III. It was his daughter and I do not doubt that he, in his determined unbending spirit, fulfilled his vow. (Judges 11:1-40). i. So they all cut down the boughs, and he came to the tower and he laid these boughs around, and set fire to them ( Judges 9:40-49 ); And actually cremated the people who had sought refuge there in the tower. From the temple of Baal-Berith: Abimelech received his pay from the temple dedicated to Baal. Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem--The idolatry which had been stealthily creeping into Israel during the latter years of Gideon was now openly professed; Shechem was wholly inhabited by its adherents; at least, idolaters had the ascendency. They went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech: The men of Shechem were so confident that their new leader Gaal could protect them against Abimelech that they started throwing drunken parties and openly cursing Abimelech and challenging him to a fight (Increase your army and come out!). Samson stands alone; of Israel none with him, as with the others before him. "And so they came to the vine and said, "Rule over us. And so when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. Jephthah knew little if anything of this; so the result was, that the Ephraimites, in their pride, meddled with this rude warrior, who dealt with them, we may be very sure, not more mildly than with his own daughter. A watchman of His Word, Interesting, how can me know the words of God to the fullest. You come and reign over us! is that, whatever might be the victory over the lion and whatever the sweetness of the honey, the effort to connect himself with the woman of Timnath turns out no small trouble to the man of might, whose anger was kindled at the treachery which sold his riddle, and, when his wife was given to the companion he had used as his friend, issued in such vexation for the Philistines as is known to us all. "And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand.". We come to look at a parable, the parable of the trees. The promise of the bramble, take shelter in my shade, was intended as ironic and ridiculous. And so he called to Abimelech and said, Increase your army. "It shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me." Which cheers both God and men, Abimelech and the Shechemites, that had strengthened one another's hands in this villany, would certainly be a plague and ruin one to another. Then Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city; and the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and killed them. Then the trees said to the fig tree, As man then was so prominent before their minds, so also their revenge was merciless to the bitter end. Then I would remove Abimelech. So he said to Abimelech, Increase your army and come out!. They have no shame nor resentment on their part at this accusation of treachery. It is not the vanity of setting up oneself as possessed of exclusive powers or special means of attaining or explaining anything; for I should distrust anyone who pretended to anything of the sort, no matter who or where he might be. 2. And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably." These verses contain the interpretation of the fable. Judges 9:9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and god to be promoted over the trees? It is the Danites again; only the account of Samson is chronologically at the close, whereas the new tale, as we have remarked, was comparatively early. And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, Take note! Man is as weak and erring as God is mighty and good: these two things characterise the book from beginning to end. Yet long after his death, the credit continued to be given to the woman (cf. But the olive tree said unto them, Should The prophecy of Jotham was not to be immediately fulfilled. "Art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Contrariwise it was courted and continued down to the captivity. On the other hand, is there not real beauty in the obscurity in which Scripture treats a matter so painful? Yahweh is perfect, honest) stood on the same mountain where six of Israels tribes had declared the blessings of abiding by the Law of Yahweh and denounced the Shechemites for their foolish and wicked actions. 28-45. would to God this people were under my hand--He seems to have been a boastful, impudent, and cowardly person, totally unfit to be a leader in a revolutionary crisis. And go to sway over trees? Now of course, he's calling, in an essence this Abimelech a bramble and you guys have, you know, you're settling for a bramble to rule over you.And having finished his rebuke and his speech, rebuking them for the evil that they have recompensed to Gideon. We are sanctified both by the Father's word and by Christ glorified on high. The object of the king of Ammon was to put the children of Israel in the wrong. Should I cease my new wine, So it was pressed on Israel then. Therein are involved thus the very highest and deepest privileges that God could communicate to the souls of men on earth. He could tell his troops to do as I have done, and they did. Is it then a matter of wonder that men went wrong in early days under the Christian profession? (Compare Judges 14:15 with Judges 15:6.) Dear Pilgrims Christianity is singular and not plural all things plural become corrupt Jesus begins each letter/epistle in Revelation to a church (plural) but He ends each letter/epistle addressing individual/s (singular) (i.e. His heart was glad of a better living and of a larger sphere (verses 19, 20), as he goes off from the house of Micah with the lawless children of Dan to blot out Laish with fire and sword, and call their new city after their own name, where the graven image was set up, and a succession that failed not till the day of the captivity of the land; for error takes root faster, and bears fruit more luxuriantly as well as permanently than the truth. Unto the olive tree.This venerable and fruitful tree, with its silvery leaves and its grey cloud-like appearance at a distance, and its peculiar value and fruitfulness, would naturally first occur to the trees. Then, after many years of study people will be following you wanting what you have and you can share your secret with them. Again, it is not of course any attainment of mine that leads me to speak as I have done now. His chequered history follows. And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? But the time came when God would act upon that promise, and when those that disputed the title of God must pay the penalty. 