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Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
SURVEY OF BIBLE HISTORY
(THE JUDGES TO THE KINGS)
Abimelech, the Bramble
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson
Copyright - Lester Hutson -
1998
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express
written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.
Lesson 18
Judges 9:7 - 57
C. The prophecy of Jotham and it's fulfillment best summarizes life in and around Shechem for the three years of Abimelech's reign:1. Jotham's parable is stated in Judges 9:7-15;
a. It is a prophetic parable foretelling a very twisted, tangled story. It is a story of a very wicked man and his wicked buddies, who finally succeeded in choking each other to death.2. The seeds that produced the evil harvest of this story were jointly planted by several of the actors in this arena:b. The wicked men or buddies are represented by "the trees" of the parable, Verse 8. They are the brethren of Abimelech through his mother: the men of Shechem and the surrounding area. The "olive tree: the "fig tree " and the "vine" represent good, fruitful men whom God could have used to judge Israel; men like Ehud, Barak, and Gideon. In Israel there were men who could have qualified, perhaps even among the seventy sons of Gideon. The "bramble" of Verse 14 symbolizes Abimelech, the illegitimate son, of Gideon.
c. The immediate point of this parable is that the men of Shechem would not have the Lord to rule over them; and the good sons of Gideon would not stop in the place of God and rule them. So, they chose a wicked, vile, deceitful man to rule over them. The prediction of the parable was that the bramble would ultimately destroy the trees, and the trees would also destroy the bramble.
d. In a long-range sense, "the trees" symbolize the men and nations of the world who will not have God to rule them by good men. The three fruit trees mentioned are the three trees of scripture which symbolize the nation of Israel: the "olive tree," Rom. 11:17-26, the fig tree " Matt. 24:32-3 , and the grape "vine," Isa. 5:1-6. The bramble symbolizes a wicked, evil man who would rule, specifically anti-christ, who will rule the world during the Great Tribulation. The long-range prediction of the parable is that the world will not accept the rule of God. Israel will not rule. Ultimately, anti-christ will rule and destroy the people over whom he rules; but in the end, he shall, himself, be destroyed.
e. Judges 9: says Jotham, the only surviving legitimate son of Gideon, went to the top of Mount Gerizim, and spoke this parable to the men of Shechem below him. Shechem is located in a valley at the foot of two mountains: Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Across the valley from these side by side mountains with a low saddle in between is the head of the Tirzeh Valley, which drops off rather steeply to the deep Jordan Valley.
A sort of natural amphitheater is created by the natural phenomenon here; and from the top of Mount Gerizim, Jotham could address the Shechemites below. His voice would fall to them below, yet because of the steepness of the mountain, Jotham could easily escape over the mountain and down the backside in case they should attempt to pursue him.
a. Gideon, by his immoral lifestyle, produced this bramble out of his relationship with his concubine in Shechem. A concubine is really just a cheap regular harlot. She was not even Jewish as Gideon was. He was strictly forbidden to have any dealings with her, Deut. 3.6., 7:2; 20:17. Gideon planted the seed which grew the bramble that devoured the trees.3. Look now at the consequences of this twisted, gnarled, thorny way of living:b. The children of Israel, by their sinful idolatry, made their own contribution to what happened here. The Lord helped and delivered them and expressed his attitude in Judges 8.23, "The Lord shall rule over you." Yet, Judges 8:33-34 says, "And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god. And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side. So sin had been turned loose among the people, and they could not escape its consequences, for "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," Gal. 6:7.
c. So, Gideon fathered an illegitimate son called Abimelech, who was a bramble; and Israel produced the right climate in which he could flourish. According to the Hebrew dictionary, a bramble is "a thorny tree; any one of several prickly shrubs," and Abimelech was a bramble. This no good, wicked, conniving bramble, Abimelech, did all he could to confuse and complicate the situation. Isaiah 34.13 says brambles are generally regarded as "an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls." The bramble began with the curse, and shall end with the curse. Brambles were the scourge and dread of middle eastern farmers. Especially when dry, these spiny thistles were like instant fire. Many a crop and orchard were wiped out by fires ignited and fueled by the highly volatile brambles; not to mention their damaging, nuisance effect when mingled in a decent crop. Abimelech's father had said, "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you," Judges 8:23. Yet, Abimelech went up to Shechem and very subtly talked them into making him their king, Judges 9:1-3 Then, he went to his father's house in Ophrah and systematically executed 69 of his 70 flesh and blood brothers, Judges 9: . So, through murder and conspiracy, and with a corrupt hand, this man, Abimelech, began to rule over the trees, the men of Shechem and Thebez.
