03. ABIMELECH

ABIMELECH

"Then said all the trees to the thorn-bush, Come thou, reign over us. And the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon...And Abimelech ruled over Israel three years."

Jdg 9:14-15; Jdg 9:22 "There is a time when man ruleth man to his hurt."

Ecc 8:9 A bimelech’s tragic story is an example of what God does not want in a king. What a contrast this proud "thornbush" is to Him of whom God says, "I have anointed My King upon Zion , the hill of My holiness"! Indeed, he more nearly resembles the one whose boastful "I will" we hear five times in Isa 14:12-20 - Lucifer, the arch-rebel we know as the devil. The Lord Jesus tells us that the devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Abimelech, Gideon’s son by a concubine at Shechem, came to power by persuading the men of his home town that it would be more to their advantage to have him rule over them than Gideon’s other 70 sons, none of whom were seeking to rule. Having gained his countrymen by political persuasiveness, he hired thugs, killed his brothers, and was made king by the men of Shechem. Understandably, God’s will was not sought in the matter at all. Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son, alone escaped being killed. He proceeded to propound to the men of Shechem the allegory of the trees choosing a king, predicting the disaster and doom that would come to them and their wicked usurper king.

Abimelech’s rule lasted only three years. It was truly a matter of man ruling man to his hurt. God could not bless a kingdom set up in such a way. Both Abimelech and the men of Shechem had left Him out of their calculations. Both came to a tragic end. Today men do likewise. They too will find that God will not be mocked.