Judges 17

Judges 17:1

Gideon’s End and Thereafter

The end of Gideon is a testimony of the Spirit about who he has been before God. Of him, and further only of Samson, is said in this book that he “was buried in the tomb of his father”. It is further reported of him that he died “at a ripe old age”. This is also said in the Old Testament of Abraham (Genesis 15:15; Genesis 25:8) and of David (1 Chronicles 29:28).

Unfortunately, the Israelites do not follow the good that has been seen in Gideon’s life, but the bad that has also been present in his life. By making the ephod he has brought the people back to the path of idolatry. By this he has ruined his own work (Judges 6:25-27) and has laid the seed for a renewed deviation of the people from the LORD.

The Israelites “again played the harlot with the Baals”. More than forty years after Gideon demolished the altar of Baal, the Israelites choose Baal-berith as their god. Baal-berith means ‘lord of the covenant’. The worship of Baal is a sign of a covenant with the Canaanites, something which God has explicitly forbidden. God is forgotten and no thought is given to the good that Gideon has done for the people.

Despite the fact that Gideon participated in this development, God holds the people responsible for their own behavior. He reproaches them for being ungrateful for what Gideon did.

Ungratefulness is also a characteristic of our days. How do we deal with brothers who have served us and who, by preaching God’s Word, have made the Lord Jesus more precious to us, so that we worship Him more? In addition, their service has increased our desire to obey God’s Word, so that we have begun to serve Him with greater dedication. We must be thankful to those who, through their preaching and life, have brought Christ closer to us and brought us closer to Christ. About such people we read for example in Romans 16 and in Hebrews 13 (Romans 16:3-4; Hebrews 13:7; 17).

Judges 17:2

Gideon’s End and Thereafter

The end of Gideon is a testimony of the Spirit about who he has been before God. Of him, and further only of Samson, is said in this book that he “was buried in the tomb of his father”. It is further reported of him that he died “at a ripe old age”. This is also said in the Old Testament of Abraham (Genesis 15:15; Genesis 25:8) and of David (1 Chronicles 29:28).

Unfortunately, the Israelites do not follow the good that has been seen in Gideon’s life, but the bad that has also been present in his life. By making the ephod he has brought the people back to the path of idolatry. By this he has ruined his own work (Judges 6:25-27) and has laid the seed for a renewed deviation of the people from the LORD.

The Israelites “again played the harlot with the Baals”. More than forty years after Gideon demolished the altar of Baal, the Israelites choose Baal-berith as their god. Baal-berith means ‘lord of the covenant’. The worship of Baal is a sign of a covenant with the Canaanites, something which God has explicitly forbidden. God is forgotten and no thought is given to the good that Gideon has done for the people.

Despite the fact that Gideon participated in this development, God holds the people responsible for their own behavior. He reproaches them for being ungrateful for what Gideon did.

Ungratefulness is also a characteristic of our days. How do we deal with brothers who have served us and who, by preaching God’s Word, have made the Lord Jesus more precious to us, so that we worship Him more? In addition, their service has increased our desire to obey God’s Word, so that we have begun to serve Him with greater dedication. We must be thankful to those who, through their preaching and life, have brought Christ closer to us and brought us closer to Christ. About such people we read for example in Romans 16 and in Hebrews 13 (Romans 16:3-4; Hebrews 13:7; 17).

Judges 17:4

Introduction

This chapter is a sequel to the last verses of the previous chapter. There mention is made of a renewed deviation from the LORD. Here we read about a further leaving Him. The result is slavery and humiliation. Here, however, slavery is not the result of hostile power from the outside, but from the inside. The previous lessons are about the attitude of the people toward their enemies. The lesson we see in the history of Abimelech has to do with the relationships within the people of God.

In Abimelech we meet someone who, instead of fighting the enemies, rules over God’s people. The longest chapter of this book is dedicated to him and his behavior, a chapter of no less than fifty-seven verses. Abimelech is not a deliverer of Israel, but someone who represent a principle that we also see in the case of a certain Diotrephes. Diotrephes is mentioned in the third letter of John. He is the one “who loves to be first among them” (3 John 1:9). He is one who presumes authority, to the exclusion of others, as John further says of him: “He does not accept what we say.” He does not tolerate competition.

This practice is illustrated in Abimelech. What is striking is that he does not mention the name of God one time. He is also one of those dark figures who in the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of the man of sin, the antichrist. This is something we should also think about when we are dealing with his history.

Most importantly, however, is that he shows something of what is present in the heart of each of us. To be the first, the most important one, is in the blood of all of us. What we need is to look at the Lord Jesus Who has emptied Himself and became the Servant of all. He Who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

He has not only said it, but also done it. Therefore He can say to His disciples, if they argue about who of them should be the greatest (so it was in them as well): “But [it is] not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines [at the table] or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines [at the table]? But I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27). When thinking about Abimelech’s performance, let us always pay attention to the contrast with the performance of our Savior.

