Judges 9

"Bramble-Fire"

Yahweh is entirely absent from Judges 9.

He does not speak.

He does not act.

Even the name "Yahweh" cannot be found in Judges 9.

Some scholars thought that this meant that the Abimelech narrative came from a different source.

But that misses the point of Judges 9.

Certainly, it is possible (and even likely) that our author used various sources

in compiling his book;

but our author was also a clear-headed theologian who understood very well

the theological implications of his narrative.

The voice of the LORD was quite prominent in the early part of the Gideon narrative.

Yahweh sent a prophet in 6:7-10

The angel of Yahweh called Gideon in 6:11-24

Yahweh spoke to Gideon in 6:25-26, 7:2, 7:4, and 7:9-11.

Yahweh acted in giving the victory to Gideon in 7:22.

But then Yahweh falls silent as Gideon becomes more and more noisy.

The last reference to Yahweh is in Judges 8:34

"And the people of Israel did not remember Yahweh their God,

who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side,

and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal

(that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel."

Chapter 9 never uses the name "Yahweh"-only referring to God as "Elohim"--

and it never refers to Gideon, always calling him Jerubbaal.

Whenever the name Jerubbaal is used, it recalls the contention within Gideon himself

between Yahweh worship and Baal worship.

Judges 9 takes up a lot of space in a book that is remarkably succinct.

Plainly the author thinks that there is something about this story that is crucial to his point

Remember that at the beginning of Judges we saw that the theme was all about

Judah and Benjamin,

and that the refrain of the conclusion is "in those days there was no king in Israel."

Judges 9 tells us about the one exception to that rule.

There was one king in Israel:

Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal.

Abimelech's name means "my father is king."

8:31 even says that this is what Gideon named him.

Gideon had apparently rejected the kingship in 8:23.

He had refused to rule over Israel, insisting that Yahweh alone would rule over them.

But in the very next breath, Gideon had requested that the Israelites demonstrate their

loyalty to him by giving him a portion of the plunder.

He also takes the purple garments of the kings of Midian-

claiming some sort of royal status.

Further, he then goes on to marry many wives and have 70 sons-

something that "ordinary" Israelites would not generally do.

He is not a king, but he acts like a king,

and even names his son "My father is king."

But this is not just any son.

This is the son of his concubine in Shechem.

Shechem was a pagan city, established by Hamor in Genesis 34.

It was on the slopes of Mt. Gerizim, in between Gerizim and Mt. Ebal

It was within the territory of Ephraim,

the place where Abraham had purchased a burial ground,

and was where the patriarchs were buried.

In Joshua 20 it was designated a city of refuge,

and it was also the location of the covenant renewals in Joshua 8 and 24,

but it appears to have retained a large and significant Canaanite population

which is not surprising, given what we were told in Judges 1

about the failure of Israel to drive out the Canaanites.

So Gideon names the son of his Shechemite concubine, "Abimelech."

There is some question as to whether she was an Israelite or a Canaanite.

Gaal's words in 9:28 seem to indicate that Hamor (a contemporary of Abraham)

was still remembered as the lord of Shechem,

which may indicate that Gaal and the leaders of Shechem

were not Israelites.

But the ambiguity is not accidental.

It is the very point of Judges 9.

You can't tell the difference between an Israelite and a Canaanite.

Either Canaanites are ruling one of the cities of refuge,

or else Israelites are thinking of Hamor (the Canaanite) as the patron of their city.

Would you like arsenic or strychnine in your tea?

What a choice!

1. Abimelech, King of Shechem (9:1-6)

Abimelech realizes that as the son of a concubine, he is at the bottom of the list of Gideon's sons.

There are seventy other fellows with a better claim to rule,

so he goes to his mother's hometown and suggests

that Shechem would get a better deal if he were king,

than if the 70 sons of Jerubbaal rule.

He appeals to his family connection to persuade them-

a claim that will come back to haunt him!

But the Shechemites listen to Abimelech,

and the lords of Shechem (literally, the "baals" of Shechem)

give him 70 pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith,

which means, "lord of the covenant."

Remember that we saw at the beginning of the Gideon cycle that Gideon had destroyed

the shrine to Baal?

He was renamed "Jerubbaal"-let Baal contend.

Now Baal is contending!

The baals of Shechem (the word can be used to refer to human rulers)

support Abimelech and provide funding from the treasury of their god,

"Baal-Berith"

With his 70 pieces of silver, Abimelech is able to hire worthless and reckless fellows

who murder the 70 sons of Jerubbaal on a single stone.

