Sermon Tone Analysis

*ABIMELECH: A REBEL USED BY GOD*

*Judges 9*

 

We’re in a series of messages from the Old Testament book of Judges.

If you have your bible with you this morning, I invite you to turn to the 9th chapter of Judges with me.

We’ve been examining some of the biographies of a number of the Bible characters that appear in the book of Judges.

We’ve studied the life of Gideon and saw how God worked through his life.

Gideon was, in the beginning, a fearful, backward and unwilling man when it came to trusting God.

But once Gideon decided to put his trust in God and obey his commands, God did some pretty amazing things through Gideon.

In fact, Gideon took 300 soldiers and routed and army of over 135,000 Midianites.

We learn at the close of chapter 8 of judges that Gideon had 70 sons.

So, evidently he *did* overcome his shyness.

And the nation of Israel was so thrilled with the leadership of Gideon and the 40 years of peace that they enjoyed in the land that they looked to Gideon’s sons for leadership as well.

And following his father’s death, one of Gideon’s sons rises to become the next leader of Israel.

Unfortunately, he was not like his father.

Gideon’s son, Abimelech, was arrogant, selfish and rebellious towards God.

And unlike the other leaders who preceded him, Abimelech was not chosen by God to lead.

Abimelech appointed himself as leader and king.

And although Abimelech’s story is one of rebellion and disobedience, we find that God used him, not */because/* of what he had done, but */in spite of/* what he had done.

And I want to remind you today that God’s plans and God’s purposes are greater than the evil plans of Satan.

And even when Satan manages to get his people in places of leadership or influence, God still has the power to accomplish his will.

Sometimes Christian people panic when evil people rise to positions of prominence.

Whether it’s corrupt politicians, on any level; local, state, national or in world leadership positions.

Maybe it’s even closer to home.

¨      You’re parents may not be godly people, and yet they’re placed by God in that position of influence over you in the home.

¨      Do you work for a tyrant?

God hasn’t forgotten you.

¨      Do you live with a jerk?

God can help you to deal with that.

¨      Are you frustrated with certain aspects of our government?

God can work through anybody to get done what he wants done.

So, don’t panic.

Trust him.

And one thing we’re going to learn by studying Abimelech’s story today is that God’s will will be done.

!

I.                   ABIMELECH MANIPULATED PEOPLE

 

I want you to notice, first of all, in Judges 9 that Abimelech was a bad example.

And “bad” is an understatement.

This guy was terrible.

He was rotten to the core.

And there are several sins enumerated for us in the text that accentuate his evil nature.

First, he manipulated the people.

Look at verse 1 of Judges 9, *“Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal (that is Gideon) went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother’s clan, ‘Ask all the citizens of Shechem, Which is better for you: to have all 70 of Gideon’s sons to rule over you, or just on man?’*   Now it’s back in verse 30 of chapter 8 that we read that Gideon had 70 sons by many wives.

But he also had a son named Abimelech through his concubine, named Abimelech.

And his concubine lived in Shechem.

Now, a */concubine/* is not some type of farm implement, okay.

If this is a new term for some of you, let me explain what it was.

A */concubine/* in the days of Gideon was a legal wife, but a concubine was considered a secondary wife.

They weren’t even looked upon by the rest of the family as being a legitimate part of the family.

They were often times acquired, at first, as slaves.

But having concubines was not God’s design - that was man’s own doing.

And Abimelech was the son of a concubine.

So in the eyes of society, he was a second-class citizen.

And to make matters worse, his mother was from Shechem.

Now in that day, Shechem was a city in the Promised Land that had been occupied by the Canaanites.

And when Israel had reclaimed the Promised Land, it’s believed that they established a treaty with the people of Shechem rather than deriving them out of the land as the Lord had commanded.

Now, that’s significant because the people of Shechem were idol worshippers.

And as was often the case, the idol-worshipping people of Shechem had more influence on the Israelites than the Israelites had on the people of Shechem.

And it wasn’t long before those Israelites who lived in the area were joining with the people of Shechem in the worship of false gods.

So Abimelech goes to his mother’s side of the family and says to them, */“Hey, you don’t want 70 different people ruling over you, do you?

Why don’t you choose just one of Gideon’s sons to be your king.

And remember, I’m your own flesh and blood.”/*

Now that’s a significant move on the part of Abimelech because his father Gideon had made it quite clear before his death that he didn’t intend for any of his sons to rule over Israel.

Look back at Judges 8:23, *“But Gideon told them, I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you.

The Lord will rule over you.”

* But through deceptive manipulation Abimelech convinced the people to side with him.

!! II.

HE SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH VIOLENT MEN

 

The second mistake he made was, he surrounded himself with violent men.

The Bible says, *“Bad company corrupts good character.”*

Verse 3 of judges 9 reads, *“When the brothers repeated all of this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech for they said, ‘He is our brother.’

They gave him 70 shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventures, who became his followers.”*

Abimelech hires these merciless mercenaries, and he forges them into a squad of political hit-men.

You see, Abimelech was not a leader because he was gifted.

He didn’t rise through the political ranks on his good merit.

He bought his office.

He led by terrorism.

Verse 5, *“Abimelech went to his father’s home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his 70 brothers, the sons of Gideon.

But Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, escaped by hiding.

Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.”*

As I stated earlier, to say that Abimelech was a bad example would be an understatement.

I doubt if there are any of us here today who could even begin to imagine taking the life of another individual?

Or how about taking the life of a another family member?

Abimelech slays 69 of his brothers in cold-blooded, pre-meditated murder.

His motive?

He wanted to be king and he wanted to make certain that none of his brothers would threaten his reign so, in the spirit of a Joseph Stalin or an Adolph Hitler, he ordered the execution of those perceived to be a threat to his power.

!! III.

HE WORRIED TOO MUCH ABOUT HIS REPUTATION

 

There’s a third reason why Abimelech was a bad example and that is he worried too much about his own reputation.

What happens in verse 7 and following is that, over time, God changes the hearts of the Shechemites who had elected Abimelech as the king.

And a civil war breaks out between those loyal to Abimelech and those who have had a change of heart about following him as their king.

Skip down in Judges Chapter 9 to verse 50.

Abimelech has just overtaken several cities and has burned one tower to the ground.

In that tower there were about 1,000 men and women who had taken refuge from the battle.

And Abimelech heartlessly burned it to the ground.

Then, in verse 50, he moves on to the next city lying in the path of his destruction.

*“Next, Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it.

Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women – all the people of the city – fled.

They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof.

Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it.

But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, A woman killed him.