communed . And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood at the entering of the gate of the city: and two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and they killed them. how many there are in these days of audacious free-thinking who are disposed to sit in judgment on His word, and give His revelation no credit for telling us the truth as it was and is. Ophrah, and slew his brethren--This is the first mention of a barbarous atrocity which has, with appalling frequency, been perpetrated in the despotic countries of the East--that of one son of the deceased monarch usurping the throne and hastening to confirm himself in the possession by the massacre of all the natural or legitimate competitors. Moreover they spontaneously burst into flames in hot weather and sometimes caused much damage consequently (Judges 9:15). The story of Abimelech, the men of Shechem, and Jotham shows us that there is a real and terrible price to pay for rejecting Gods warnings. Explanation - The following list includes not only commentaries but other Christian works by well known evangelical writers. His victories had then been as holy as they were brilliant; for he surely needed not to have defiled his Nazariteship by an unholy marriage in order to have punished the Philistines. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light fellows who followed him. 13. wine, which cheereth God and man--not certainly in the same manner. Then, after many years of study people will be following you wanting what you have and you can share your secret with them. Nor are you thus called to believe anything like an extravagance, though it surely would be so if the Bible were a human book, and so to be treated like any other, which after all even infidels do not: witness their occupation with it and zeal against it. in the use of names, Jerubbaal is used throughout for Gideon, and Yahweh is referred to only by the generic Elohim. Respectfully submitted as my Scriptural understanding; I share with you what His Spirit has shared with my spirit. Having decided out of their own heads, they then turn to God, and ask Him to bless them in their efforts to exterminate Benjamin. i. O what a mercy it is to have God to take care of our walk! Joshua 8; Joshua 24). Undoubtedly the desire of his own importance and aggrandizement is but too manifest; but when he enters upon the service itself, he not only takes care that the right should be felt by Israel to be indisputably with them, but that this should be known and pressed on the conscience of his adversary. And as I say, from the top of Gerizim you've got a good lead on anybody that might want to chase you. Judges 9:8 - Bible Verse Meaning and Commentary The king of Ammon had forgotten, or had never enquired after the real righteousness of the case. The truest deliverance from self is in that work where all was judged, and evil put away for ever. His application is very close and plain. And it was of the greatest importance that His people should be trained in this. So says he: "When Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh, then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. You can check these in your browser security settings. with all the family of the house of his mother's father--Here is a striking instance of the evils of polygamy--one son has connections and interests totally alien to those of his brothers. "And the olive tree said, "Should I leave my fatness and so forth and rule over you? And his brethren, as we find, came up, took him away, and buried him. I do not myself doubt that it was put in the broadest way. Jotham may have hidden in some empty well for a long time (cf. The danger was incomparably greater where the trial was to stand to the truth fully revealed and to walk in the Spirit, and not subjection to commandments and ritual observances. A certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelechs head and crushed his skull: At Thebez, a woman dropped a millstone on Abimelechs head and mortally wounded him. Judges 9:8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. This certainly stimulated him though I am far from insinuating no better underneath. What avails the show of Jehovah's name, or form of consecrating a Levite to be priest? Degraded to the utmost, Samson becomes their sport as well as their slave. And I don't know what phenomena it is that creates it but sound would have to carry for Jesus to be able to address such large multitudes of people.Even down by the beach there is Caesarea right near the Mediterranean in an amphitheater that is there that was built by the Romans. Now it was perfectly lawful for the children of Israel to treat them as intruders and strangers, who had no rightful claim, no valid plea why they should be restored. There was the plainest proof of what God could be, even where there was but one man to work by; but this very fact showed to what a depth was Israel now sunk. 5. went unto . ""Should I forsake the wine and so forth that cheers God and man to rule you? Yet they rejected the warning of God, and therefore came to ruin. Man is as weak and erring as God is mighty and good: these two things characterise the book from beginning to end. 1. