Judges 8:28-35, Chapter 9, Chapter 10
As soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelis promptly forgot about the Lord. They turned away from God again, and worshipped the idol Baal.
Gideon’s son Abimelech was king of the city of Shechem, but his friends wanted him to be king over all of Israel instead of just one city. They gave him seventy pieces of silver taken from the temple of Baal, and he used the money to hire men to go with him and help him.
First he killed all of his brothers except the youngest, who ran away Abimelech did this because he was afraid the people might become tired of him and ask one of his brothers to be king instead. So he became the king of all the land of Israel.
After Abimelech had been king for three years, God sent him trouble. Instead of being his friends any lounger, the people of Shechem became his enemies. While he was away on a trip, they decided to kill him.
The governor of the city, who was still Abimelech’s friend, sent him this secret message: “Be careful. The people of Shechem have rebelled against you. Come in the night with your men, and hide out in the field until morning. As soon as the sun is up, march toward the city; and when the people come out to fight you, you can defeat them.”
So Abimelech did this. He brought his men to the city during the night and hid them in the fields near the city. In the morning the people saw him and came out to fight, but he chased them back into the city and killed many of them.
The next morning they came out again. This time Abimelech divided his men into three groups and hid them in the field. As soon as the men of Shechem had gone quite far from the city gate, one of Abimelech’s groups ran behind them and stood in front of the gate to prevent the men of Shechem from getting back into their city. Then the two other groups ran toward them from the field and killed them. Abimelech and his men fought against the city all day, until all the people were killed, their houses knocked apart, and the city completely destroyed.
Some of the men of Shechem escaped to the temple of their idol Baal and barred the heavy gates so that Abimelech couldn’t get to them. He led his troops up a mountain and cut off large branches from the trees., then returned to the temple. They piled the branches against the door and set them on fire, burning up the temple and all the people inside.
Then Abimelech went to the city of Thebez, fought against it, and captured it. The people who lived there fled into a strong tower, locked the door, and climbed to its top. Abimelech tried to burn the tower as he had the idol temple in Shechem, but a woman threw down a huge rock from the top of the tower. It hit him on the head, crushing his skull.
When he knew he was dying, he called one of his young men and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me so it won’t be said I was killed by a woman.”
The youth thrust his sword through Abimelech, and he died. In this way God punished Abimelech for killing his brothers and also punished the people of Shechem for helping him to do it.
After Abimelech was dead. Tola was the judge of Israel for twenty three years.
After him, Jair, who lived across the Jordan River in the land of Gilead, was judge for twenty two years. He had thirty sons, and each of them was the governor of a city in Gilead.
Then the people of Israel turned away from the Lord again and worshipped Baal and Ashtaroth, the same idols their fathers had worshipped. So this time when the Philistines attacked Israel, the Lord didn’t help His people. They became slaves again for eighteen years.
In their trouble they cried out to the Lord for help; but He reminded them of how often He had set them free from their enemies, only to see them turn their backs on Him again and worship heathen idols. Let them go to the idols they had chosen. He said, and ask them for help. But the people of Israel confessed their sins and asked God to punish them, but please to set them free from their enemies. They destroyed the idols they had worshipped, and worshipped the Lord again; and He pitied them in their sufferings.
Questions:
Who was Abimelech’sfather?
Why did God send trouble to Abimelech?
How did Abimelech die?
Thanks for reading. Have a awesome day full of blessings and joy.
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