16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands; 17 (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: 18 And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;) 19 If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: 20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. If not.The bramble is not only eager to be king, but has spiteful and dangerous threatsthe counterpart of those, doubtless, which had been used by Abimelechto discourage any withdrawal of the offer. Judges 9:8-15 - BibliaPlus Here he told a parable to rebuke the men of Shechem for their choice of Abimelech as a king. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. What a man sows he must reap: if he sows to the flesh, of the flesh he reaps corruption. From the temple of Baal-Berith: Abimelech received his pay from the temple dedicated to Baal. saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin, my brother?" It seems therefore that the two extremes of moral weakness and of outward strength find each its height in this extraordinary character. And Jehovah said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand." Now when they told Jotham: Jotham was the only son of Gideon to escape the massacre at the stone (Judges 9:5). And so he called to Abimelech and said, Increase your army. The Ammonites had lost them before the children of Israel took them from others whom they might lawfully attack and despoil; but God had forbidden that the children of Israel should spoil either Ammon, or Moab, or Edom. What avails the show of Jehovah's name, or form of consecrating a Levite to be priest? He would destroy all the people of Shechem, both those who went out to work in the fields and those back in the town who took shelter in the city stronghold (42-49). We should each consider if God is warning us about something in the present time. In the latter case it is nothing but flesh, which becomes manifest in the long run; but even in the case of him who is truthful, whatever is carnal, whatever lets out that nature which is already judged, the confession of whose judgment is the very starting-point of a Christian, but which it is his calling to act upon and treat as a dead and condemned thing to the end if he forgets this, then, in the measure in which he does so, it brings in that which the Lord must infallibly deal with. . It is at least certain that the whole business was heinously evil, and none the less because Micah settles down with the persuasion, "Now know I that Jehovah will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest" (ver. 13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? It has been already said to have been an early fact in the history of the "Judges," and not chronologically near the close of the book. 22. This again leads to a bitter vengeance of the Philistines on those of Timnath who had served him so ill the very fate befalling them at last, to escape which at first the woman had lent herself to the basest treachery. Let fire come out - The propriety of the image is strictly preserved, for even the thorns of the worthless bramble might kindle a flame which would burn the stately cedars to the ground. He fought their battles, at the hazard of his own life, and to their unspeakable advantage. "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.". "Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. The Parable of the Trees: Intro (Judges 9:8-15) And so Abimelech came to the tower, he fought against it, he was up against the door trying to burn it with fire. WebWhen the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, his cords were loosed: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, and those are free indeed who are thus set free. What was it when there was only one, and such an one as Samson? There is something about the elastic atmosphere of an Eastern clime which causes it to transmit sound with wonderful celerity and distinctness [Hackett]. Whatever then might be Samson's motives and conduct, it was the Holy One, as we are told, who prompted him against the aggressors of Israel. We have seen how grace overruled, broke up an evil association before it was consummated, and gave him righteous ground to take vengeance on the Philistines, followed by his judging Israel for twenty years. He predicted that fire would come forth from Abimelech and devour them. i. Where was their humiliation and grief before the Lord? "It was of Jehovah, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? If God permits him for a season to do his own will, what shame and pain he must reap ere long! This latter view is the more probable, from the Shechemites ( Judges 9:24 ) aiding in it. Ophrah, and slew his brethren--This is the first mention of a barbarous atrocity which has, with appalling frequency, been perpetrated in the despotic countries of the East--that of one son of the deceased monarch usurping the throne and hastening to confirm himself in the possession by the massacre of all the natural or legitimate competitors. b. But the olive tree said unto them, Should Abimelech slew his brethren on one stone, either by dashing them from one rock, or sacrificing them on one stone altar, in revenge for the demolition of Baal's altar by their father. If I have spoken strongly, it is only, I trust, what becomes every believer. Such was the point to which things had come (an inglorious one it was for those concerned), that the best thing for Israel and Judah, the best thing for God's glory and for Samson himself, was that he should die. WebAnd his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. Jotham (lit. This was an ungodly leader given to an ungodly people, who first rejected Gods leadership over the nation and