Judges 12


12:1-6 Ephraim Complains Again

12:1 The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.” 2 And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand. 3 And when I saw that you would not save me, I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,” 6 they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.

After Gideon won his battle, the Ephraimites complained that Gideon did not call them until it was clean up time. See Judges 8:1. Gideon pacified them by telling them they had won the greater glory by capturing and killing the two kings. This time, however, Jephthah could not pacify them, possibly because he reminded them that he had indeed called them and they had not come. He gave credit to the Lord for the victory, but that did not satisfy them, either. This time there is a fight, but Jephthah defeated them, captured the fords of the Jordan so they could not return home, and killed 42,000 of them. This is the first civil war in Israel, but you can see that the tribes are not unified.

The judges were more local than national in their leadership and did not unite the whole nation behind them. In that sense, they provide a positive argument for a king that would rule the whole nation. Yet, that was not the pattern of the Lord’s leadership with them. The Lord first appointed Moses, who was a combination of judge, prophet and priest. Moses appointed leaders of the tribes in Deuteronomy 1:9-16, along with judges to settle disputes. Joshua took over that role until the conquest concluded. Then these tribal leaders, or elders and judges took over. God would raise up a judge who was a greater leader or military leader when necessary. Evidently, though, had Israel kept the covenant, there would have been no need for the military leader, as God would have protected them.

The last of the judges was Samuel, who operated as a priest and judge. When he got old, and his sons did not follow in his ways, the people demanded a king. The Lord told Samuel that their demand for a king was a rejection of the Lord as king over Israel. See 1 Samuel 8:7.

“Shibboleth” passed into English vocabulary as a test to see what side a person is on in a conflict.

12:7- 15 Jepthah and His Successors

7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead. 8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he gave in marriage outside his clan, and thirty daughters he brought in from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem. 11 After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. 13 After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys, and he judged Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Jepthah was the first in a series of judges who would only judge for short periods of time until the time of Samson.


JUDGE TERM
Jephthah 6
Ibzan 7
Elon 10
Abdon 8

These men judged Israel for 31 years, then 13:1 tells us Israel turned again to idolatry and suffered until the time of Samson, a period of 40 years.

JUDGES 10-11
JEPHTHAH

10:1-5 Tola and Jair

10:1 After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir. 3 After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

After Abimelech was killed, the next 40 or so years seem to have been uneventful under two judges. You do see evidence of continued polygamy, as evidenced by Jair’s 30 sons. He also liked to display his wealth, putting all this 30 sons on donkeys at a time when Israelites did not ride horses.

10:6 Further Disobedience
6 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him.

Somewhere in this time, Israel turned to even more idol worship, adding other gods to Baal and Ashtaroth, the Canaanite deities. The also worshipped gods of several other countries as they came into contact with them. This finally led to their forsaking the Lord and not serving him. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Whatever you serve will take you away from service to the Lord, whether it is a pagan god, money, success or popularity.

When you put any of these in first place instead of God, you sin. The first commandment was “You shall have no other gods before (or besides) me” in Exodus 20:3. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus said “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.” God wants first place in your devotion, but, not only first place, but total and complete devotion.


10:7-9 The Consequences of Disobedience

7 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8 and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.

When Israel forsook the worship of the Lord, the Lord forsook Israel and quit protecting them. They again fell into oppression, this time by the Philistines and the Ammonites. The Philistines would continue to be enemies of Israel right up until Samuel’s judgeship, when the Lord defeated them as recorded in 1 Samuel 7. This was double trouble, as the Ammonites attacked from the east, and the Philistines from the west. That is why they were severely distressed.

10:10-16 Repentance

10 And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites (Masoretic text; Septuigint has “Midianites”) oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.

Israel finally came to repentance, when things got bad enough. The Lord responded by pointing out his grace to them. He had saved them from 7 enemies, but they responded by worshipping that many foreign gods. They depth of God’s grace was matched by the depth of their depravity.

The Lord also pointed out that their false gods did not save them. But, when they returned to serving him, he acted to protect them again.