Seizure of Power

From Abimelech we do not read that he is called judge. Nor is he raised up by God to deliver Israel. Perhaps because of the meaning of his name – his name means ‘my father is king’ – he got the idea of claiming dominion on the basis of succession. His father was the leader of the people, he would be too. In any case, he comes to claim what his father has refused (Judges 8:22-23) and thus starts ”lording” over God’s people (cf. 1 Peter 5:3). He is the one Paul speaks of when he says to the elders of the church in Ephesus: “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).

He is a Diotrephes. Abimelech is the type of people who run the church as managers run their business. Such a person will always try to gather people around him in order to realize his ideas about being a church and to implement changings. He will do this by giving favors, by which one feels obliged to him. His recruitment campaign is running well and his language is popular.

Abimelech acts as if he wants to stand up for the interests of his family and cleverly connects to their feelings, while pushing aside his seventy half-brothers. He does not present himself as the son of Gideon, but takes on the character of his mother. Gideon undoubtedly raised his seventy sons in his own home, while Abimelech grew up in Shechem.

With Abimelech there is no respect for his half-brothers. Once he is chosen, he kills them. For this he pays per person a silver piece to unworthy people who capture and control the entire club of seventy men, while Abimelech kills them one by one on one stone. Perhaps this was the stone Joshua set up in Shechem as a witness against the people (Joshua 24:25-27). The fact that the money comes from the idol temple does not bother him at all.

Abimelech wants to exalt himself and resembles the person described in Daniel 11 (Daniel 11:36). Reference has already been made to the agreement between Abimelech and the antichrist. The characteristics of the antichrist are described, among other places, in 1 John 2, 1 John 4 and 2 Thessalonians 2 (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The antichrist works as Abimelech does. He too will be able to win the favor of the people with soothing words (Psalms 55:21; Daniel 11:32). In Absalom, a son of David, we also find this characteristic, the use of flattery. We read of him: “So Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6). This is what Abimelech does here.

One man escaped the massacre (cf. 2 Chronicles 22:10-12). That’s Jotham. His name means “the LORD is perfect”. He is a true witness to his name. God will never be without a witness. Jotham gives his testimony in the following verses. He is a true Antipas (Revelation 2:13), which means ‘one against all’. He represents the faithful remnant that God preserves in all times according to His gracious choice (Romans 11:5).

Abimelech is the first person to be declared king in Israel. He completely disregards the demands of God, which He has had written down in the law for this ministry (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Ironically, the celebration takes place near the tree by Shechem where Joshua wrote the words of the covenant in the book of God (Joshua 24:26).

Judges 17:5

Introduction

This chapter is a sequel to the last verses of the previous chapter. There mention is made of a renewed deviation from the LORD. Here we read about a further leaving Him. The result is slavery and humiliation. Here, however, slavery is not the result of hostile power from the outside, but from the inside. The previous lessons are about the attitude of the people toward their enemies. The lesson we see in the history of Abimelech has to do with the relationships within the people of God.

In Abimelech we meet someone who, instead of fighting the enemies, rules over God’s people. The longest chapter of this book is dedicated to him and his behavior, a chapter of no less than fifty-seven verses. Abimelech is not a deliverer of Israel, but someone who represent a principle that we also see in the case of a certain Diotrephes. Diotrephes is mentioned in the third letter of John. He is the one “who loves to be first among them” (3 John 1:9). He is one who presumes authority, to the exclusion of others, as John further says of him: “He does not accept what we say.” He does not tolerate competition.

This practice is illustrated in Abimelech. What is striking is that he does not mention the name of God one time. He is also one of those dark figures who in the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of the man of sin, the antichrist. This is something we should also think about when we are dealing with his history.

Most importantly, however, is that he shows something of what is present in the heart of each of us. To be the first, the most important one, is in the blood of all of us. What we need is to look at the Lord Jesus Who has emptied Himself and became the Servant of all. He Who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

He has not only said it, but also done it. Therefore He can say to His disciples, if they argue about who of them should be the greatest (so it was in them as well): “But [it is] not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines [at the table] or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines [at the table]? But I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27). When thinking about Abimelech’s performance, let us always pay attention to the contrast with the performance of our Savior.

Seizure of Power

From Abimelech we do not read that he is called judge. Nor is he raised up by God to deliver Israel. Perhaps because of the meaning of his name – his name means ‘my father is king’ – he got the idea of claiming dominion on the basis of succession. His father was the leader of the people, he would be too. In any case, he comes to claim what his father has refused (Judges 8:22-23) and thus starts ”lording” over God’s people (cf. 1 Peter 5:3). He is the one Paul speaks of when he says to the elders of the church in Ephesus: “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).

