Abimelech ruled over Israel, yet he never delivered Israel from anyone. Judges 9 follows a man who murdered his brothers to gain power, then turned against the people who had helped make him king. His place in this book should warn us against treating power as proof of God’s approval. Shechem could give him a crown, but it could not make his conduct righteous.
Gideon’s House and a Son Who Wanted a Throne
In Judges, Israel repeatedly abandoned the LORD and came under an enemy’s power. When the people cried out, God raised up deliverers. Abimelech exploited Israel’s spiritual decline to make himself king. He neither rescued the nation from an oppressor nor called it back to God.
Abimelech is sometimes included in discussions of Israel’s judges because his account appears in this book and Judges 9:22 says he ruled over Israel for three years. The chapter, however, presents him as a usurper, someone who seizes authority without a rightful claim. He gained power through support from Shechem, money from an idol’s temple, and the murder of his father’s sons.
Gideon, also called Jerubbaal, had delivered Israel from Midian through the power God gave him. After the victory, the men of Israel asked him to rule over them, with his son and grandson following him. They were offering to establish a ruling dynasty, but he answered:
“I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.”
Gideon refused the proposed kingship, but his conduct afterward brought serious trouble to his household. He made a gold ephod, associated with priestly service, which Israel turned into an object of spiritual unfaithfulness. Judges 8:27 says it became a snare to him and his house. The man God had used to deliver Israel had also introduced something that drew the people into false worship. I need to acknowledge his failures alongside his faith, as I do in the study of Gideon.
His household was large:
“Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.”
Abimelech means “my father is king,” a striking name for the son of a man who had refused to establish a dynasty. Scripture does not explain Gideon’s reason for choosing it. The son would pursue the very kingship his father had declined, and his mother’s family in Shechem gave him people to approach for support.
After Gideon died, Israel again worshiped the Baals and made Baal-Berith their god. The people forgot the LORD who had delivered them and showed no kindness to Gideon’s family for the good he had done. Abimelech rose to power amid that ingratitude and idolatry. His conduct raises a question we must also ask when studying the later kings of Israel: did the ruler submit to God, or use his position to pursue what God condemned?
Shechem Crowned a Murderer
Abimelech went to Shechem and asked his mother’s brothers and the rest of her family to speak for him. He wanted them to put a choice before the city’s men:
“Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and bone.”
Judges does not describe Gideon’s other sons organizing a campaign to rule Shechem. Abimelech nevertheless presented their possible rule as the alternative to choosing him. He urged the city to prefer one local relative over seventy other men, appealing to kinship: “I am your own flesh and bone.” A family connection could give them a reason to favor him without giving them any assurance that he would govern rightly.
His mother’s relatives carried the proposal to the men of Shechem, who favored Abimelech because he was their brother. They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith. The name means “lord of covenant,” or “Baal of the covenant.” People who owed covenant faithfulness to the LORD were now financing a bid for power from an idol’s treasury. The study of Baal examines that false worship more fully.
Abimelech used the silver to hire worthless and reckless men. He took them to his father’s house at Ophrah and murdered his brothers on one stone:
“Then he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself.”
Jotham survived to denounce his brother’s crime. The other sons had not died defending Israel or been executed for an established offense. Abimelech murdered the sons of the man who had delivered the nation, clearing the way for himself to rule. The men of Shechem and Beth Millo then gathered beside the terebinth tree at the pillar in Shechem and made him king.
The people of Shechem had reason to remember their obligations to the LORD. God had appeared to Abram in that region and promised the land to his descendants. Joshua later assembled Israel there and called the people to serve the LORD sincerely and in truth. Now, in a city associated with those covenant memories, they crowned a man whose rise had been financed by idolatry and secured through murder.
| Abimelech’s method | What he used | What it revealed |
|---|---|---|
| Fear | He warned Shechem about seventy possible rulers. | He created urgency around his own ambition. |
| Family loyalty | He emphasized his mother’s kinship ties. | He turned blood relationship into leverage. |
| Idolatrous funding | He received silver from Baal-Berith. | His rule was tied to spiritual compromise from the start. |
| Violence | He hired reckless men and murdered his brothers. | His throne was built on bloodshed rather than righteousness. |
Jotham’s Bramble Warning
When Jotham heard about the coronation, he went to Mount Gerizim and called down to the men of Shechem. Gerizim was associated with blessing in Israel’s covenant ceremony, a setting explained further in the study of Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. From there, the son who had escaped the slaughter challenged the city through a parable:
“The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’”
In Jotham’s parable, the olive tree refused to abandon the oil with which God and men were honored. The fig tree would not give up its sweetness and good fruit, and the vine would not cease producing wine that cheered God and men. Each already provided something useful and refused to leave that work merely to sway over the other trees.
“Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’”
“And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you, Then come and take shelter in my shade; But if not, let fire come out of the bramble And devour the cedars of Lebanon!’”
The promise was absurd. A low, thorny bramble could not shelter the trees beneath its shade, yet it threatened to burn even the cedars of Lebanon if its rule was not accepted sincerely. Jotham had chosen an apt picture of Abimelech: a ruler who offered protection while bringing danger to those who placed themselves under him.
I do not read this parable as a condemnation of all leadership. The fruitful trees served through what they produced. The bramble accepted rule but could not give the shelter it promised. Jotham was exposing Shechem’s chosen king and the folly of expecting him to provide safety.
Jotham then applied the warning directly to Shechem. Gideon had risked his life to deliver them from Midian, and they had repaid him by killing his sons and crowning a relative as king. If they had acted in truth and sincerity, they could rejoice in Abimelech. If not, fire would come from him to consume Shechem and Beth Millo, and from them to consume him. The people who had joined in this wickedness would bring destruction on one another.
After giving that warning, Jotham fled to Beer because he feared Abimelech. He had spoken against his brother’s violence, but doing so had not made him safe from it.
The Alliance Turned on Itself
Abimelech ruled for three years. Then the alliance that had brought him to power began to break apart:
“God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.”
This was God’s judgment against their partnership. The next verse explains that the blood of Gideon’s sons would be laid on Abimelech, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who helped him. The city could not escape responsibility by pointing to the man who carried out the murders. God brought their alliance to ruin and remained holy in doing so. His judgment did not make either side’s treachery righteous or excuse the evil each had chosen.
The men of Shechem set ambushes against Abimelech on the mountain heights and robbed travelers along the road. Abimelech received word of the ambushes. Gaal the son of Ebed then arrived with his brothers and gained Shechem’s confidence. At their grape-harvest celebration, the men ate and drank in their god’s temple and cursed the king they had once supported.
Gaal challenged Shechem’s submission to Abimelech and boasted that he would remove him if the people were under his authority. Zebul, the city’s ruler and Abimelech’s ally, became angry when he heard it. He secretly urged Abimelech to bring his men by night and hide in the fields, ready to attack when Gaal came out in the morning.
Abimelech brought his men by night and arranged four companies in ambush. At the city gate, Gaal saw men coming down from the mountains, but Zebul dismissed them as shadows. When Gaal again reported approaching troops, Zebul taunted him about his earlier boasting and challenged him to fight the men he had despised. Gaal led Shechem’s men out to battle and was defeated. Many fell wounded as they fled toward the gate. Zebul then drove Gaal and his brothers out of the city.
Removing Gaal did not end Abimelech’s attack on Shechem. The next day, he learned that people were going into the fields and divided his men into three companies to ambush them. His company blocked the city gate while the other two killed those outside. He fought against Shechem throughout the day, captured it, killed its inhabitants, demolished it, and sowed it with salt as a sign of desolation. The city that had financed his violence was now being destroyed by him.
People from Shechem’s tower took refuge in the stronghold of the temple of the god Berith. Abimelech went to Mount Zalmon, cut a branch, and ordered his followers to do the same. They piled the branches against the stronghold and set it on fire. About a thousand men and women died there. Jotham’s warning about fire from Abimelech had become a terrible reality. The temple had supplied money for his rise, but the idol worshiped there could not protect the people from him.
Abimelech Fell at Thebez
Abimelech next besieged and captured Thebez. Its people shut themselves inside a strong tower and went up to the roof. He approached the door to burn it, as he had burned the stronghold at Shechem. This time, one of the people he intended to destroy struck him from above:
“But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.”