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. It is no mere external sign for us who know the Lord Jesus. God gave the devil commission to enter into or work upon their minds and hearts; knowing that he of himself, and by his own inclinations, would fill them with mistakes, and jealousies, and dissensions, and heart-burnings, which would end in civil wars and mutual ruin. (Poole). Now the moral importance of this was immense, for if they were simply doing the will and word of God, who could stand in their way? (f) Abimelech will destroy the nobles of Shechem. But now, as we know, the one whom he had made partner of his sin wheedled it from him that she might sell it to the Philistines. Nothing justifies, in the work of the Lord, a departure from His mind or will. "What is this that thou hast done unto us? We see a man, not without faith indeed (Hebrews 11:32), though his confidence was largely in the strength with which God had invested him, rather than in Him who would yet prove Himself the sole source of it; a man who was roused by personal affront and desire of vengeance, not by a solemn duty; a man who slowly and weakly wakes up to any sense of his mission, who is ever too ready to sink down again into the lowest indulgence of fallen nature among the enemy. Web1. Good men are likened to good trees: they are too concerned with giving useful and honourable service to be bothered with seeking power. There being no king is in contrast with other lands which had kings, as Israel themselves subsequently. But verse 30 seems adverse to this view. You may be tried; but be assured that you will be helped out of the trial. "He judged Israel twenty years," is the repetition of the word at this point. So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And its then in chapter 9 where we see Furthermore we can see what had become of Shechem (cf. They help ius to translate the great concepts of faith into practical action. Hey, no he wasn't so meek and mild. Not as if He could not care for His own; but our strength, comfort, and blessing are in His name. A work begun under the name and influence of the devil is not likely to end to the glory of God, or to the welfare of man. (Clarke). Whatever might have been his low state through unchecked animal nature, whatever his delinquencies before, so long as he kept his secret with God, strength never failed him from God, be the strain what it might. WebThe bramble said to the trees, If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the Well, site uncertain) where he hid from his brothers wrath. "Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. He had far too often made a wretched use of them in times that were past; and even now, in spite of the work of God in his soul, was there nothing weightier, was there nothing deeper, was there nothing to lament over more than the loss of those two eyes? The sound travels. Whatever might be wrought now was but the beginning of deliverance for Israel. did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them, while Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years?" Thus in fact Sihon had assailed the Israelites against their will, who had taken the land from him. Let fire come out of the bramble A strong catachresis. Click on Abimelech for more of the story. From the temple of Baal-Berith: Abimelech received his pay from the temple dedicated to Baal. ABIMELECH IS MADE KING BY THE SHECHEMITES. His kingdom probably consisted only of Shechem and a few towns round about (9:1-6). The result is that "the people rose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. Abimelech was the bramble; and the ceders of Lebanon, all the nobles and people of Israel. Judges 9 22. [3.] "And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. Proud member Let none expect to do ill and fare well. So it was pressed on Israel then. "And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. But we must look a little into the great principles of divine truth that meet us in weighing the history of Samson. b. What a wonderful understanding of God that we can obtain from Judges 9:8-15 if we take the time to learn obedience to the Word is preferred over following the traditions of men. In the instance before us it was an extraordinary Nazariteship, stretching through the whole life. As long as the world is under the usurped rule of the enemy of God, the path of obedience must always be one of suffering, and this, I may add, increasingly, as we see in Him. And Abimelech dwelt in Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal with his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem. Thus Christ triumphed over the powers of darkness that shouted against him, as if they had him in their power. And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto the woman" with the promise that a child should be born, at the same time enjoining that she was to drink no wine nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; and that, when the child was born, no razor was to come upon his head. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, Copyright - Enduring Word | . His abortive rule, however, ran roughshod over the divine requirements for that office. (Wolf), ii. (Judges 15:4-5). Here then we have certain facts, apart from the historic course, introduced in these words: "There was a man of mount Ephraim." a. Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a boughWhat you have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done: Though Abimelech was an ungodly and violent man, he did understand some basic principles of leadership. As the children are playing you hear them laughing, screaming and all a couple miles away. The law was right there, but Israel refused to read or heed it. Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. And so then he went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez. And what did Israel? In other words, let there come strife between the men of Shechem and Abimelech. (Psalm 61:3). Their covenant with Baal, that image of jealousy (Ezekiel 8:3), was the cause of their ruin. His history is of interest primarily because of the light it throws on this period of Israels national life and the continuing decline in Israel. 1. Let no man question that Samson was in prison or that he lost his eyes for nothing. Since I understand Jotham to be a prophet, he is presumably relaying a message from God. Contrariwise it was courted and continued down to the captivity. WebMatthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 9:8-15 Commentary on Judges 9:7-21 (Read Judges 9:7-21) There was no occasion for the trees to choose a king, they are all the II. WebThe Book of Judges Chapter 9 Chapter Overview: Abimelech usurps the government at Shechem, ver. Let us not forget that we have got a nature exempt from nothing we deplore in Samson, and the person that does not believe it may live to prove it, especially if a believer, who should know himself better; whilst he who does take it home to his soul is thereby enabled to judge himself by the Spirit before God. JOTHAM BY A PARABLE REPROACHES THEM. "And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. And so he said if you would just commit yourself to me I would remove Abimelech. In judgment He must have righteousness; but He remembers mercy. And it shall be, as soon as the sun is up in the morning, that you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may then do to them as you find opportunity.. Where was the just horror at the idolatry of Micah? They had sought peace, and Sihon would have war. "So they came to the fig trees and said, "Rule over us." "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years." WebIn Judges 9:8-15, Jotham conveys a message about the trees speaking amongst themselves while seeking a king. b. WebJudges 9:8-15 : Trees Choosing a King Study King James Version | 8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over a. What a figure of, but contrast with, His death who only pursued to that final point His absolute devotedness to the will of God, not doing it only but suffering it to the uttermost, and thus righteously by His death securing what no living obedience could have touched! When Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from lying in wait. "And the Spirit of Jehovah" to some minds a marvellous fact under the circumstances "came mightily upon him." Here the LORD showed His faithfulness to Samson by supplying the needs of His servant. 2. And he found a new jawbone of an ass and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. all those stories that Jesus told that provide so much of how we understand our faith. The condensed moral of the whole fable is this: Weak, worthless, and wicked men, will ever be foremost to thrust themselves into power; and, in the end, to bring ruin upon themselves, and on the unhappy people over whom they preside. He stands to it that they must never have an enemy unless it be God's enemy. WebJudges Commentary - Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete) Bible Study Tools Join PLUS Login. The people, apparently confident that the matter was concluded, went out into the fields as usual to engage in their daily occupations. (Cundall). Outwardly indeed he was separate. It was not for their lives, but for the truth He confessed, that His own people would have Him die. WebAnd his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. Separateness from what was allowed to an Israelite was not only commanded but made life-long in Samson's case, as I cannot but believe it significant of what was due to God in consequence of the state in which the people of God then lay. 7. he stood in the top of mount Gerizim and lifted up his voiceThe spot he chose was, like the housetops, the public place of Shechem; and the parable [Jud 9:8-15] drawn from the rivalry of the various trees was appropriate to the diversified foliage of the valley below. Joatham . If only this people were under my authority! But there follows a second tale of excessive atrocity in a moral way, which begins in Judges 19:1-30. in terms expressly similar to the beginning ofJudges 18:1-31; Judges 18:1-31: "And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah." But in the end He acts in His own way, which will ever be what we little expect. If this be so, the captivity might be the Assyrian, and not that of the Philistines. Nevertheless they were