He is a Diotrephes. Abimelech is the type of people who run the church as managers run their business. Such a person will always try to gather people around him in order to realize his ideas about being a church and to implement changings. He will do this by giving favors, by which one feels obliged to him. His recruitment campaign is running well and his language is popular.

Abimelech acts as if he wants to stand up for the interests of his family and cleverly connects to their feelings, while pushing aside his seventy half-brothers. He does not present himself as the son of Gideon, but takes on the character of his mother. Gideon undoubtedly raised his seventy sons in his own home, while Abimelech grew up in Shechem.

With Abimelech there is no respect for his half-brothers. Once he is chosen, he kills them. For this he pays per person a silver piece to unworthy people who capture and control the entire club of seventy men, while Abimelech kills them one by one on one stone. Perhaps this was the stone Joshua set up in Shechem as a witness against the people (Joshua 24:25-27). The fact that the money comes from the idol temple does not bother him at all.

Abimelech wants to exalt himself and resembles the person described in Daniel 11 (Daniel 11:36). Reference has already been made to the agreement between Abimelech and the antichrist. The characteristics of the antichrist are described, among other places, in 1 John 2, 1 John 4 and 2 Thessalonians 2 (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The antichrist works as Abimelech does. He too will be able to win the favor of the people with soothing words (Psalms 55:21; Daniel 11:32). In Absalom, a son of David, we also find this characteristic, the use of flattery. We read of him: “So Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6). This is what Abimelech does here.

One man escaped the massacre (cf. 2 Chronicles 22:10-12). That’s Jotham. His name means “the LORD is perfect”. He is a true witness to his name. God will never be without a witness. Jotham gives his testimony in the following verses. He is a true Antipas (Revelation 2:13), which means ‘one against all’. He represents the faithful remnant that God preserves in all times according to His gracious choice (Romans 11:5).

Abimelech is the first person to be declared king in Israel. He completely disregards the demands of God, which He has had written down in the law for this ministry (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Ironically, the celebration takes place near the tree by Shechem where Joshua wrote the words of the covenant in the book of God (Joshua 24:26).

Judges 17:6

Introduction

This chapter is a sequel to the last verses of the previous chapter. There mention is made of a renewed deviation from the LORD. Here we read about a further leaving Him. The result is slavery and humiliation. Here, however, slavery is not the result of hostile power from the outside, but from the inside. The previous lessons are about the attitude of the people toward their enemies. The lesson we see in the history of Abimelech has to do with the relationships within the people of God.

In Abimelech we meet someone who, instead of fighting the enemies, rules over God’s people. The longest chapter of this book is dedicated to him and his behavior, a chapter of no less than fifty-seven verses. Abimelech is not a deliverer of Israel, but someone who represent a principle that we also see in the case of a certain Diotrephes. Diotrephes is mentioned in the third letter of John. He is the one “who loves to be first among them” (3 John 1:9). He is one who presumes authority, to the exclusion of others, as John further says of him: “He does not accept what we say.” He does not tolerate competition.

This practice is illustrated in Abimelech. What is striking is that he does not mention the name of God one time. He is also one of those dark figures who in the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of the man of sin, the antichrist. This is something we should also think about when we are dealing with his history.

Most importantly, however, is that he shows something of what is present in the heart of each of us. To be the first, the most important one, is in the blood of all of us. What we need is to look at the Lord Jesus Who has emptied Himself and became the Servant of all. He Who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

He has not only said it, but also done it. Therefore He can say to His disciples, if they argue about who of them should be the greatest (so it was in them as well): “But [it is] not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines [at the table] or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines [at the table]? But I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27). When thinking about Abimelech’s performance, let us always pay attention to the contrast with the performance of our Savior.

Seizure of Power

From Abimelech we do not read that he is called judge. Nor is he raised up by God to deliver Israel. Perhaps because of the meaning of his name – his name means ‘my father is king’ – he got the idea of claiming dominion on the basis of succession. His father was the leader of the people, he would be too. In any case, he comes to claim what his father has refused (Judges 8:22-23) and thus starts ”lording” over God’s people (cf. 1 Peter 5:3). He is the one Paul speaks of when he says to the elders of the church in Ephesus: “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).

He is a Diotrephes. Abimelech is the type of people who run the church as managers run their business. Such a person will always try to gather people around him in order to realize his ideas about being a church and to implement changings. He will do this by giving favors, by which one feels obliged to him. His recruitment campaign is running well and his language is popular.

