trees as kings

First, the trees go to the Olive and fig trees and ask them but they are busy doing what they were called to do

Next, they go to the vine and he wouldn’t leave his role

All of them refused to accept the honor.

They would each have to sacrifice something in order to reign, and they weren’t prepared to make that sacrifice.

Finally they went to a bramble bush

All that remained was the bramble, a thornbush that was a useless nuisance in the land, good only for fuel for the fire.

This, of course, was a symbol of Abimelech, the new king.

For a thornbush to invite the other trees to trust in its shadow is a laughable proposition indeed!

Jotham had made his point: Abimelech, the “bramble king,” would be unable to protect the people, but he would cause judgment to come that would destroy those who trusted him.

Abimelech considered himself to be a stately tree of great value, but Jotham said he was nothing but a useless weed.

What a blow to the new king’s pride!

When they chose Abimelech as their king, the men of Shechem didn’t get useful olive oil, tasty figs, or cheery wine; they got only thorns—fuel for the fire

Abimelech was actually trying to wrest the kingdom away from God (Jdg. 8:23), and the Lord permitted him to have a measure of success.

But God was still on the throne and would see to it that man’s selfish purposes would be frustrated.

It’s a dangerous thing for us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think (Rom. 12:3).

We all need to discover the gifts God has given us and then use them in the place where He puts us.

IV. Gaal vs. 22-41

After three years of relative success, Abimelech found himself in trouble.

It’s one thing to acquire a throne and quite something else to defend and retain it.

The citizens of Shechem, who had helped crown him king, began to give him trouble, as well as an intruder named Gaal.

All of this was from the Lord, who was about to punish both Abimelech and the men of Shechem for the slaughter of Gideon’s sons.

The Lord created a breech between the king and his followers, so much so that the Shechemites started to work against the king.

They began to rob the caravans that passed by the city on the nearby trade routes. Abimelech was living at Arumah (v. 41), and the activities of these bandits were robbing him of both money and reputation.

The merchants would hear about the danger, take a different trade route, and not have to pay Abimelech whatever tariffs were usually levied upon them.

But even more, the word would get out that the new king couldn’t control his people and protect area business.

Into this volatile situation stepped a newcomer, Gaal the son of Ebed, a man who knew a good opportunity when he saw it.

In a short time, he gained the confidence of the men of Shechem, who were already unhappy with their king; and when a crowd was gathered to celebrate a harvest festival, Gaal openly criticized Abimelech’s administration.

He reminded the people that their king had a Jewish father, while they were sons of Hamor, not sons of Jacob

Day two

Zebul, Abimelech’s person in Shechem told him about Gaal

He also told Abimelech how to attack

He plans a surprise attack

Zebul gives Gaal bad counsel and Gaal and Shechem are routed

V. Abimelech’s Downfall vs. 42-57

Day three

Abimelech had one more score to settle

That was with the citizens of Shechem who had cursed him (v. 27) and were attacking the caravans and robbing him of both money and reputation.

The next morning, when the people of Shechem went out of the city to work in the fields, Abimelech set an ambush, blocked the city gate, and slaughtered the trapped citizens.

Thus the Lord avenged the blood of Gideon’s sons.

Indeed, the fire did “come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon” (v. 15).

The phrase “cedars of Lebanon” represents the leading citizens of the city, who had supported Abimelech’s rule (v. 20).

vs. 50-57

The shedding of innocent blood is something that God takes very seriously and eventually avenges

Abimelech paid for the murders he committed, and it happened while he was attempting to protect his throne.

Since the people in the city of Thebez, about ten miles from Shechem, had apparently joined in the general rebellion against Abimelech, he went there with his army to punish them as well.

Like the people from Beth-Millo, the citizens of Thebez fled to their tower; and Abimelech tried to use the same method of attack that he used so successfully at Shechem.

However, he made the mistake of getting too close to the tower, and a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and killed him.

Abimelech experienced a triple disgrace:

(1) He was killed, but not really in a battle;

(2) he was killed by a woman, which was a disgrace to a soldier; and

(3) he was killed with a millstone, not a sword.

The fact that his armor-bearer finished the job with a sword didn’t change anything; for centuries later, Abimelech’s shameful death was remembered as being accomplished by a woman

Abimelech lost his life and lost his kingdom.

The curse pronounced by his half-brother Jotham was fulfilled on both Abimelech and the people of Shechem