One shekel of silver per brother-an incredibly cheap price.

Even though our story is focused on Shechem,

you cannot ignore the absence of Israel.

How could Abimelech kill 70 of his brothers?

No one is willing to stand up and protect the sons of Gideon.

And so Abimelech kills his 70 brothers-

but one escapes-Jotham, the youngest.

His name means "Yahweh is perfect/honest"

Having removed the competition, the rulers of Shechem come together to make Abimelech king

at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.

No Israelite could miss the bitter irony of this picture.

The oak of the pillar in Shechem?

(Some have suggested that the pillar was holding up a decrepit old tree-

the ancient tree known as the "great tree of Moreh at Shechem"

where Yahweh had appeared to Abraham and promised to give the land to his seed

(Gen 12:6-7).

This was also the place where Jacob had buried all the pagan gods in his household,

when he purged his house of idolatry in Gen 35:4.

In Joshua 24:25-26, this was the place where Abraham's descendants

had thrown away their foreign gods-at the "oak near the holy place of the LORD"

It is here, at this ancient holy place, where Abraham was promised the land,

where Jacob and Joshua forsook foreign gods,

that Abimelech, first king of Israel, is crowned under the aegis of Baal Berith!

2. Jotham's Fable (9:7-21)

When Jotham heard that Abimelech had been crowned king

he went and spoke to the baals of Shechem.

Verse 7 says that he spoke from the top of Mt Gerizim.

It is unlikely that this means the very peak of the mountain, since a human voice cannot

carry from the top of Gerizim to Shechem.

But "top" does not have to mean the very crown of the mountain.

It could well mean a promontory of rock overlooking the city-

Apparently the acoustics between Gerizim and Ebal are quite good,

since Israel had been arrayed on the two mountains facing each other

in Joshua 8.

It was also no doubt a place that could not easily be accessed from the city,

because his half-brother seems to have sent his hit-men to kill him!

We have heard of prophets and even speeches by the angel of the LORD,

but Jotham's fable comes without explicit divine authority.

Nonetheless, it is clear from the context that Jotham, the youngest son of a youngest son,

is the true hero of the story.

He risks life and limb to pronounce this curse upon Abimelech and Shechem,

and indeed, all Israel.

He starts with a fable.

The trees went out to anoint a king.

They first looked to the Olive, the Fig, and the Vine.

Olive oil was used to anoint-it was that which honored both gods and men

and also was used as a cooking oil, fuel in lamps,

and an ingredient in perfumes and many other products.

The fig was prized for its sweet fruit

The vine produced wine which "cheers gods and men"

But these useful trees refused the honor of rule.

The Olive preferred to honor others than seek its own glory.

The Fig as well would sweeten the lives of others.

The Vine too wished to cheer gods and humans,

rather than elevate itself.

So finally the trees turned to the bramble.

You come and reign over us.

This was a fitting analogy to Abimelech-

a worthless weed that was of no use to anyone else

will now become the ruler of the trees!

But notice that the bramble does not accept with humility, but with arrogance!

"If in good faith you are anointing me king over you,

then come and take refuge in my shade"--

what shade does a bramble produce?

"But if not, let fire come out of the bramble and destroy the cedars of Lebanon."

The bramble accepts the kingship,

but with the kingship comes a curse.

If you do not come in good faith, then I will destroy you.

The fable of the trees is appropriate to the Gideon narrative.

Our story began under a terebinth at Ophrah,

where Gideon brought his offering to the angel and was made judge (6:11, 19)

Then Abimelech was made king at the oak of the pillar at Shechem (9:6)

But in 8:7, 16 Gideon whips the men of Succoth with thorns and briars.

Now a thornbush of his begetting will rule over Israel.

Jotham then provides the application of his parable.

If the people of Shechem have acted with integrity by making Abimelech king

(together with the slaughter of the 70 sons of Jerubbaal),

then let them rejoice together.

After all that Jerubbaal (Gideon) did for you, why did you treat him like this?

This is not an attack on the idea of kingship,

but on the treachery of Shechem and Abimelech in murdering the sons of Jerubbaal.

3. The Fall of Abimelech (22-57)

While the focus has been on Shechem, verse 22 says that Abimelech ruled Israel for three years.

This does not mean that Abimelech ruled over all Israel,

but that he ruled in Israel.

Israel put up with this petty king in their midst.

But it is clear that at least a significant part of Israel followed Abimelech.

(See verse 55)

But then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the baals of Shechem.