Abimelech acts as if he wants to stand up for the interests of his family and cleverly connects to their feelings, while pushing aside his seventy half-brothers. He does not present himself as the son of Gideon, but takes on the character of his mother. Gideon undoubtedly raised his seventy sons in his own home, while Abimelech grew up in Shechem.

With Abimelech there is no respect for his half-brothers. Once he is chosen, he kills them. For this he pays per person a silver piece to unworthy people who capture and control the entire club of seventy men, while Abimelech kills them one by one on one stone. Perhaps this was the stone Joshua set up in Shechem as a witness against the people (Joshua 24:25-27). The fact that the money comes from the idol temple does not bother him at all.

Abimelech wants to exalt himself and resembles the person described in Daniel 11 (Daniel 11:36). Reference has already been made to the agreement between Abimelech and the antichrist. The characteristics of the antichrist are described, among other places, in 1 John 2, 1 John 4 and 2 Thessalonians 2 (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The antichrist works as Abimelech does. He too will be able to win the favor of the people with soothing words (Psalms 55:21; Daniel 11:32). In Absalom, a son of David, we also find this characteristic, the use of flattery. We read of him: “So Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6). This is what Abimelech does here.

One man escaped the massacre (cf. 2 Chronicles 22:10-12). That’s Jotham. His name means “the LORD is perfect”. He is a true witness to his name. God will never be without a witness. Jotham gives his testimony in the following verses. He is a true Antipas (Revelation 2:13), which means ‘one against all’. He represents the faithful remnant that God preserves in all times according to His gracious choice (Romans 11:5).

Abimelech is the first person to be declared king in Israel. He completely disregards the demands of God, which He has had written down in the law for this ministry (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Ironically, the celebration takes place near the tree by Shechem where Joshua wrote the words of the covenant in the book of God (Joshua 24:26).

Judges 17:7

Introduction

This chapter is a sequel to the last verses of the previous chapter. There mention is made of a renewed deviation from the LORD. Here we read about a further leaving Him. The result is slavery and humiliation. Here, however, slavery is not the result of hostile power from the outside, but from the inside. The previous lessons are about the attitude of the people toward their enemies. The lesson we see in the history of Abimelech has to do with the relationships within the people of God.

In Abimelech we meet someone who, instead of fighting the enemies, rules over God’s people. The longest chapter of this book is dedicated to him and his behavior, a chapter of no less than fifty-seven verses. Abimelech is not a deliverer of Israel, but someone who represent a principle that we also see in the case of a certain Diotrephes. Diotrephes is mentioned in the third letter of John. He is the one “who loves to be first among them” (3 John 1:9). He is one who presumes authority, to the exclusion of others, as John further says of him: “He does not accept what we say.” He does not tolerate competition.

This practice is illustrated in Abimelech. What is striking is that he does not mention the name of God one time. He is also one of those dark figures who in the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of the man of sin, the antichrist. This is something we should also think about when we are dealing with his history.

Most importantly, however, is that he shows something of what is present in the heart of each of us. To be the first, the most important one, is in the blood of all of us. What we need is to look at the Lord Jesus Who has emptied Himself and became the Servant of all. He Who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

He has not only said it, but also done it. Therefore He can say to His disciples, if they argue about who of them should be the greatest (so it was in them as well): “But [it is] not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines [at the table] or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines [at the table]? But I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27). When thinking about Abimelech’s performance, let us always pay attention to the contrast with the performance of our Savior.

Seizure of Power

From Abimelech we do not read that he is called judge. Nor is he raised up by God to deliver Israel. Perhaps because of the meaning of his name – his name means ‘my father is king’ – he got the idea of claiming dominion on the basis of succession. His father was the leader of the people, he would be too. In any case, he comes to claim what his father has refused (Judges 8:22-23) and thus starts ”lording” over God’s people (cf. 1 Peter 5:3). He is the one Paul speaks of when he says to the elders of the church in Ephesus: “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).

He is a Diotrephes. Abimelech is the type of people who run the church as managers run their business. Such a person will always try to gather people around him in order to realize his ideas about being a church and to implement changings. He will do this by giving favors, by which one feels obliged to him. His recruitment campaign is running well and his language is popular.

Abimelech acts as if he wants to stand up for the interests of his family and cleverly connects to their feelings, while pushing aside his seventy half-brothers. He does not present himself as the son of Gideon, but takes on the character of his mother. Gideon undoubtedly raised his seventy sons in his own home, while Abimelech grew up in Shechem.

With Abimelech there is no respect for his half-brothers. Once he is chosen, he kills them. For this he pays per person a silver piece to unworthy people who capture and control the entire club of seventy men, while Abimelech kills them one by one on one stone. Perhaps this was the stone Joshua set up in Shechem as a witness against the people (Joshua 24:25-27). The fact that the money comes from the idol temple does not bother him at all.

