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?