Judges 9:22-28

Judges 9:22

When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,

 

Abimelech had a short reign of three years.  They may have been peaceful years or years of uneasiness.  No one can commit a crime like he did and think that he would get away with something like that.  It was like when David committed adultery with Bathsheba, Nathan came to him about a year later to force him to face his sin.

 

Judges 9:23

Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:

 

Things may have been going along smooth for a while but you do not sin against the Lord like he did and expect to get away with it.  Now there was great tension between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, which would have been the elders of that city.  The word “treacherously” carries with it the meaning of “covertly or deceitfully.”  Apparently there was some covert episodes going on by the men of Shechem against Abimelech.

 

Judges 9:24

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.

 

Now comes payment for the murders they committed against the house of Gideon.  As cruel as they were to the house of Gideon, that cruelty would now be turned against Abimelech and upon the idol worshipping men of Shechem who financed the campaign against the house of Gideon.  Deuteronomy 32:35 (KJV) To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.  The Lord was about exact vengeance on Abimelech and the men of Shechem.

 

Judges 9:25

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.

 

The word “liers” describes those who would lie down on their bellies and then when an unsuspecting person came by, they would jump to their feet and ambush them and rob them of everything they had.  They would also have been known as highwaymen.  Luke 10:30 (KJV)   And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  This was the type of person Jesus used in his parable of the Good Samaritan.  The robberies by the men of Shechem had now come into the ear of the king.

 

Judges 9:26

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.

 

The origin of the man Gaal is not known.  He is mentioned only in Judges 9 and nowhere else in Scripture.  The name “Gaal” means “contempt or abomination.”  From the meaning of his name, he may have been a Gentile.  The name “Ebed” means “servant or laborer.”  Gaal may have been some type of warrior because the men of Shechem had apparently hired him to go against Abimelech which means the honeymoon of his reign was now coming to an abrupt end.  They may have known something about Gaal since they had put their confidence in him.  Normally you would place confidence in a person you are familiar with and not a complete stranger.

 

Judges 9:27

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.

 

Since there was such great tensions between the men of Shechem and Abimelech, they lied in wait to hopefully attack and rob and maybe kill Abimelech, but that did not happen.  Since Abimelech knew of their plans, the men believed that he would have amassed a force to come deal with them and kill them like he did the house of Gideon.  This caused the men to remain in the city.  Now that they had Gaal to protect them, they were able to go out to their fields and gather the grapes and then make them into wine.  In fact, they were so at ease that they had a feast in Baal-berith’s temple where they ate and drank and when they were well-drunk they cursed Abimelech and probably hoped that Gaal would kill him and rid Shechem of him permanently.  They despised him and treated him with contempt.

 

Judges 9:28

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?

 

Then as they began to become drunk in their feast, then their bravery started to come out.  Then the question came out that who is Abimelech or who is Shechem?  They are now defying the rule of Abimelech and also mentioning the founder of the town of Shechem who no longer resides there or he may have been dead by this time.  They asked, who are these men that we should serve them?  Now they have attached to Abimelech the fact that he too was a son of Gideon.  They realize that Gideon threw down the altar of Baal and here they were in Baal’s temple having a feast.  Zebul was the Governor of Shechem and had complete charge of all the people there.  They were offended by the fact that Abimelech did not rule over them himself but put a lower magistrate in charge of them.  Then Gaal states that they should serve the men of Hamor where Gaal might get Baal worship back into the area where it was removed.  Since Abimelech had the name of a stranger, Gaal wanted Shechem to go back to the old Canaanite religion which had prevailed in the past.

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