LESSONS FROM A MASSACRE! Judges 9. Abimelech kills 70 brothers, becomes king at Shechem. 1. The logic of ambition! 1 Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his uncles and to his mother's family and said to them, "Which is better, that all seventy of Jerubbaal's sons should rule over you, or that one should rule over you? And remember that I am your flesh and blood." 2. Intimacy gone wrong! Partiality! 3 And his uncles spoke these words to all the men of Shechem, and their hearts were inclined toward Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother." 3. Money and ambition. Buying worthless men with money! 4 So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith; and Abimelech hired prodigal and corrupt men with it. 4. Greed blinds conscience – Massacre of those who threaten his rights! 5 Then he went to his father's house in Ophrah, and killed his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men on a stone. Only Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself. Abimelech became king. He regarded human lives as grass, only to serve his own ambition. 5. A warning against crime and complicity! 7 When Jotham heard of it, he went up and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted, “Listen to me, men of Shechem, and may God listen to you!” … Jotham urged the men of Shechem to reconsider making Abimelech king. The act of killing 70 brothers was a serious crime. 6. Discord awaits those who cooperate in greed! 22 Abimelech ruled Israel for three years. 23 Then God sent an evil spirit to stir up discord between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech… 25 The men of Shechem sent men to lie in wait for him on the top of the hill, and they robbed everyone who passed by them. When Abimelech heard of it, God can use conflict between evil people to act. God changed the hearts of Esau and Jacob to become peaceful! 7. Massacre of those who no longer supported him. 47 And it was reported to Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together in the stronghold. 48 And Abimelech … took an axe in his hand, cut down a branch of a tree, lifted it up, and put it on his shoulder; and he said to the men who were with him, “Have you seen what I have done? Hurry and do as I have done.” 49 So each man cut down a branch of a tree, and followed Abimelech. They set the branches in order in the stronghold, set fire to them, and burned the stronghold and the people who were in it… all the men and women who were in the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand. 8. God does not tolerate wrongdoing – 50 Then Abimelech went to fight against Thebez, besieged it, and took it. 51 Now there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women of the city fled to it, and shut the doors and went up to the top of the tower. 52 And Abimelech came up to the tower, and fought against it, and came near to the door to set it on fire. 53 But a woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and it broke his skull. 54 Then he called to the young man who was his weapon-bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, lest people say, 'A woman has killed a man.'" So the young man struck him down, and he died. Now the weapon was a kitchen utensil! 9. All things pass away. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, each man went home. 10. Sowing and reaping. 56 Thus God punished Abimelech for the evil he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also punished the men of Shechem for all the evil they had done. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.