10:17 Israel Needs A Leader

17 Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. 18 And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

The deliverance of Israel began with the actions of the Ammonites, who gathered together in Gilead and prepared to attack. Israel also mustered to defend itself, camping at Mizpah. Gilead may refer to all the land east of the Jordan river, in what is now the country of Jordan. Mizpah was where Laban overtook Jacob as he fled from him, and they made a covenant and marked it with a pile of stones. Laban called it Mizpah, a place of watching, saying the Lord would watch between them and hold Jacob accountable to his part of the covenant.


11:1-3 The Biography of Jephthah

11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 And Gilead's wife also bore him sons. And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

These 3 verses are a bracket in the story to give the biography of Jephthah. He is similar to Abimelech, in that he is the son of a leader, but not by his wife. He was excluded by the sons of the wife and driven out to Tob, which 2 Samuel 10:6-8 tells us is up near or in Syria. Like Abimelech, he became a warrior and recruited other outcasts to follow him. He is an ancient outlaw, or warlord, or ronin.

11:4-11 From Outcast To Leader

4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight with the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight with the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight with the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.

There must have been no one around that seemed capable of leading the Israelites into battle, because they went to Jephthah and recruited him. He gave them a hard time, since he had been driven out by them. But, they promised to make him their leader.

Ironically, as Laban had told Jacob, Jephthah tells the elders God will be a witness between them.

So, although Jephthat bore many common traits with Abimelech, he actually became a leader or judge of Israel.

11:12-28 Jephthah’s Parlay

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” 14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. 17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. 18 “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ 20 but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24 Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. 25 Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? 26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? 27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

Jephthah first parlayed with the king of the Ammonites, and asked why they were attacking Israel.

The king responded that they came for justice, seeking the return of the land Israel had taken from them. This sounds like some of today’s disputes, doesn’t it?

Jephthah responded with his own history lesson, denying that Israel had taken anything from Ammon. It is true that Israel did not attack Ammon, as God had forbidden it, according to Deuteronomy 2:19, as their land had been given to them by God as the children of Lot. Israel did attack and defeath the Amorite king, Sihon, and took possession of his kingdom. One portion of Sihon’s kingdom had formerly belonged to Moab and Ammon, and had been conquered by Sihon and occupied by the Amorites. This is recorded in Numbers 21:26, although the land is called Moab, and this is the land the king is talking about. Joshua 13:25 records Joshua giving out this land and even calls it “half the land of the children of Ammon”.

Jephthah also made reference to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and presumably of Ammon, saying if he hasn’t given you this land before, why try to take it now?

His final argument is, we have held this land for 300 years, and you did not try to take it back, so why do it now? But, the Ammonites were determined, and believed Israel weak, so they refused to leave.


11:29-33 Victory By The Spirit

29 Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever [1] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it [2] up for a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and empowered him to win the battle and defeat the Ammonites.

Verse 30 records a terrible vow Jephthah made to the Lord, in return for victory, to sacrifice someone from his household, the first one who comes out of his house to greet him when he returns. The Lord did not require this vow and there is no precedent for it in battle.

11:34-40 Jephtha Fulfills A Sinful Vow

34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.” 36 And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” 37 So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” 38 So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39 And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

Jephthah only had one child, and she came out to meet him to celebrate his victory. Jephthah determined to keep his vow, even though the Lord is silent. His daughter likewise cooperates with this vow.

Leviticus 1:2 specifies the burnt offering as an offering of livestock. If one could not bring livestock, he sacrificed birds. The offering is made by a priest. In Leviticus 17, the Lord commanded that burnt offerings only be made at the Tent of Meeting. Anyone who offered a burnt offering elsewhere was to be cut off from his people. Leviticus 20:1-5 records the Lord forbidding any Israelite from offering his children to Molech, which was a fire sacrifice. The penalty was death.

There were burnt offerings for vows. Leviticus 22:18-19 tells us the Lord said it must be a bull or a male sheep or goat without blemish. Finally, Leviticus 27 tells us that vows concerning persons are valued by the payment of silver. So, there was no basis for Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter in a vow to the Lord.

The Lord used Jephthah to bring deliverance from the Ammonites, but Jephthath had his flaws. And, the Philistines are still oppressing Israel. Jephthah only brought 6 years of peace to Israel.

Baptist Blogger has an interesting report of Frank Page speaking at chapel at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Judges 9

9:1-6 The Abimelech Conspiracy

9:1 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, 2 “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.” 3 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.” 4 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. 5 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. 6 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.