The upper millstone was used for grinding grain. Its blow fatally injured Abimelech, who quickly ordered his armor-bearer to draw his sword and kill him. He wanted to prevent people from saying a woman had killed him. After murdering his brothers and burning people alive, his final recorded concern was still how others would remember him.
The armor-bearer thrust Abimelech through, and he died. The men of Israel saw that he was dead and returned to their homes. The conflict with Shechem had brought the city’s ruin, as Jotham warned. Abimelech himself fell at Thebez while trying to repeat the burning. Judges identifies their destruction as God’s repayment for their wickedness:
“Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers.”
“And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.”
The closing verses take us back to the murders at Ophrah. Three years of rule and victories in battle had not put that bloodshed beyond God’s notice. Shechem’s men were responsible for helping Abimelech, and turning against him later did not erase their earlier complicity. God repaid the crime committed against Gideon’s household.
I need to remember that responsibility when I evaluate a leader. A title, a large following, and money to finance a campaign show that someone has influence; they do not establish his righteousness. If I excuse dishonesty or cruelty because he is a relative, belongs to my group, or promises to protect my interests, I am helping shield conduct I should oppose. Shechem had used family loyalty to justify supporting a murderer.
Abimelech also makes me examine why I want authority. Serving or leading is not itself sinful. God gives fathers responsibilities in their homes, calls qualified men to shepherd churches, and appoints civil government to restrain wrongdoing. But if I sacrifice truth, harm people, or suppress correction to keep control, I have departed from faithful service. The position I hold cannot excuse that conduct.
“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Shechem’s partnership with Abimelech served both sides for a time, but their shared sin could not make it trustworthy. The people who had favored him later cursed him, and he destroyed the city that had crowned him. The study of reaping and sowing examines the wider biblical teaching about the consequences of our conduct. In Judges 9, those consequences fell on both the murderer who sought power and the people who helped him obtain it.
The three years before this judgment do not mean God was indifferent to their wickedness. Judges explains why He brought this particular ruler down, without giving us a timetable for every wicked ruler’s fall. Some people suffer under oppression far longer. We should seek lawful protection and correction where we can, and refuse to treat continued success as proof of God’s approval. The study of human pride examines the self-exaltation that so often accompanies abused power.
Jotham’s warning also calls us to test a promise of protection against the conduct of the person making it. I need to apply that judgment to myself as well. Faithful service under Christ includes accepting correction, rather than making other people bear the cost of keeping me in control.
The True King Is Nothing Like Abimelech
Abimelech killed his brothers to acquire a throne. Jesus humbled Himself to serve and gave His own life to save sinners. As the eternal Son of God and the promised Son of David, He is the rightful King. He did not need to destroy rivals to secure His standing, and His obedience to the Father was perfect:
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
The eternal Son became fully man without ceasing to be fully God. He lived without sin and voluntarily gave Himself to be slain as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. His atonement rests on His perfection and His voluntary sacrifice. Wicked men inflicted His bodily suffering and killed Him, while He gave His life for the whole world. His shed blood and death completed His saving sacrifice before His burial and bodily resurrection. The Father did not punish, curse, abandon, strike, bruise, or pour wrath on Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit acted in unity to provide salvation.
Human influence, a respected family name, and religious performance cannot secure forgiveness. God’s offer of grace is genuine for every person, though people can resist it and reject Christ. Everyone who repents and believes in Him is forgiven and born again. By new birth, I mean God’s work of making someone a new creation, with His Spirit dwelling in him and permanently sealing him as His own. Merely calling oneself a Christian does not produce that life.
I should therefore read about Abimelech with a willingness to repent of my own pride. Envy, bitterness, and the desire to control others are sins even when they stop short of murdering brothers or burning cities. Christ calls His people to serve others faithfully, and new life should bear fruit in our conduct. That obedience neither earns salvation nor keeps us saved.
My Final Thoughts
Abimelech used his connection with Gideon’s household to gain support, but he did not share his father’s faith. He chose idolatrous funding and murder, and Shechem helped him because he was one of their own. God held both accountable. Their end should make me question any loyalty that requires me to excuse wrongdoing. Our confidence belongs in Jesus, the King who humbled Himself to save us and always exercises His authority in righteousness.