d. The men of Shechem made it easy for Abimelech to flourish: setting the stage for his rise and abating him in his crime. They were worshippers of Baal-berith, and they took money from his temple and gave to Abimelech, Verse 4. With seventy pieces of silver, they were actually paying him to do his dirty work. And they did exactly the reverse of what Gideon said and "made Abimelech king." Verse 6.
e. What an unholy alliance between the bramble and the trees: Abimelech and the men of Shechem! The men of Shechem helped Abimelech kill his brothers and become king; and Abimelech helped the men of Shechem throw off Israeli domination and subjection to the law of the true God in their lives. By seeking help from the men of Shechern, Abimelech was weaving the very web which would later trap him, and the rope which would hang him. He hired "vain, and light persons" of their ranks to help him, but when he needed help they didn't help him at all. (What a lesson to all!)
And ironically, by asking Abimelech to help them the men of Shechem were creating their own Frankenstein. Before long this murderous bramble grew so big, strong, and thorny they couldn't stop him. To their sorrow, they found that this man, whom they helped murder his brothers and become their king, didn't mind murdering them any more than he had minded murdering his brothers. (That's how it is. If one is inclined to do wrong to others, he'll wrong you once the climate is right!)
On the surface and front end, the alliance between the men of Shechem and Abimelech looked so good; yet already the poison of death and destruction was at work. ".The way of transgressors is hard," Prov. 13:15.
a. Before long, the honeymoon between Abimelech and the men of Shechem ended, and they rose up against the old thornbush. Judges 9:23-24 says, "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." Divine retribution is sometimes slow in coming, Eccl. 8:12-13; but it always comes.
Shechem was a trade route crossroads; and the men of Shechem began to rob people travelling the public roads. Like gangsters and bandits always do, they found a new champion who would lead them against Abimelech. He was "Gaal the son of Ebed .... and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him," Verse 26. Gaal was somewhat like Abimelech in that he had a big, brazen mouth. Verse 2 says these men and their new hero had a merry party and began to "curse Abimelech." In fact "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 Ecuador 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. And he said to AbimelechIncrease thine army, and come out," Verses 28-29.
b. The fact was that Gaal, with his tadpole mouth, had started trouble with an alligator. Pretty soon, he found out that talk is cheap. Any man can say anything. Backing it up is another thing. Zebul, the ruler of Shechem under Abimelech, heard Gaal and was incensed at what he heard, Verse 3 . So, he sent word to Abimelech, who promptly marched against the city with his hireling soldiers, Verses 31-40. Abimelech easily won an initial confrontation. Abimelech divided his forces into three companies; and when the men of Shechem later came out to work, he sent one company to cut them off from the city, while the other two companies attacked. The people were caught in a vice or military pincher and were butchered like cattle, Verses 43-44.
Abimelech then turned on the city, beat it down, and "sowed it with salt," Verse 45. Some of the people had escaped into tower of Baal-berith, their idol god. Abimelech piled branches around it, and set it on fire "so that all the men of the tower of Shechern died also, about a thousand men and women Verse 49. Divine justice! The very man they had power became their executioner.
c. The bramble had successfully devoured the trees as Jotham had prophesied, Verse 20. Now, it was time for the trees to devour the bramble. In his rage to make a clear case of vengeance against all who had turned on him, Abimelech moved over to the nearby city of Thebez and took it, Verses 50-52.But Abimelech was evil, and God knew it. The vengeance of God is greater than the vengeance of any man, even Abimelech. God's vengeance is always sure and complete; and the time had come for Abimelech in God's grist mill. Just when complete victory was in the palm of his hand, Verse53 says, "A certain woman cost a piece of millstone upon Abimelech's head. and all to brake his skull." The bramble had devoured the trees; now, the trees are devouring the bramble. A millstone is hewn from a heavy, but very rough stone. They're huge. Even a small piece of a broken millstone could be a lethal weapon. When it hit him, Abimelech knew he was "done for," and rather than face the humiliation of dying at the hand of a woman, he "called hastily unto the young man his armour bearer, and said unto him Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died," Verse 54. Numbers 32:23 says, "Be sure your sin will find you out." So Judges 9 concludes the story of Abimelech, the bramble, and the men of Shechem with these sobering words, "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," Verses 56-57.
QUESTIONS ON "ABIMELECH, THE BRAMBLE"
Judges 9:7-57
"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"