After Gideon’s death, Israel had to deal with the aftermath. Chapter 8 told us they returned to idolatry.

In addition, Gideon’s polygamy had an effect. It is the pattern of man to look to the sons of a great leader for continued leadership. It is also the pattern of man for the son of a great leader to expect to be the leader. Chapter 8 told us about Abimelech, the son of Gideon by his concubine: 29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.

So, Abimelech was Gideon’s son, but his mother lived in another town, Shechem. He probably resented his status as the son of a concubine rather than a full wife. There was also likely some rivalry and resentment by the residents of Shechem that they were not the center of power as Ophrah was. This created an environment for rebellion. So Abimelech went to Shechem to stir up rebellion and become king. The judges were chosen by God, though, and did not pass down authority through the family. Gideon, in contraxt to Abimelech, refused to become king and said the Lord would rule over them.

Abimelech said which is better, to be ruled by all the sons of Jerubbaal, or by me? I am your brother, meaning he grew up there, his mother was related to the families there, and he was one of them. Gideon had refused to be king, and evidently his sons had followed his wishes, so that is a baseless accusation. But Abimelech is stirring up trouble.

Shechem was also a center of pagan worship, as a temple to Baal was there. Ophrah certainly had a problem with the ephod of Gideon that some came to worship, but probably still had the worship of the Lord in place. Shechem was an old Canaanite city and, though Israel conquered it, they had returned to its old ways. They were supporting the temple substantially, as shown by the store of silver they had to give to Abimelech and his army.


Since they worshipped Baal, they may also have not wanted to support Gideon, whose name was Jerubbaal, or Baal contends with him.

We see the religious rivalry played out when Abimelech captures Gideon’s sons and kills them on the stone. This appears to be a sacrifice to Baal in revenge for Gideon’s destruction of the altar to Baal. The seed of the serpent is attacking the seed of Eve.


9:7-21 Jotham’s Tale

7 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. 8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9 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?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 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.’
16 “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— 17 for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, 18 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— 19 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. 20 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.” 21 And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.

Jotham used a parable to tell the people of Shechem that their actions were foolish in making Abimelech their king. In addition, he includes a prophecy of their destruction.

Shechem sat in the valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, so Jotham stood on the mountain and yelled down at them from a position of safety.

The olive tree represented a good man, such as Gideon. He would not do it. He would not leave the abundance God provided for him in order to be king, implying that was not part of God’s blessing.

They also offered the throne to the fig tree and the vine. These might be symbolic of Gideon’s sons and grandsons, or may just mean good, fruitful men.

But, Abimelech is the bramble, a thorn bush. It has no fruit or usefulness. But, it accepted the throne readily and sought the destruction of those who would not submit to him. So, Jotham said, if you did this in good faith, fine. If not, may you be destroyed by this very fire. It is both a prophecy and a curse.

9:22-25 What A Man Sows

22 Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 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. 25 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.

God worked against both Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem by letting them experience the fruit of their own treachery. First they deal treacherously with the family of Gideon, then with Abimelech. This was caused by an evil spirit, but one which was sent by God. God may use many means to bring about his will.

So the leaders of Shechem set up an ambush for all who passed between the mountains and robbed those who came through. The word of it got back to Abimelech.

9:26-29 Gaal’s Liquid Courage

26 And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. 27 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. 28 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? 29 Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say [1] to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”

The people of Shechem did not all like the rule of Abimelech. A new family moved in, and they did not want to serve Abimelech. Gaal began to complain and gather his family to oppose Abimelech. The leaders of Shechem joined in. On this occasion, they all got drunk, went to the temple of Baal and reviled Abimelech.

Notice that Abimelech stirred up Shechem originally by appealing to them as the home town boy against the sons of Gideon. But, now, the argument goes against him, even though it is made by a newcomer to the city. It appears that Gaal may not be a Hebrew, but a Canaanite, because he urges the people to follow the men of Hamor, father of Shechem.

Hamor was a Hivite. His son, Shechem, is the name sake of this city. The Hivites, who are descendants of Canaan\Ham (see Genesis 10:15-17) had previously lived with the Israelites, when Jacob bought land there. Shechem is the one who raped Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and suffered a slaughtering of his people after the trickery of Jacob’s sons. This is recorded in Genesis 34.

