Judges Abimelech
Sometimes we fail because of who we are following
Judges 9: And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s [a]relatives and spoke to them and to the whole family of the household of his mother’s father, saying, 2 “Speak, now, in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your bone and your flesh.” 3 And his mother’s [b]relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem; and [c]they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our [d]relative.” 4 So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, and they followed him. 5 Then he came to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6 Then all the lords of Shechem and all [e]Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the [f]oak of the pillar which was in Shechem.
7 Then they told Jotham, so he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice and called out. Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 The trees surely went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness, with [g]which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good produce and go to wave over the trees?’ 12 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which makes God and men glad, and go to wave over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in [h]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 cedars of Lebanon.’
Well, we continue today with the next passage of Scripture out of the book of Judges. Our series of messages have been about the lessons we learn from failure. The book of Judges is really a chronicle of one failure after another for the nation of Israel. And the failures that I am referring to are spiritual failures leading to national failure and decline. They continually dealt with slipping back into the worship of idols. So, when they did, God would send an oppressor to enslave them militarily and economically. Then they would cry out to God to deliver them from that oppressor.
And we’ve discovered that there are lessons we can learn. We need to learn not to do what they did. We need to remove sin’s influence from our lives, we need to keep our eyes on God’s strength and not our own. We need to walk in faith by God’s Word, not in fear.
Well, this week the lesson we are going to learn is that sometimes we spiritually fail because of who we follow. Jesus told His disciples on the Mount of Olives that in the latter times there will be many false prophets and false christs who will deceive many.
24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and will [m]show great [n]signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the [o]elect.
Their deception will be so convincing, that if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived.
History provides many examples of people who came to ruin because they followed the wrong spiritual leader. In the 1530s, followers of Jan van Leiden in Münster believed he was establishing God’s kingdom, but the city was destroyed and many died. In modern times, groups like Jim Jones’s Peoples Temple in Jonestown and Marshall Applewhite’s Heaven’s Gate ended in mass deaths because followers trusted leaders claiming special authority or revelation. These tragedies illustrate a timeless lesson also seen in Scripture: when people surrender discernment and follow charismatic but deceptive leaders, the consequences can be spiritually—and sometimes physically—devastating.
Even closer to home,
Scripture shows that people often fall into spiritual failure because they follow the wrong influences in their lives. Many of the kings of Israel and Judah simply continued the sins of their fathers, repeating the same idolatry instead of obeying God. Rehoboam followed the advice of his young friends rather than the wisdom of older counselors, and his decision divided the kingdom. Aaron gave in to the demands of the crowd and made the golden calf, leading Israel into idolatry. In the time of Jesus, many people followed the religious traditions of the Pharisees so closely that they missed the truth of God’s Word and rejected the Messiah standing before them. These examples show how family patterns, peer pressure, crowds, and religious traditions can quietly guide people away from obedience to God.
Personal relationships can also lead people into failure when those relationships encourage compromise instead of truth. Samson repeatedly surrounded himself with people who pulled him toward disobedience, and those choices eventually led to his downfall. In the early church, Ananias and Sapphira reinforced each other’s deception by pretending to give all the proceeds from the sale of their land while secretly keeping part for themselves. Because neither one chose honesty or repentance, both fell under God’s judgment. Together these stories remind us that the voices we follow—whether family, friends, leaders, or even a spouse—can shape the direction of our spiritual lives, and following the wrong influence can lead to serious spiritual consequences.
Today we are looking at failure through following bad leadership; and we are looking at three points; self-promoting leaders, leaders of the moment, and seriously flawed leaders.
prayer
1. Failure Through Self-Promotion
Abimelech — Judges 9
The last judge we considered was Gideon. And although Gideon led the land for forty years of quiet, they were really years of surface devotion to God. It tells us at the end of chapter 8.
33 Then it happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel turned back and played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34 Thus the sons of Israel did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side;
As soon as he was dead, they forsook God. And it’s no wonder, you remember that even while he was alive, Gideon set up an ephod in his home city, and that Israel went to this ephod after an idolatrous fashion.
In addition to that, Gideon did something else that caused big problems after he was dead. He took multiple wives.
30 Now Gideon had seventy sons who [m]were his direct descendants, for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he [n]named him Abimelech.
He had seventy sons by multiple wives. How many wives did he have? Well, if we do the math, he had seventy sons. It is entirely likely that he had just as many or more daughters. So,
At 20 children per wife, about 7 wives, At 15 children per wife, about 9–10 wives, At 12 children per wife, about 12 wives, At 10 children per wife, about 14 wives, At 8 children per wife, about 17–18 wives.
This goes directly against God’s design in Genesis where God made one man and one woman and commanded them to be one flesh. And it also says a couple of other things about Gideon. First off, we are told that Abimelech was the son of a concubine. Now here’s my question. What does a man with 7 to 18 wives and 140 children need with a concubine? It sounds like Gideon had a problem with devotion to one woman, or even 18 women. The second thing we have to surmise is that Gideon was wealthy. If you have 18 wives and 140 kids, you’ve got to support them somehow.
