Sermon
The Usurper - Abimelech
This
is the 5th Sermon on our series in Judges and we come to Abimelech.
It is important to note that Abimelech really isn’t among the Judges… but his
story is among the longest in the book of Judges. It is also among the most
depressing. So with Abimelech we don’t give him the title “Judge” or “Hero”… we
give him the title “The Usurper.”
Abimelech’s
story is evidence that this deuteronomic cycle that we have been referring to
is a spiral. We’ve talked about how our hope is that we would see this
spiral-up in our lives… that the radius would get smaller and smaller… the
cycle shorter and shorter. In the life of God’s chosen people,
The passage that we read
together is really the end of this story.
56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them. [1]
If you were following along, you
may have noticed that most translations say “The curse of Jotham, son of
Jerub-Baal came on them.” But I told Mel that it might be easier for her to go
ahead and use the easier name… Jerub-Baal is Gideon.
Gideon delivered God’s people
from the hand of the Midianites… and for his leadership, the people had in mind
a great prize:
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.” [2]
The Israelites had in mind to
set-up for themselves a king… not just a king, a dynasty.
And in the natural I suppose that made perfect sense. Gideon had demonstrated
extraordinary ability… he brought victory and deliverance to the people. Other
people had kings who lead them and cared for them and provided military
leadership. There was likely to be subsequent wars and skirmishes… why not
establish Gideon as king?
Gideon,
had the right response… at least had the right words. When the Israelites
wanted to make him King he said:
23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”[3]
The people wanted a king, but
Gideon reminded them that the Lord
had promised to be their King.
Dt 4:4-14
… all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.
5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
9 Only be careful, and
watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have
seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your
children and to their children after them. 10 Remember
the day you stood before the Lord
your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear
my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land
and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came
near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the
very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then
the Lord spoke to you out of the
fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13
He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded
you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14
And the Lord directed me at
that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that
you are crossing the
15 You saw no form of
any kind the day the Lord spoke
to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16
so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an
image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17
or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18
or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the
waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and
see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed
into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under
heaven. 20 But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of
the iron-smelting furnace, out of
There’s no doubt that it seemed
like a very good idea to the Israelites to make Gideon their king.. a good
thing. But Gideon noted that the best thing would be to trust the
Lord for what He promised.
Gideon may have been a good
king.
God would be the Israelites best
King.
Would Gideon have been a good
king? Truth is… we don’t really have to wonder. Gideon didn’t take the title of
a king, but he certainly received the privilege of a king; Gideon acted like a
king.
And with the very next verse we
see the beginning of the downward spiral.
It may be helpful to track this
downward spiraling path with a list of symbols pulled from this account:
Tax
Ephod
Throne
Tree
Stone
Sword
First:
The Tax
Right
after Gideon pointed the people to the Lord’s rule over them, he went on (in
the very next verse):
“I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.”[5]
Gideon’s first step toward
acting like a king was to collect tribute, a tax really, from the people. And
they were glad to give it. In this one “offering” Gideon took-in over 40 pounds
of gold ($250,000).
Gideon had kingly wealth, and
took on the extravagances associated with being a king… including many, many
wives and at least one concubine.
Second: The Ephod
As if it were not bad enough
that Gideon led the people away from their true king, he led them away from
their true God.
Gideon fashioned an ephod… an
idol. We really don’t know what Gideon was thinking when he made this thing…
we’re not even exactly sure what it was.
It could have been a free
standing idol, even somehow dedicated to Jehovah God… but whatever the
motivation or dedication, it was in start contrast to God’s law.
It could have been some sort of
replica of the ephod that was part of the priestly garments… here again Gideon
was out of bounds because he was not a priest.
We don’t know what Gideon was
thinking or what exactly the thing was… but we do know the effect of the ephod…
it led people away from God.
27 Gideon made the gold
into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All
Third:
The Throne
Gideon
passes from the scene and Abimelech takes center stage.
The quality of Gideon’s
leadership (as a seemingly self-imposed king and priest) can be measured in his
legacy.
I’ve noticed this in my own
contemporary observation of leadership. Strong, mature organizations endure and
grow even as key leaders move from the scene. In my various leadership roles,
I’ve tried to set-up organizations that are able to flourish even after I’m
gone (maybe because I’m gone).
Churches are this way. Good,
strong churches continue in their good work when a pastor moves on.
The health of an organization
after a leader is gone is a good measure of the quality of that leader.
In Gideon’s case, it seems that the
Israelites further demise immediately succeeded his passing. It is a sad
commentary. And to make matters even sadder, the further demise was led by one
of Gideon’s own household… his son Abimelech.
Even this name reveals a great
deal: Abimelech – Abi Melech.
Abi – son of
Melech – the king
Some translators say that the
best translation of Abimelech is “my father is a divine king.”
We know that in the Bible there
were all sorts of ways to get a name… names were often changed. But in this
case, we know precisely where Abimelech got his name:
31 His [Gideon’s] concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech.[7]
What a legacy left by Gideon:
33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and 34 did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35 They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them. [8]
The step from worshiping the
ephod to worshipping the Baals was short and easy. They set-up Baal-Berith (God
of the Covenant)… a cheap imitation of the real God of the Covenant whom they
quickly forgot.
