9 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family, “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.
When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
“Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved—for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative—if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.
Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.
And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”
When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.”
So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.” Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.” Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.” And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.
On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told. He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them. Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them. And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.
When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith. Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home. 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.
(ESV)
In Judges 9, Gideon’s son Abimelech persuades the people of Shechem to make him king by arguing that it’s better to be ruled by one man than by all of Gideon’s seventy sons. With money from the temple of Baal, he hires mercenaries and kills his seventy brothers, except for the youngest, Jotham, who escapes. The people crown Abimelech king, but Jotham warns them with a parable that their choice will lead to disaster.
After ruling for three years, conflict arises between Abimelech and Shechem’s people, leading to rebellion. A leader named Gaal challenges Abimelech but is defeated. Abimelech retaliates by destroying Shechem, killing its inhabitants, and burning down a stronghold with a thousand people inside. He then attacks Thebez, where a woman drops a millstone on his head, fatally injuring him. To avoid the shame of dying by a woman’s hand, he orders his servant to kill him.
God brings justice by punishing Abimelech and the people of Shechem for their wickedness, fulfilling Jotham’s curse.
What happens in silence after victory? At the beginning of Judges 8, all looked well. Gideon had purged the land of evil, and the Midianites were subdued. The land went undisturbed for 40 years. But somewhere in the silence, the heart was lured by the scent of sin. Gideon’s flawed hero persona cost him dearly in the end.
We read a great deal about his ephod but not much is made of his other decision: to have multiple wives and 70 sons. This is not directly rebuked by the writer, but serves as a metaphor for Israel’s wandering eye. It certainly was not a good decision when considering the story of Abimelech.
At the end of Judges 8, we are introduced to Abimelech who is one of Gideon’s 70 sons. After Gideon’s death, Abimelech (who was born to a concubine in Shechem) convinces the people of Shechem to support him as their sole ruler instead of Gideon’s seventy sons. With the help of mercenaries, he kills all his brothers except Jotham, who escapes. The men of Shechem then crown Abimelech as king. Abimelech was like many of the leaders and politicians in modern times. He was opportunistic, manipulative, and had a thirst for power.
“When George Washington’s army defeated the British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, the end of the Revolutionary War began. Winning the war didn’t automatically end the problems that the colonies faced. Things became so bad economically that one of George Washington’s colonels wrote Washington a secret letter, urging him to use his army to make himself king or dictator. To the colonel, this was the only way to get the affairs of the young nation under control. Washington rejected the plan, but with his popularity and power he probably could have become king if he had so desired. Abimelech was just the opposite. He had such a passionate desire to be king that he allowed nothing to stand in his way, not even the lives of hundreds of innocent people.”
Warren Wiersbe
Jotham is a likeable man. He stands up for what is right and he speaks the truth. Jotham gathers the people together and tells a parable using trees to illustrate the mistake the people of Shechem made in choosing Abimelech as their king.
In the story, the trees seek a ruler and first approach the olive tree, which declines because it is busy producing valuable oil. They then ask the fig tree, which refuses since it wants to continue making sweet fruit. Next, they turn to the grapevine, but it also declines, as it is dedicated to producing wine that brings joy. Finally, they ask the thorn bush, a useless and harmful plant, which agrees but warns them that if they do not fully submit to its rule, it will destroy them with fire. I can’t help but notice how much this parable parallels our political climate today!
The olive tree represents material wealth, the fig tree symbolizes safety and stability, and the vine signifies God’s favor. Jotham suggests that if Israel had remained faithful to God, they could have enjoyed these blessings. Instead, they chose the bramble (Abimelech) who represents a thorn bush. He offers false security while bringing destruction. This mirrors the broader biblical warning that seeking security, prosperity, or divine favor apart from God leads to ruin.
The lesson remains relevant today. People are prone to seeking worldly kings for deliverance instead of God and the compromise is profound. Money, security, or self-righteousness all become idols in the pursuit. True provision, security, and favor come only through Jesus, the true vine (John 15:5). Choosing anything else leads to destruction, just as Shechem’s choice of Abimelech led to their downfall.
Jotham closes by warning the people of Shechem that if they acted honorably in making Abimelech king, they should enjoy their decision. However, if they betrayed Gideon’s family and acted unjustly, then destruction would come upon them. He prophesies that both Abimelech and the people of Shechem will bring ruin upon each other, just like the fire from the thorn bush. After delivering this warning, Jotham flees for his life.
The rest of Judges 9 chronicles the fallout of the decision to make Abimelech king. It is graphic and ugly, and in the end, Jotham’s parable rings true. The lesson is that we reap what we sow. The people wanted Abimelech to rule over them. They thought that his relation to them would override his flaws as a leader and they threw caution to the wind in putting all their eggs in his leadership basket. They got exactly what they deserved.
When we look at our world today, we see the same exact thing. Leaders who are self-centered, arrogant, and power hungry will never satisfy, regardless of how many “good” characteristics they have. There is only one King who can rule over His people with grace and truth and one day He will return with holy justice to establish His eternal kingdom for all His children.