I imagine that his support may have been tied back to that moment after he was used by God to deliver
Israel.
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; Yahweh shall rule over you.” 24 Yet Gideon said to them, “I would [k]make one request of you, that each of you give me [l]an earring from his spoil.” (For they had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they said, “We will surely give them.” So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. 26 And the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels’ necks. 27 Then Gideon made it into an ephod and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
I told you last time that an ephod was either an ornamental priestly garment like the one that Israel’s priests wore with precious stones symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel, or it was an image used for divination or idolatry. It tells us in this passage that Isreal sinned by this ephod. Now, I can’t say for sure, but I suspect that Gideon was first enriched by all Israel by their giving him the gold he asked for, and then I believe he was further enriched by turning himself into a pseudo- oracle or priest.
So, he caused problems with idolatry and with polygamy. Multiple wives has its own practical problems, But it also had some very sinister problems. After Gideon was dead, he potentially had 70 sons vying for the power position he had created. And that’s exactly what happened.
One of his sons, named Abimelech, after the death of his father, decided he wanted to trade on his father’s influence, and become a king. Nobody seems to have been asking for a king. God didn’t call him to be king. His father Gideon had refused to be made a king or to establish a dynasty through his children. But now that Gideon was dead, Abimelech steps forward. And he is a very unqualified candidate. What does Scripture say about him? He was the son of a concubine from Shechem. She was a concubine. We don’t know how that came to be. Again, if he already had multiple wives and children, why does he need a concubine? I think it’s an indication that he couldn’t control his own fleshly desires. He sees a woman, he wants her, and in this case, she may have been a slave, or purchased as one. Some commentators suggest that she may have been a Gentile. But after he takes her, she becomes pregnant and has a son. He grows up with his father’s family. But after his father’s death, he is left in a relatively powerless position. His mother is the lowest on the totem pole of power and position in his father’s family. But he has aspirations. Here’s how the story proceeds.
“And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s [a]relatives
He goes back to his mother’s relatives back in Shechem.
and spoke to them and to the whole family of the household of his mother’s father, saying, 2 “Speak, now, in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your bone and your flesh.”
He goes to his mother’s family who live in Shechem. And he makes them an offer. How would you like Shechem to be a Royal city? His father wouldn’t be made a king, but he was willing to be. Israel had never had a king to now. And what he implies is that since Gideon has died that there would be a fight for power between the 70 sons of Gideon. Now, there’s nothing in this passage that implies that any of the other sons of Gideon were even thinking about a power play. But that’s how Gideon presents it.
3 And his mother’s [b]relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem; and [c]they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our [d]relative.”
They like the idea that Shechem will be the capital city. They see their own power and influence growing. But ultimately, it says that they choose him for a king because they are related. There’s no inquiry after God on this matter. There’s no analysis of qualifications, or consideration of his spiritual qualities. He’s our relative, let’s make him the leader.
Well, we can see from the start that this is not of God.
4 So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, and they followed him.
They give him money from where? From the house of Baal-berith. That would be a pagan temple.
The House of Baal-berith in the story of Abimelech (Judges 8–9) was likely a pagan temple complex in the city of Shechem, dedicated to the Canaanite deity Baal-berith, whose name means “Lord of the Covenant.” The irony is striking: Shechem had once been a place where Israel renewed covenant with the true God (Joshua 24), yet by the time of Abimelech the city had adopted a covenant with a false god instead. The temple would have functioned as both a religious sanctuary and a civic center, since Canaanite temples often served as places where leaders gathered, decisions were made, and wealth was stored. Judges 9:4 tells us that the leaders of Shechem took seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, indicating that the temple contained a treasury. This money—likely offerings brought by worshipers—was used to finance Abimelech’s violent rise to power.
What did he want the money for? It says he used the money to hire worthless men. He hired mercenaries. Men who lived my being hired thugs; who have no qualms about doing evil, as long as it pays well. So, what was their task? To murder all of the 70 sons of Gideon; any possible competitor for ruling Israel. So, Scripture says.
5 Then he came to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone.
It appears from this description that he may have waited for some family gathering when they would all come unarmed and unsuspecting, and had his men laying in wait. And on some signal, he took out all 70 sons. Well 69 sons.
But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
The text actually says, “was hidden.” It’s likely that the oldest sons would be the first to be killed, and in the chaos, somebody grabs the youngest son and finds a hiding place for him.
6 Then all the lords of Shechem and all [e]Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the [f]oak of the pillar which was in Shechem.
Now, all of this says something about Abimelech and about these lords of Shechem. It tells us that in every age of this world there have been men and women who will use any unscrupulous or even violent means to rise to a place of power and influence. These people are always there.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
Psalm 10:2–4 “The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: ….(and) boasteth of his heart’s desire…
Micah 2:1–2 “Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds!… they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away.”
They are always there. But what that means to us is that we need to be careful about those we follow, or passively stand by and allow to lead.