Abimelech wants to exalt himself and resembles the person described in Daniel 11 (Daniel 11:36). Reference has already been made to the agreement between Abimelech and the antichrist. The characteristics of the antichrist are described, among other places, in 1 John 2, 1 John 4 and 2 Thessalonians 2 (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The antichrist works as Abimelech does. He too will be able to win the favor of the people with soothing words (Psalms 55:21; Daniel 11:32). In Absalom, a son of David, we also find this characteristic, the use of flattery. We read of him: “So Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6). This is what Abimelech does here.

One man escaped the massacre (cf. 2 Chronicles 22:10-12). That’s Jotham. His name means “the LORD is perfect”. He is a true witness to his name. God will never be without a witness. Jotham gives his testimony in the following verses. He is a true Antipas (Revelation 2:13), which means ‘one against all’. He represents the faithful remnant that God preserves in all times according to His gracious choice (Romans 11:5).

Abimelech is the first person to be declared king in Israel. He completely disregards the demands of God, which He has had written down in the law for this ministry (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Ironically, the celebration takes place near the tree by Shechem where Joshua wrote the words of the covenant in the book of God (Joshua 24:26).

Judges 17:8

Introduction

This chapter is a sequel to the last verses of the previous chapter. There mention is made of a renewed deviation from the LORD. Here we read about a further leaving Him. The result is slavery and humiliation. Here, however, slavery is not the result of hostile power from the outside, but from the inside. The previous lessons are about the attitude of the people toward their enemies. The lesson we see in the history of Abimelech has to do with the relationships within the people of God.

In Abimelech we meet someone who, instead of fighting the enemies, rules over God’s people. The longest chapter of this book is dedicated to him and his behavior, a chapter of no less than fifty-seven verses. Abimelech is not a deliverer of Israel, but someone who represent a principle that we also see in the case of a certain Diotrephes. Diotrephes is mentioned in the third letter of John. He is the one “who loves to be first among them” (3 John 1:9). He is one who presumes authority, to the exclusion of others, as John further says of him: “He does not accept what we say.” He does not tolerate competition.

This practice is illustrated in Abimelech. What is striking is that he does not mention the name of God one time. He is also one of those dark figures who in the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of the man of sin, the antichrist. This is something we should also think about when we are dealing with his history.

Most importantly, however, is that he shows something of what is present in the heart of each of us. To be the first, the most important one, is in the blood of all of us. What we need is to look at the Lord Jesus Who has emptied Himself and became the Servant of all. He Who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

He has not only said it, but also done it. Therefore He can say to His disciples, if they argue about who of them should be the greatest (so it was in them as well): “But [it is] not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines [at the table] or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines [at the table]? But I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27). When thinking about Abimelech’s performance, let us always pay attention to the contrast with the performance of our Savior.

Seizure of Power

From Abimelech we do not read that he is called judge. Nor is he raised up by God to deliver Israel. Perhaps because of the meaning of his name – his name means ‘my father is king’ – he got the idea of claiming dominion on the basis of succession. His father was the leader of the people, he would be too. In any case, he comes to claim what his father has refused (Judges 8:22-23) and thus starts ”lording” over God’s people (cf. 1 Peter 5:3). He is the one Paul speaks of when he says to the elders of the church in Ephesus: “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).

He is a Diotrephes. Abimelech is the type of people who run the church as managers run their business. Such a person will always try to gather people around him in order to realize his ideas about being a church and to implement changings. He will do this by giving favors, by which one feels obliged to him. His recruitment campaign is running well and his language is popular.

Abimelech acts as if he wants to stand up for the interests of his family and cleverly connects to their feelings, while pushing aside his seventy half-brothers. He does not present himself as the son of Gideon, but takes on the character of his mother. Gideon undoubtedly raised his seventy sons in his own home, while Abimelech grew up in Shechem.

With Abimelech there is no respect for his half-brothers. Once he is chosen, he kills them. For this he pays per person a silver piece to unworthy people who capture and control the entire club of seventy men, while Abimelech kills them one by one on one stone. Perhaps this was the stone Joshua set up in Shechem as a witness against the people (Joshua 24:25-27). The fact that the money comes from the idol temple does not bother him at all.

Abimelech wants to exalt himself and resembles the person described in Daniel 11 (Daniel 11:36). Reference has already been made to the agreement between Abimelech and the antichrist. The characteristics of the antichrist are described, among other places, in 1 John 2, 1 John 4 and 2 Thessalonians 2 (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The antichrist works as Abimelech does. He too will be able to win the favor of the people with soothing words (Psalms 55:21; Daniel 11:32). In Absalom, a son of David, we also find this characteristic, the use of flattery. We read of him: “So Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6). This is what Abimelech does here.