beaten the next day; for they must be disciplined before the Lord before He could use them to deal with their brother. (The Shechemites were a group of Canaanites who lived peaceably among the Israelites; see Genesis 12:6; Genesis 34:1-31; Joshua 24:32.) Thus it was proved that Israel had, in whatever light regarded, a valid title, not only from long-continued possession, but from a right founded on their conquest of one of the enemies devoted to destruction by God Himself, but an enemy who had wantonly attacked them, when they would have left him unharmed, as they would the Ammonite now. God would magnify His power, but only as a witness now and then; nothing more. There is no difference as to form. It is the expression of the agent of divine power in no way the seal of redemption or the earnest of the inheritance, as we know Him dwelling in us now since the shedding of the blood of Jesus. But what a Nazarite was Samson! Verse Judges 9:15. They had not done to him according to the deserving of his hands,Judges 9:16; Judges 9:16. And this, beyond all doubt or fear, we are entitled always to keep before our hearts in reading the Bible. Let us not think it strange if we see folly set in great dignity (Ecclesiastes 10:6), and the vilest men exalted (Psalms 12:8), and men blind to their own interest in the choice of their guides. He was pretty tough on these false teachers and those that would destroy faith in the heart of a child. Not till they desired a king like the nations. See what great swelling words of vanity he speaks (Judges 9:15; Judges 9:15), what promises he makes to his faithful subjects: Let them come and trust in my shadow: a goodly shadow to trust in! And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. No doubt it was a wonderful display of physical force on the one hand; as on the other those he vanquished were the unrelenting enemies of God's people. 13). Difficulties, where they exist for us, would only exercise faith in God. . Never then let the breath of suspicion enter your soul. The fire smoldered for three years but at last manifested itself. (Morgan). Abimelechs mother, though only a maidservant to Gideon, was from Shechem. What difference does it make? And so Abimelech led a group of vain fellows and they came to the houses of Gideon's sons and they wiped them all out with the exception of just one of his sons, Jotham. Dear Searching (i.e. He predicted that fire would come forth from Abimelech and devour them. Of course, that's where Jesus was addressing so many people, and also they're at the Temple Mount where Jesus addressed so many people.So this Jotham, son of Gideon, the one that Abimelech didn't kill, went up to the top of Mount Gerizim, and here is Shechem down below. The children of Israel were in no way responsible for it. The fig-tree must lose its sweetness, its sweet retirement, sweet repose, and sweet conversation and contemplation, if it go to be promoted over the trees, and must undergo a constant fatigue. But how perfectly He stood, though tried as none ever was or could be but Himself! Either they could not reach him or they were so far convinced that they would not add the guilt of his blood to all the rest. Do we know what a thing obedience is in God's eyes, even though it may be displayed in the simplest manner? Here Gideon had become your deliverer and he freed you from the hand of the Midianites and now this is the way you treat, you know, Gideon and his offspring. Here he told a parable to rebuke the men of Shechem for their choice of Abimelech as a king. i. Preferment is apt to make men proud and slothful, and thus spoil their usefulness, with which in a lower sphere they honoured God and man, for which reason those that desire to do good are afraid of being too great. But God reserved great things for his death. Then the trees said to the fig tree, That's not an exaggeration. WebThose who bear fruit for the public good, are justly respected and honoured by all that are wise, more than those who merely make a figure. Yet there is a more secure tower than the tower of Shechem. When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. For a good useful man some would even dare to die. They have no shame nor resentment on their part at this accusation of treachery. Samson made great destruction among the Philistines. The end was that he met with the judgment least of all to be coveted by man, most of all detestable to a proud spirit like his own. Abimelech slew his brethren on one stone, either by dashing them from one rock, or sacrificing them on one stone altar, in revenge for the demolition of Baal's altar by their father. One man who is your brother who comes right of Shechem, who understands your needs and all or all of the sons of Jerubbaal? Web35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. for oil and wine were used both at God's altars and at men's tables. This again leads to a bitter vengeance of the Philistines on those of Timnath who had served him so ill the very fate befalling them at last, to escape which at first the woman had lent herself to the basest treachery. And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably."
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