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. b. Now it was perfectly lawful for the children of Israel to treat them as intruders and strangers, who had no rightful claim, no valid plea why they should be restored. b. And the evil that he did against Gideon's sons was sort of recompensed. Killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal: Therefore, Abimelech killed his brothers with the support of his relatives on his mothers side. . But the olive tree said to them, And so in one of those instances where positions, "Okay, now where's your mouth man? This would have the effect of reducing the number of travelers and caravans in such a troubled area, thus emptying the pockets of Abimelech as well as hitting as his pride, for he could not guarantee the safety of travel in his domain. (Cundall), Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. Only Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, who by a special providence escaped the common ruin of his family (Judges 9:5; Judges 9:5), dealt plainly with the Shechemites, and his speech, which is here recorded, shows him to have been a man of such great ingenuity and wisdom, and really such an accomplished gentleman, that we cannot but the more lament the fall of Gideon's sons. So low were things now in Israel, that even this man becomes an instrument of God's deliverance; and so evidently in all this was God stamping on the people His moral sentence of their state. You think of Jesus speaking to a crowd of ten thousand people and they're all able to hear Him and that's without amplifying systems. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. Perhaps I am mistaken, and he is not a prophet. There is no difficulty in principle either way. Where was the just horror at the idolatry of Micah? Most likely, when we talk about parables, our thoughts immediately go to the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the yeast, the pearl, the sower etc. all those stories that Jesus told that provide so much of how we understand our faith. (Judges 15:4-5). WebJudges Commentary - Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete) Bible Study Tools Join PLUS Login. a. i. Beth Millo: The word millo derives from a verb meaning to be filled, and originally referred to a rampart or earthwork; but its association with fortifications may have developed into a reference to fortresses generally. Do we know what a thing obedience is in God's eyes, even though it may be displayed in the simplest manner? Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Others may have shown as mighty works, as great displays of power; nay, even the blessed Lord Jesus Himself said, "Greater works than these shall ye do." By the Holy Spirit only can we enter in and enjoy. All the people of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women: With this, Abimelech massacred the last survivors of the city of Shechem, killing about a thousand men and women. . One test of the character of a man is to see how he treats those who disagree with him. The people took refuge in the stronghold, which was set on fire, and all in it perished. And this is the great point for us that we can and ought to count on. And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: In order that the cruelty that was done by Abimelech might be avenged ( Judges 9:21-24 ). And so he's lying there and he says to his armourbearer, "Quick, thrust me through. Yet was he a Nazarite from his mother's womb! Still this became their relationship, yet the children of Israel have the answer from Jehovah, "Go up against him." But verse 30 seems adverse to this view. The end was that he met with the judgment least of all to be coveted by man, most of all detestable to a proud spirit like his own. One could understand three thousand men of the Philistines; but to what a deplorable pass in Israel were things come, when three thousand men of the worthiest tribe were thus obedient to the Philistines, and joined against the strong deliverer to hand him over, bound a prisoner, to the tender mercies of those that hated him and despised them! The Parable of the Bramble :: Andrews University That, which they hoped would have been for their welfare, proved a snare if a man attempts: to put himself under it for shelter, he will find it will be of no use to him, but harmful, since, the nearer and closer he comes to it, the more he will be scratched and torn by it: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon; signifying, that if they did not heartily submit to his government, and put confidence in him, and prove faithful to him, they should smart for it, and feel his wrath and vengeance, even the greatest men among them, comparable to the cedars of Lebanon; for thorns and brambles catching fire, as they easily do, or fire being put to them, as weak as they are, and placed under the tallest and strongest cedars, will soon fetch them down to the ground; and the words of the bramble, or Abimelech, proved true to the Shechemites, he is made to speak in this parable. WebThe Book of Judges Chapter 9 Chapter Overview: Abimelech usurps the government at Shechem, ver. You can also change some of your preferences. The story of Abimelech connects directly with the story of Gideon. The king of Ammon might assail the Israelites, and renew the arbitrament of the sword, but he was unrighteous in demanding the land from Israel. Finally, the position was offered to the bramble, which not only produced nothing of value and was quite worthless as timber, but was a positive menace to the farmer who had to wage continual war against its encroachments. (Cundall), iii. But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; and we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.