One man escaped the massacre (cf. 2 Chronicles 22:10-12). That’s Jotham. His name means “the LORD is perfect”. He is a true witness to his name. God will never be without a witness. Jotham gives his testimony in the following verses. He is a true Antipas (Revelation 2:13), which means ‘one against all’. He represents the faithful remnant that God preserves in all times according to His gracious choice (Romans 11:5).

Abimelech is the first person to be declared king in Israel. He completely disregards the demands of God, which He has had written down in the law for this ministry (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Ironically, the celebration takes place near the tree by Shechem where Joshua wrote the words of the covenant in the book of God (Joshua 24:26).

Judges 17:9

Introduction

This chapter is a sequel to the last verses of the previous chapter. There mention is made of a renewed deviation from the LORD. Here we read about a further leaving Him. The result is slavery and humiliation. Here, however, slavery is not the result of hostile power from the outside, but from the inside. The previous lessons are about the attitude of the people toward their enemies. The lesson we see in the history of Abimelech has to do with the relationships within the people of God.

In Abimelech we meet someone who, instead of fighting the enemies, rules over God’s people. The longest chapter of this book is dedicated to him and his behavior, a chapter of no less than fifty-seven verses. Abimelech is not a deliverer of Israel, but someone who represent a principle that we also see in the case of a certain Diotrephes. Diotrephes is mentioned in the third letter of John. He is the one “who loves to be first among them” (3 John 1:9). He is one who presumes authority, to the exclusion of others, as John further says of him: “He does not accept what we say.” He does not tolerate competition.

This practice is illustrated in Abimelech. What is striking is that he does not mention the name of God one time. He is also one of those dark figures who in the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of the man of sin, the antichrist. This is something we should also think about when we are dealing with his history.

Most importantly, however, is that he shows something of what is present in the heart of each of us. To be the first, the most important one, is in the blood of all of us. What we need is to look at the Lord Jesus Who has emptied Himself and became the Servant of all. He Who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

He has not only said it, but also done it. Therefore He can say to His disciples, if they argue about who of them should be the greatest (so it was in them as well): “But [it is] not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines [at the table] or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines [at the table]? But I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27). When thinking about Abimelech’s performance, let us always pay attention to the contrast with the performance of our Savior.

Seizure of Power

From Abimelech we do not read that he is called judge. Nor is he raised up by God to deliver Israel. Perhaps because of the meaning of his name – his name means ‘my father is king’ – he got the idea of claiming dominion on the basis of succession. His father was the leader of the people, he would be too. In any case, he comes to claim what his father has refused (Judges 8:22-23) and thus starts ”lording” over God’s people (cf. 1 Peter 5:3). He is the one Paul speaks of when he says to the elders of the church in Ephesus: “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).

He is a Diotrephes. Abimelech is the type of people who run the church as managers run their business. Such a person will always try to gather people around him in order to realize his ideas about being a church and to implement changings. He will do this by giving favors, by which one feels obliged to him. His recruitment campaign is running well and his language is popular.

Abimelech acts as if he wants to stand up for the interests of his family and cleverly connects to their feelings, while pushing aside his seventy half-brothers. He does not present himself as the son of Gideon, but takes on the character of his mother. Gideon undoubtedly raised his seventy sons in his own home, while Abimelech grew up in Shechem.

With Abimelech there is no respect for his half-brothers. Once he is chosen, he kills them. For this he pays per person a silver piece to unworthy people who capture and control the entire club of seventy men, while Abimelech kills them one by one on one stone. Perhaps this was the stone Joshua set up in Shechem as a witness against the people (Joshua 24:25-27). The fact that the money comes from the idol temple does not bother him at all.

Abimelech wants to exalt himself and resembles the person described in Daniel 11 (Daniel 11:36). Reference has already been made to the agreement between Abimelech and the antichrist. The characteristics of the antichrist are described, among other places, in 1 John 2, 1 John 4 and 2 Thessalonians 2 (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The antichrist works as Abimelech does. He too will be able to win the favor of the people with soothing words (Psalms 55:21; Daniel 11:32). In Absalom, a son of David, we also find this characteristic, the use of flattery. We read of him: “So Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6). This is what Abimelech does here.

One man escaped the massacre (cf. 2 Chronicles 22:10-12). That’s Jotham. His name means “the LORD is perfect”. He is a true witness to his name. God will never be without a witness. Jotham gives his testimony in the following verses. He is a true Antipas (Revelation 2:13), which means ‘one against all’. He represents the faithful remnant that God preserves in all times according to His gracious choice (Romans 11:5).

Abimelech is the first person to be declared king in Israel. He completely disregards the demands of God, which He has had written down in the law for this ministry (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Ironically, the celebration takes place near the tree by Shechem where Joshua wrote the words of the covenant in the book of God (Joshua 24:26).