No sooner had Gideon died that
Abimelech got about living-up to his name.
He rallied the Shechemites,
accepted money from the
His first act was to destroy
Gideon’s dynasty… and so he did by murdering his brothers… all but the youngest,
Jotham, who escaped.
Then the Shechemites “crowned
him” as their “king.”
Really all they were doing was
establishing him as their warlord.
Fourth: The Tree
We come to an interesting scene
here in the story. Abimelech was crowned king at “the great tree” which is
likely the “oak of Moreh” where Abraham, and his descendants, were given the
land by God. This was a holy place being defiled by Abimelech the Usurper.
It could have been that Jotham
literally interrupted the coronation down in the valley from
What we have here is the first
parable recorded in the Bible. I suppose that since Jesus used so many
parables, we think that he invented them or somehow had a corner on the market…
but there are other parables in the Bible… and here is the first.
8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’ 9 “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’ 10 “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’ 11 “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’ 12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’ 13 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?’ 14 “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’ 15 “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’ [9]
There should be no doubt about
the insult hurled directly at Abimelech by Jotham.
Come take refuge in the shade of
a thornbush? Impossible… what shade?
The thornbush is junk… it is the
stuff a good forester clears away because it is the first to dry out, and catch
fire, and threatens the good trees and vines.
Then Jotham went from speaking
in a parable to speaking in a prophetic voice:
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!” [10]
Jotham fled and Abimelech
assumed his throne as a sort of warlord king… for three years.
But the true king would not
suffer the usurper for long.
22 After Abimelech had governed
The Shechemites, those who
quickly crowned Abimelech as king, quickly turned away from him. Another leader
came on the scene, Gaal, who organized a Shechemite revolt.
Abimelech put down Gaal and his
men… and then made the Shechemites pay for their disloyalty. Abimelech killed
them all and leveled the town. What a fine choice the Shechemites made for a
king just three years earlier.
Jotham’s prophesy proved true,
the Shechemites were destroyed by the thornbush they had set-up as king.
45 All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.
46 On hearing this, the
citizens in the
Not just destroyed, but
destroyed by fire… all the while taking refuge in the temple of there false
god.
Fifth: The Stone
At this point it seems that
Abimelech’s hold on leadership is unraveling. Once Shechem is destroyed he
moves on to a city 10-miles away: Thebez.
Apparently, this city too had
joined in the Shechemite’s revolt and Abimelech, now on some crazed tirade, was
intent on defending his illegitimate throne.
The scene in Thebez was similar
to the scene in Shechem. Abimelech took the city and the remnants of the people
fled to a stronghold… and Abimelech employed the same tactic. He prepared to
turn the tower into a furnace, murdering all who were inside… most unarmed…
many women and children.
Abimelech in his arrogance
marched up to the tower, but this time a woman dropped a millstone on his head…
which brings us to
Sixth:
The Sword
Not
wanting to endure the disgrace of a soldier being taken down in such
humiliation, a mighty warrior being felled by a common millstone… tossed by a
woman… Abimelech called for the sword. He essentially committed suicide by
ordering his armor bearer to run him through with his sword.
56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done[13]
So
What?
For this we’ll turn to the New
Testament passage that Mel read earlier. Colossians 2:8
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. [14]
There are often two ways of
looking at things:
1.
God’s way
2.
The other way
In this passage from Judges we
see the consequences of “hollow and deceptive philosophy… human tradition and
the basic principles of this world.”
It began with Gideon. Here is a
man who had dramatic, first-hand, extraordinary experience at seeing the Lord miraculously
deliver and care for his people. As a tool in God’s hand, Gideon saw fabulous
victory.
But after the victory it seems
he completely lost hold of the humility he once new… the humble way that he
walked before his God.
I suppose victory is a dangerous
thing. We so easily buy-in to the idea that we are invincible.
History records that a vast
number of people would like to have made George Washington our first king… some
think he could have pulled it off… but he kept his wits about him. He didn’t
take advantage of all he could and stayed the course with what he knew was
right.
Gideon, on the other hand,
seemed to get drunk with success.
Abimelech seemed to give no
account to what was right.
Could it have been that Gideon
gave Abimelech little, or no, guidance?
And another thing…
Knowing what we know about God,
how do you suppose he would have responded to repentance? It seems to me that
at any point along the downward spiral, Gideon and Abimelech both had
opportunity to look to God… but they chose to remain on their prideful path.
Abimelech took what he could. He
did what was sort of culturally normal… he took the expedient path.
The expedient is rarely the
right.
We all have opportunities, lots
of them, to choose between what might be the easiest, expedient, most self
serving way… or what we know is God’s way.
Sometimes they are big choices…
sometimes small… but we all have them.
This morning, we would do well
to learn again that what is often the most expedient thing, even the thing
demanded by culture… is necessarily the best thing.
Friend,
just as God had a plainly spoken plan for the Israelites… He has a plan for
you!
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.[15]
Gideon pursued fullness by
living the life of a king.
Abimelech fought for fullness
with military might.
Are you full today?