Evil spirit may be somewhat misleading.

It makes you think that God sent a demon to do his work.

The Hebrew phrase does not necessarily mean a spirit that itself is evil,

but a spirit that brings about destructive consequences.

(Think of the evil spirit that God sent to Saul when he removed the Holy Spirit from him)

(Please, think of that spirit, because the author of Judges wants you to connect the two!)

When a bad king comes, then a bad spirit comes, together with death and destruction.

As Abimelech had dealt treacherously with the 70 sons of Jerubaal,

so now the baals of Shechem deal treacherously with him.

They plot against him, starting with an ambush in the mountains.

But Abimelech hears of it!

But before you hear of Abimelech's response,

you first hear of Gaal.

Gaal appears to be a true Shechemite-probably a Canaanite descended from Hamor,

the founder of Shechem.

He uses Abimelech's argument and takes it to its logical conclusion.

If you are serving A, because his mother was from Shechem,

then why not serve someone whose father was the founder of Shechem!

The response of Shechem is remarkable.

There are eight verbs:

They go out into the field,

gather grapes,

tread them,

went into the house of their god (Baal-Berith)

hold a festival,

eating and drinking in the house of their god

The eighth thing they do is revile the name of Abimelech.

Gaal then challenges Abimelech to battle.

Abimelech's governor, Zebul, then warns A that Gaal was stirring up trouble,

so A came and surprised the city with a sneak attack and destroyed Gaal.

Not content with that, A turned against the people of Shechem,

determined to make them pay for their willingness to follow Gaal.

He slaughtered the people in the fields, captured the city,

razed it and sowed it with salt-as a signal of his curse.

(Salt is a symbol of barrenness and death, since a land sowed with salt becomes infertile)

Now the baals of Shechem fled to the house of El-berith, their god.

But A took wood and set fire to the temple of El-berith

and the baals of Shechem perished.

He took the wood from Mt Zalmon.

Psalm 68:14 is the only place that refers to Mt Zalmon,

which may be a different name for either Ebal or Gerizim.

It means "mountain of deep darkness"

Fire has come forth from the bramble and destroyed the cedars of Lebanon

(Temples usually included cedar).

All A's rivals have been eliminated (sibling and Shechemite).

But A is not content with his victories.

He then attacks Thebez.

Why?

We are not told.

He may have had a reason for his actions,

but Judges portrays this as a wanton act of violence.

Whatever reason he had, it was not sufficient.

Once again his forces capture the city,

and once again the people flee to their stronghold,

and once again A prepares to set the tower on fire,

but this time, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head.

He calls his armor-bearer and orders him to kill him,

so that he will not face the same fate as Sisera-death at the hands of a woman.

He had used his relations to a woman (his mother) to gain power,

now a woman will remove him from power.

And now that he is dead the men of Israel return home.

The experiment in a Canaanite-style kingship is over.

Verses 56-57 finally help us understand why this lengthy story must be told.

Abimelech was fatally flawed in character and in name.

"My father is king"?

God alone is king!

And he brought justice to one who would set himself up in God's place.

Whether you like it or not, God is king!

Throughout the book of Judges, God has been merciful and kind;

he has not treated Israel as they deserve.

But here in the case of Abimelech, God has been resoundingly just.

He gives A exactly what he deserves.

Why the difference?

Because A slaughtered 70 brothers upon one stone-

therefore, by one stone (an upper millstone) God slaughters him.

When the enemy was outside of Israel, God has mercy,

but when one from within Israel arises to oppress and destroy,

God brings swift judgment (three years is the shortest of the oppressions).

But of course Abimelech is not the only one to receive God's wrath.

Shechem-the city of refuge-had sworn allegiance to Baal Berith,

and so Shechem too is cast down and destroyed.

They aided A in slaughtering his brothers, and so they receive the due penalty for their sin

There is a note of warning in this narrative:

Whereas the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon,

a Spirit of Disaster clothed Abimelech.

Abimelech was not a servant leader (the kingly ideal of Dt 17),

but one who sought his own power and glory.

You need a king who will not be like Abimelech.

Did you notice the connections to Saul?

Both are sent "evil spirits" from God due to their wicked ways.

Both ask their sword bearers to kill them.

Joab's message to David in 2 Samuel 11:21 (about Uriah)

The story was known.

Is it possible that the book of Judges had already been written (as a pro-David history)?

At the very least Joab is saying,

"David is acting in a way that reminds me of Abimelech"

And that's not good.