Judges 9 Part 2

Judges 9 Part 2

'When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.

And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech.'

Judges 9:22-29

After Jotham had departed from the men of Shechem, Abimelech continued to his reign for three years. At that time, God sent an evil spirit to be a division between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. So, ' that the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.'

The men of Shechem then went out to their fields, gathered grapes, made themselves merry, and went into the house of their god, to eat and drink, and to curse Abimelech. They asked themselves why they should have to serve Abimelech. They then started following another man named Gaal, the son of Ebed. They decided to attack Abimelech and the men that were with him. However, Abimelech drove them away to a tower, where they hid themselves. As he and his men were about to attack Gaal and his people, a woman dropped a piece of a millstone on his head, and he fell. He said to his armorbearer to draw his sword, and to kill him, so that the people would not think of him as having been killed by a woman.

'And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.'

Judges 9:54-57

God cursed the men of Shechem because they had followed a wicked man. He had killed all of his brothers, except one. He would have killed that one as well, if it had not been for the Lord's intervention and protection. Our sin no t only affects us, it affects those around us. And though we may not believe that our sin could possibly be a problem to someone else, it certainly can. And we need to be absolutely certain that we serve God and obey Him, not only because we love Him, but because we love others, or should, and do not wish to lead them astray.