then embraced a cruel and brutal man. Jehovah at least was could not but be true to the secret. "As they did unto me, so have I done unto them." (Compare Psalms 78:60-61) Such are the prominent points of instruction in this appendix. After the death of Gideon, this Abimelech who was the son of his concubine in Shechem. You've been saying who's Abimelech? WebThose who bear fruit for the public good, are justly respected and honoured by all that are wise, more than those who merely make a figure. Jephthah knew little if anything of this; so the result was, that the Ephraimites, in their pride, meddled with this rude warrior, who dealt with them, we may be very sure, not more mildly than with his own daughter. ., and all the house of Millo--that is, a mound or rampart, so that the meaning is, all the men in the house or temple; namely, the priests of Baal. Jotham did not go about to raise an army out of the other cities of Israel (in which, one would think, he might have made a good interest for his father's sake), to avenge his brethren's death, much less to set up himself in competition with Abimelech, so groundless was the usurper's suggestion that the sons of Gideon aimed at dominion (Judges 9:2; Judges 9:2); but he contents himself with giving a faithful reproof to the Shechemites, and fair warning of the fatal consequences. he fell, as did Adam at the beginning, and all since save one Christ. 9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? With the help of some worthless Shechemites, Abimelech killed all his brothers (except one who escaped) and established himself king in Shechem. a. Killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal: Therefore, Abimelech killed his brothers with the support of his relatives on his mothers side. 5 Samson went down to Timnah. Again, it is not of course any attainment of mine that leads me to speak as I have done now. Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?" The fig-tree must lose its sweetness, its sweet retirement, sweet repose, and sweet conversation and contemplation, if it go to be promoted over the trees, and must undergo a constant fatigue. When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was aroused. b. WebJudges 9:8-15. What a wonderful understanding of God that we can obtain from Judges 9:8-15 if we take the time to learn obedience to the Word is preferred over following the traditions of men. We have here the only testimony that appears to have been borne against the wicked confederacy of Abimelech and the men of Shechem. It is the expression of the agent of divine power in no way the seal of redemption or the earnest of the inheritance, as we know Him dwelling in us now since the shedding of the blood of Jesus. "It shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me." Here God had to rebuke the people, even when morally right in the main, until the wrong their state and haste mixed up with it was purged out. Their keenest feelings were in favour of the Levite and his concubine, wounded to the quick by the abominations of the men of Gibeah; and therefore, whatever of human affection may be in evidence, we certainly learn how little faith Jehovah could then find in the land of Israel. It makes wise the simple; it enlightens the eyes. But the wages of transgressors are hard, and the guilty man falls under the strange woman's spell again and again. The grossness of such conduct is left to tell its own tale; and yet God, by the man that was thus pursuing his own self-willed course, meant to overrule the occasion for His glory, snapping the more violently the ties which Samson's ungoverned passion and low thoughts induced him to form. We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Such hand-stones averaged ten to fourteen inches long and weighed five pounds or more. (Wood). So they all cut down the boughs, and he came to the tower and he laid these boughs around, and set fire to them ( Judges 9:40-49 ); And actually cremated the people who had sought refuge there in the tower. b. One test of the character of a man is to see how he treats those who disagree with him. Now Abimelech reigned for three years. As the children are playing you hear them laughing, screaming and all a couple miles away. Who troubles himself with the Koran or the Shastres, save their votaries? It does not throw a veil, as man loves to do, over that which is uncomely and distressing in those that bear the name of the Lord; especially as the very object the Spirit of God has here in view is to show the frightful results of a vow so little weighed before God, not at all drawn from His guidance. Judges 9:9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and god to be promoted over the trees? But the fig tree said to them, Keep in mind that there was rule of law at this time. Judges 9 Commentary So, heres the secret the end of Judges chapter 8 here shows us how Israel did wrong to God. * It is possible that verse 30 may be one of those later additions which Ezra or one of the prophets was inspired to make in putting together at a subsequent epoch the books of Scripture. Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Judges 9:9. After this we find how the pride of the men of Ephraim takes fire at a person of such an origin as Jephthah, spite of the signal deliverance by his means for Israel, so that they come forth to fight. Now it was that God wrought for His glory. The associations of such sites were very tenacious and it is of interest to note that Rehoboam went to Shechem, following the death of Solomon, to secure the acclimation of the Israelites although the city itself was in ruins at the time (1 Kings 12:1, 25). (Cundall).
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