Gaal is a lot like Abimelech. He does not submit to the established authority and wants power to himself.

9:30-33 Spies

30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31 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. 32 Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. 33 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.”

While all this bragging and plotting went on, there was a spy. Zebul, the head guy, was still loyal to Abimelech, probably owing his authority to him. He tipped off Abimelech and helped him plan an ambush.

9:34-41 Gaal’s Defeat


34 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies. 35 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. 36 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 [4] the shadow of the mountains for men.” 37 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.” 38 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.” 39 And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. 41 And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.

Zebul worked to keep Gaal and his soldiers off balance, while Abimelech came at them in four companies. Ambimelech defeated Gaal and drove him out of Shechem.

9:42-45 The Killing Fields

42 On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told. 43 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. 44 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. 45 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.

Abimelech then gave up totally on ruling Shechem and sought to destroy it. He killed all those who went out to work in the fields, then attacked the city. He took the city, destroyed it and sowed it with salt to show his disdain for it (he did not salt the fields which would have rendered them useless). (Barbarossa did this to Milan in 1162.) He has now basically slaughtered not only Gideon’s family, but his family and former supporters and the other inhabitants of the town.

9:46-57 The Two Towers

46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith. 47 Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 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.” 49 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. 50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. 51 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. 52 And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. 54 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. 55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home. 56 Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57 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.

When all else was lost, the leaders of Shechem went to the fortified temple of Baal and hid in the tower. Abimelech did not respect Baal any more than he respected the Lord, and burned them to death. About 1,000 more people died.

After killing the people of Shechem, Abimelech went to Thebez and sought to kill them and destroy their tower. It must have been a sister city to Shechem. However, a woman dropped a millstone on him and crushed his skull. His pride lasted until the end, as he had a servant kill him rather than have it said a woman killed him. But we know a woman killed him.

Abimelech reaped what he sowed: violence, treachery and evil. He even died by a stone, after killing his brothers on a stone. Likewise, the people of Shechem also reaped. Galatians 6:7-8 says “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

FROM ARMINIAN TO CALVINIST: THE STORY OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR

“But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’Daniel 4:34-35.

The church needs constantly to hear God's Word. Hence the central place of preaching in public worship. Preaching is not an intrusion into it but rather indispensable to it. For the worship of God is always a response to the Word of God. John Stott, "The Bible: Book for Today" (Leicester: IVP, 1982),
p. 57.

ADULT ORPHANS

I came in from work to find The Engaged One watching a rerun of the television show "7th Heaven". The wife of the minister lost her father on that episode. Her mother had died previously, and she told her husband she felt like an orphan. It seems like a strange thing for an adult to say, but losing a parent puts a hole in the universe that never gets filled.

A friend told me the same thing some years ago, after losing her father. I was struck dumb when she told me, and realized what a horrible friend I had been, not at all tapping into the pain and lonliness she felt. A few years later I lost my father. She was a much better friend than I, expressing both sympathy and empathy born of mutual pain.

Since that time I have tried to feel the pain of others more, rather than wall it off as I have most of my life. Our too busy culture breeds this distance, or at least encourages it. Most of the time we don't have time to think, much less to feel. We miss most of the tragedies and sufferings of even our close friends.

As Christians, this is clearly a sin. We are told to bear each other's burdens. We do not meet this command solely by sending cards. We have to share the pain, hold each other up and get involved, even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.

Men are the worst pain avoiders. I know men who won't visit long time friends because they have hospital phobia. One even would not visit his wife after surgery. He said he didn't "do" hospitals. There is no "bearing" going on there. But I can tell you, when you are sitting in the waiting room or at the funeral home, that friendly face makes a lot of difference. Yes, I know you don't know what to say. Neither do I. Just say you're sorry, give a hug, and sit with them. It's enough, really.

If you are too busy to know when those around you are in pain, you are too busy. If you are aware of their pain, but too busy to help, you need to "unbusy" yourself. Church members are to rejoice together, suffer together, live together and die together. Being too busy at work is not one of the options.

I'm preaching to myself here, too.

Godspeed.