Judges 17:10

Where and Why Jotham Speaks

When Jotham is informed that Abimelech has been proclaimed king, he does not sit on his hands. He goes to Mount Gerizim, the mountain of blessing (Deuteronomy 27:12). With this he indicates that he is looking for blessing for the people. For this he wants to be used by God and thus fulfill the task God has given him. Whoever escapes judgment by the grace of God, such as Jotham, is a suitable instrument to be used as a blessing for those who have turned away from God.

Jotham does not simply announce the judgment. What he has to say is of great significance. He does not speak in riddles. Everyone understands properly what he is talking about. He presents the way of blessing and shows what the consequences are if one does not want to go that way. Anyone who listens to him, acknowledging the truth of his words and acts accordingly, finds an open way to God and will also notice an open ear with Him. Thus stands the loner who wants to be a blessing for the whole people. The parable of Jotham contains the secret to be heard by God.

Judges 17:11

The Olive Tree

What Jotham wants to make clear with his parable is that to rule over others is to spoil the blessing God wants to give. Where people are given the opportunity to rule, the use and blessing of the Holy Spirit (represented in the olive tree), righteousness (represented in the fig tree) and joy (represented in the vine), all gifts of God, are corrupted. The final result of rule can be seen in the bramble which will cause nothing but pain. Here is shown what human government in the house of God ends in.

The tree here is a picture of a reigning power. We can also see this for example with Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:20-22). With the trees it is always about bearing fruit and giving it up when to rule is started. By nature, people want to be governed by someone in whose life fruit is seen. The true spirit of government is the spirit of serving (Luke 22:27). Exercising authority in the sense of lording is of much less value than fruitful serving.

In the story of the trees, Jotham exposes the character of Abimelech and also the unfair and disingenuous actions of the citizens of Shechem against the remembrance of his father Gideon. We will see that we can apply Jotham’s story to leadership in individuals, but also to the overemphasis of a particular doctrine. The purpose of the parable is to recognize the guidance of God and to avoid having ourselves appointed in such a position by others who want to give us a place of honor.

The olive tree is the first tree to speak. He is a picture of the energy and enlightenment, power and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Olive oil kept the candlestick in the tabernacle burning so that there was light (Exodus 27:20). We also read that in the Old Testament priests and kings and occasionally prophets are anointed with oil. In the New Testament the believers are seen as priests and kings (Revelation 1:6) and the believers are spoken of as people anointed not with literal oil, but with the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20; 27). Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit.

If the work of the Holy Spirit is clearly visible in one’s life, there is a good chance that people will ask him to take the lead. It may also happen in a community of faith that the working and expression of the Holy Spirit is emphasized in such a way that with it His true place is lost. Then the gifts of the Spirit become the yardstick for judging one’s spiritual life. A person who has a certain gift then enjoys a higher regard than someone who does not have the gift in question.

Whoever examines the Bible in this respect will discover that the Holy Spirit did not come to present Himself, but that He has come to glorify the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus says of the Holy Spirit: “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose [it] to you” (John 16:13-14).

This does not diminish the glory and Divinity of the Holy Spirit. It is about determining the place of the Holy Spirit in the Godhead and what He does on earth. By the way: therefore also speaking to and worshiping of the Holy Spirit in word and song and praying to Him are misplaced. Nowhere in the Bible this is justified.

What can become visible in one’s life is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If such a person, with whom this is found, is asked to take the lead, the answer will be: I am too busy in the things of God to start to rule.

The olive tree also has to do with the promises God has given to His people (Romans 11:16-24). It also presents the believers as those who are connected with God in everything and who realize that they owe everything to Him (Psalms 52:9).

In summary, an ‘olive tree brother’ is someone who is guided by the Holy Spirit and in whom the fruit of the Spirit becomes visible. He is one who takes into account the promises of God and in all things trusts Him. If there is an ‘olive tree brother’ in the local church, he could be told: ‘We want to appoint you as a leader, as happens in the churches around us.’ It is to be hoped that his answer will be like that of the olive tree, so that he can continue to bear fruit to the glory of God.

Judges 17:12

The Olive Tree

What Jotham wants to make clear with his parable is that to rule over others is to spoil the blessing God wants to give. Where people are given the opportunity to rule, the use and blessing of the Holy Spirit (represented in the olive tree), righteousness (represented in the fig tree) and joy (represented in the vine), all gifts of God, are corrupted. The final result of rule can be seen in the bramble which will cause nothing but pain. Here is shown what human government in the house of God ends in.

