Judges 9:16-29 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 9:16-29. Let’s go!
Judges 9:16-20 (NIV)
16 “Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves–
17 and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian
18 (but today you have revolted against my father’s family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother)—
19 if then you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too!
20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!”
On verses 16-20: Here Jotham calls out Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem on how they treated his father Gideon and his whole family. He spotlights how in return for Gideon risking his life to save the Israelites from the hand of Midian, Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem murdered all but two of Gideon’s sons. Jotham shows how wicked, unjust and dishonorable their actions were. In a diplomatic way, Jotham gives Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem both a conditional blessing and a conditional curse. He says that if Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem have acted honourably and in good faith, may Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem have a joyful relationship together (v19). But if they have not acted honourably and in good faith, may they end up turning on each other and burning one another (v20).
What can we learn from this? Twice in Jotham’s speech, with reference to how they treated Gideon and his family, Jotham says to Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem: “if you have acted honourably and in good faith” (v16, 20). In other words, one part of living an honourable life is treating well those who have sacrificed themselves for you to serve you, not taking them for granted but rather taking good care of them and their family.
We also learn a second part to living an honourable life. Jotham obviously knew that Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem had not acted honourably and in good faith, but he wisely left it to God to deal with them. He didn’t take matters into his own hands by doing evil himself. Jotham acted honourably, even when those around him didn’t. Jotham trusted that God is just and would avenge his brothers’ murders, and that God would ensure that those wrongs would be righted in the end. From Jotham’s life we learn that to live honourably means not taking matters into our own hands by doing evil ourselves, but trusting God to be your avenger. In the face of injustice and evil, may we act honourably ourselves.
When we choose to live honourably in these two ways, God will bless us.
Judges 9:21-25 (NIV)
21 Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.
22 After Abimelech had governed Israel three years,
23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.
24 God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.
25 In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.
On verses 21-25: Just as Jotham had predicted in verse 20, Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who at one time conspired with one another to do evil, eventually turn on one another. Any kingdom that is built on conspiracy, murder and evil scheming will not last. It will topple eventually.
Also, when verse 23 says that “God sent an evil spirit”, keep in mind what that means. Back in Old Testament times, it was believed that while God is good, God is also the ultimate source of everything, both good and bad, since God is all powerful. That is why God is credited with sending evil spirits a few times in the Old Testament. However, in the New Testament, we get a more defined picture of God: everything good comes from God whereas anything evil that happens in this world is not sent by God per se, but is allowed by God since God allows people to have free will and has not fully stamped out evil just yet. So when verse 23 says that “God sent an evil spirit”, we can see that as God allowing Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem to continue on their course of evil and treachery, which eventually and quite naturally led to them turning on one another.
Judges 9:26-29 (NIV)
26 Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him.
27 After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech.
28 Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn’t he Jerub-Baal’s son, and isn’t Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem’s father! Why should we serve Abimelech?
29 If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Call out your whole army!'”
On verses 26-29: A new ambitious, power hungry politician called Gaal moves into Shechem and begins a rebellion against Abimelech. We’ll resume the story of Gaal in tomorrow’s GAME sharing.
Father, thank You that You are not the author of evil, but You are fully righteous and just and will make sure one day that every wrong is righted and that justice is served. Thank You that no matter how much people conspire with and against one another, Yours is the one kingdom that will last forever. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
