After Gideon’s (Jerubbaal) death, his son Abimelech went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives. He asked them which would be better, to have all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over them or just one man? He also asked them to remember that he himself was their flesh and blood.
His uncles repeated all of what he said to the citizens of Shechem, and they were inclined to follow Abimelech for he was their family. They gave him seventy shekels and he hired reckless fellows to follow him.
Then he went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered all seventy of his brothers. All except Jotham, the youngest brother, he had escaped by hiding. Then all the citizens of Shechem and Bethmillo gathered around the pillar in Shechem and made Abimelech king.
When Jotham heard of this, he went to the top of the mountain and shouted down to all the people of Schechem. He told them a fable of the olive tree, fig tree, the vines, and the thornbush.
He told them that hopefully they had chosen Abimelech as king with their good faith and integrity and because he deserved it, not just because he was their relative; because he did awful things to his brothers and his father’s legacy to get where he was. If his actions were justified and they acted honorably towards Jerubbaal and his house in choosing him, then they should rejoice him as king. If not, after all that Gideon had done for the people, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and himself.
Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously towards Abimelech. God did this so the crime and violence against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal would be avenged, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother who killed them. Also on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
The leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops. They robbed all who passed by them along the way. This was reported to Abimelech.
Now Gaal son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives. After they had harvested the grapes they had a festival. They ate and drank. Ultimately, Ebed got drunk and started talking shit about Abimelech. He questioned who this Abimelech was, and said how things would be different if he were in control. He would remove Abimelech, and tell him to increase his army and bring it on!
Of course it got back to Abimelech that Gaal and his relatives were in town and stirring things up against him. So Abimelech and all the men who were with him went by night to ambush Shechem. When Gaal saw the people coming, the leader asked him “Where is your mouth now? Go out and fight them tough guy.”
Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. Abimelech chased him, and he fled. All of Gaal’s relatives were driven out so they couldn’t live in Shechem.
The next day, as the people of Shechem were out in the fields, Abimelech sent an ambush out to attack them. All day they attacked the people of the city until they captured it and all the citizens were killed. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it to condemn it to perpetual barrenness and desolation.
Abimelech did not know that people had gathered in the tower of Shechem. Abimelech and his men cut and gathered branches and piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire against the people inside. All the people in the tower, about a thousand men and women, were killed.
Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against it and captured it. But there was a strong tower within the city, that all the men, women, and leaders fled to. They shut themselves in and went to the roof of the tower.
Abimelech came to the tower planning to burn it down, when a certain woman threw an upper millstone from the tower right onto Abimelech. It landed on his head and cracked his skull. He quickly called to his armor-bearer to draw his sword and kill him, so no one could say that a woman had killed him.
When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to their homes. “Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.”
After Abimelech there arose to save Israel, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo. He lived in the hill country of Ephraim. He judged Israel for twenty-three years.
After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons, who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair in the land of Gilead.
The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served false gods. They forsook the Lord and did not serve him. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and Ammonites, and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel.
The people of Israel cried out to the Lord saying they had sinned against Him, for they had forsaken Him. The Lord reminded them how he saved them from all of their other oppressors, but still they had forsaken him and served other gods; so he would not save them anymore.
He told them to go and cry out to all the other gods they had chosen over Him, they could save them in their time of distress. The people of Israel cried out how they had sinned, and awaited whatever the Lord wanted to do to them as long as He delivered them that day. They put away the foreign gods from among them to serve the Lord, and He couldn’t bear their misery any longer.
Awesome post! Keep up the great work! 🙂