One of the most stunning things about this story is what is not said. Notice that it says that
“the lords of Shechem and all [e]Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king,” look at verse 22
22 And Abimelech governed over Israel three years.
We might understand that evil men will seek power and do violent things. The city of Shechem was located in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. Because of its central position in the hill country of Israel, it naturally became an important political and religious gathering place for the people. Several major events in biblical history took place there. Abraham first built an altar to the Lord in this location after entering the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:6–7). Generations later, Jacob settled nearby and purchased land in the area (Genesis 33:18–20). Near the end of Joshua’s life, he assembled the tribes of Israel at Shechem to renew their covenant with God and to call the nation to faithful obedience (Joshua 24). Sadly, the same city is the place where Abimelech was proclaimed king by the leaders of Shechem, after slaughtering Gideon’s sons.
But this was a very presumptuous act. Where does it say that the nation chose Abimelech as a king? They just seem to stand by quietly and allow this power grab. This man had just murdered 69 men. Where was the outcry from Israel? At best it seems that the nation just looks at this as out of their control. But, by default, they have chosen a leader.
We sometimes choose who we will follow by simple default.
A well-known historical Christian example of people following a leader almost automatically is the movement surrounding Montanus in the second century.
Montanus lived in Phrygia around A.D. 160. He claimed that the Holy Spirit was speaking directly through him, delivering new prophetic revelations to the church. Two women, Priscilla and Maximilla, also began prophesying alongside him. Their movement emphasized strict holiness, fasting, and the imminent return of Christ. Many Christians in the region began following Montanus simply because he spoke with great authority and claimed divine inspiration. People assumed that if someone spoke boldly “in the Spirit,” they should submit to his leadership without questioning it.
Over time the movement became increasingly extreme. Montanus declared that the heavenly New Jerusalem would soon descend in Phrygia, and his followers treated his prophecies almost as new Scripture. What began as a call to spiritual seriousness gradually turned into unquestioned loyalty to a charismatic leader. Eventually the broader church rejected Montanus and his prophecies as false because they added to the authority of Scripture and elevated personal revelation above apostolic teaching. The episode became one of the early church’s clearest reminders that Christians must test leaders and teachings by Scripture rather than follow someone simply because they appear spiritual or authoritative.
We need to take greater care in choosing who we follow, and listen to. You are what you eat. You become what you consume.
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”
Romans 12:2 “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
The curse
Well, they make Abimelech king. Then verse 7
7 Then they told Jotham, so he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice and called out.
This is the youngest son who escaped death by being hid. When Judges 9:7 says that Jotham stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and called out to the leaders of Shechem, the geography of the area helps explain how this happened. The ancient city of Shechem sat in a narrow valley between two mountains—Mount Gerizim to the south and Mount Ebal to the north—with the city itself located on the valley floor at what is now the site of Tel Balata. Mount Gerizim rises roughly 1,000 feet above the valley, so Jotham would have been standing high above the city, likely less than a mile away horizontally from the people below. The leaders of Shechem were probably gathered near the city gate or near the sacred tree or pillar mentioned in Judges 9:6, where Abimelech had just been proclaimed king, since city gates were the normal places for public assemblies and political decisions. The valley between Gerizim and Ebal forms a natural amphitheater where sound carries well, which explains how Jotham’s voice could be heard by the gathering below—something similar to how Joshua had earlier gathered the tribes in this same valley to hear the reading of the Law. From that elevated position Jotham could call out his fable of the trees choosing a king so the leaders of Shechem could hear him, and the height also allowed him to escape quickly into the hills before anyone could reach him.
And this is what he says,
Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 The trees surely went forth to anoint a king over them, (oh, this is going to be about the leader they just chose) and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness, with [g]which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ 10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good produce and go to wave over the trees?’ 12 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which makes God and men glad, and go to wave over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in [h]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 cedars of Lebanon.’
Jotham confronts the leaders of Shechem for betraying Gideon’s family. He reminds them that his father, Gideon (Jerubbaal), risked his life to deliver them from Midian, yet they repaid that kindness by murdering his seventy sons and making Abimelech king simply because he was their relative. Jotham says that if they have truly acted with integrity, they should rejoice in their choice. But if they have acted wickedly, he declares a curse: that conflict will arise between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem and they will ultimately destroy one another.
So what happened? Well there are a lot of details here but let me summarize the history.
After Abimelech had ruled over Israel for three years, God sent a spirit of hostility between him and the leaders of Shechem so that the violence done to Gideon’s seventy sons would be repaid. The men of Shechem began undermining Abimelech by ambushing travelers and eventually supported a rival named Gaal, who openly mocked Abimelech and encouraged rebellion. When Abimelech learned of the revolt, he attacked the city with his forces, defeated Gaal, drove the rebels out, and destroyed Shechem. He killed many of its inhabitants and scattered salt over the ruins, and when the remaining leaders took refuge in the temple-fortress of El-berith, Abimelech set it on fire, killing about a thousand people. However, when he later attacked the nearby city of Thebez, a woman dropped a millstone from a tower that crushed his skull. To avoid the disgrace of being killed by a woman, Abimelech ordered his armor-bearer to kill him. In this way, the violence he had begun returned upon him, fulfilling Jotham’s warning as both Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem were destroyed, and God repaid the wickedness they had committed.