The tree here is a picture of a reigning power. We can also see this for example with Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:20-22). With the trees it is always about bearing fruit and giving it up when to rule is started. By nature, people want to be governed by someone in whose life fruit is seen. The true spirit of government is the spirit of serving (Luke 22:27). Exercising authority in the sense of lording is of much less value than fruitful serving.

In the story of the trees, Jotham exposes the character of Abimelech and also the unfair and disingenuous actions of the citizens of Shechem against the remembrance of his father Gideon. We will see that we can apply Jotham’s story to leadership in individuals, but also to the overemphasis of a particular doctrine. The purpose of the parable is to recognize the guidance of God and to avoid having ourselves appointed in such a position by others who want to give us a place of honor.

The olive tree is the first tree to speak. He is a picture of the energy and enlightenment, power and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Olive oil kept the candlestick in the tabernacle burning so that there was light (Exodus 27:20). We also read that in the Old Testament priests and kings and occasionally prophets are anointed with oil. In the New Testament the believers are seen as priests and kings (Revelation 1:6) and the believers are spoken of as people anointed not with literal oil, but with the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20; 27). Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit.

If the work of the Holy Spirit is clearly visible in one’s life, there is a good chance that people will ask him to take the lead. It may also happen in a community of faith that the working and expression of the Holy Spirit is emphasized in such a way that with it His true place is lost. Then the gifts of the Spirit become the yardstick for judging one’s spiritual life. A person who has a certain gift then enjoys a higher regard than someone who does not have the gift in question.

Whoever examines the Bible in this respect will discover that the Holy Spirit did not come to present Himself, but that He has come to glorify the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus says of the Holy Spirit: “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose [it] to you” (John 16:13-14).

This does not diminish the glory and Divinity of the Holy Spirit. It is about determining the place of the Holy Spirit in the Godhead and what He does on earth. By the way: therefore also speaking to and worshiping of the Holy Spirit in word and song and praying to Him are misplaced. Nowhere in the Bible this is justified.

What can become visible in one’s life is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If such a person, with whom this is found, is asked to take the lead, the answer will be: I am too busy in the things of God to start to rule.

The olive tree also has to do with the promises God has given to His people (Romans 11:16-24). It also presents the believers as those who are connected with God in everything and who realize that they owe everything to Him (Psalms 52:9).

In summary, an ‘olive tree brother’ is someone who is guided by the Holy Spirit and in whom the fruit of the Spirit becomes visible. He is one who takes into account the promises of God and in all things trusts Him. If there is an ‘olive tree brother’ in the local church, he could be told: ‘We want to appoint you as a leader, as happens in the churches around us.’ It is to be hoped that his answer will be like that of the olive tree, so that he can continue to bear fruit to the glory of God.

Judges 17:13

The Fig Tree

The first time we read about the fig tree is when Adam and Eve have sinned (Genesis 3:7). After sinning and seeing that they are naked, they want to cover their nakedness with leaves of the fig tree. Herein lies an indication that the fig tree, in picture, says something about righteousness. Adam and Eve make their own covering to be able to appear before God. But that covering does not work.

It is like with all works of one’s own righteousness, by which a man thinks he can be pleasing to God. It is a righteousness without fruit for God. They are only leaves, it is an external matter. This is also the case in Mark 11 (Mark 11:13-14). The Lord Jesus is hungry and wants to eat from a fig tree. However, it only has leaves and not fruit. The Lord then curses that fig tree.

The fig tree is a picture of Israel (Hosea 9:10a; Joel 1:7). God came to His people in Christ to seek fruit with them. He longed for that. But what did He find? A people that was completely controlled by a self-built righteousness. But never will anything of personal effort make man pleasant to God. When the Lord Jesus was brought to the cross and killed by this people in their own righteousness, it became abundantly clear that man’s doings are sinful through and through.

God is only interested in the fruit of righteousness, not in an appearance of righteousness. This fruit certainly becomes visible, but only if it is the result of a love that abounds in real knowledge and all discernment and is worked out in practical life of faith with an eye on the coming of Christ (Philippians 1:9-10). Someone with whom this is found is “filled with the fruit of righteousness which [comes] through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:11).

The fig tree speaks of food, and also of healing. In Isaiah 38 there is talk of a cake of figs which had to be applied to the boil of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:21). Thereby he would be recovered.

We can learn the following from all this. In the church especially the shepherd and the teacher have a service of nourishment and refreshment, healing and support for the members of the people of God. Their service will be aimed at letting the fruit of righteousness in the faithful grow and blossom, so that God can enjoy it.

What these ‘fig tree brothers’ must be careful of is that they do not exchange this service for a place of dominion over God’s people. It also means a warning that the practical experience of faith should not be overemphasized. This happens where the emphasis is on being a Christian practically , while ignoring what the Bible says about it. Then the fig tree also waves over the other trees.