Judges 9:30-41 – Be perceptive in being faithful

In Judges 9:26-29 Gaal was introduced. He incited an uprising against Abimelech. He openly and audaciously challenged him saying “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is Zebul not his lieutenant? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? Would, therefore, that these people were under my authority! Then I would remove Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out.”  All these were parts and parcel of God’s intention to get rid of Abimelech and the wickedness of the c1tizens of Shechem.

In the remaining portion of Judges 9, we will see the plan of God in dealing with Abimelech and the wickedness of the citizens of Shechem unfold. We can trust God not to allow evil deeds to continue unchecked, especially among His people. So, we see another character introduced in the widening intrigue of dealing with the situation. His name is Zebul and he was an Abimelech loyalist, who was probably appointed by him as a mayor to rule the city. This Zebul was infuriated by the treasonous words of Gaal.  So, he sent words to Abimelech and encouraged him to deal with the situation. The word “deceitfully” can be misleading. It appears as if he was not for Abimelech but he actually was. This word is better translated “secretly.” In other words, he secretly sent a message to Abimelech and exposed Gaal’s plot. Zebul’s proposal to Abimelech was that he should come with his army at night and station outside the city. He and his force could then ambush Gaal and the people at sunrise.  

Abimelech took up his plan and moved his army that night. He stationed his men in four companies all about Shechem. When they emerged from where they were stationed, Gaal spotted them from the entrance of the city gate. He turned to Zebul and said, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” Although Zebul knew the truth, he helped Abimelech to stall for some time. He told Gaal that what he saw were merely shadows of the mountain. Though it was a lie, he managed to convince Zebul. A while later, Gaal realized that he was under siege from several directions. Zebul then took the words that Gaal made the day before and threw them in his face. He goaded him to go into battle with Abimelech. Gaal unwittingly was outwitted. He went out and fought Abimelech and his men. In the skirmish, Gaal lost and fled. Most of his men were slain. Zebul then took advantage of the situation and drove out Gaal and his relatives from Shechem.   

Zebul’s faithfulness was to the wicked Abimelech, and he showed his loyalty. Though we know that his faithfulness was somewhat misplaced, it was an admirable quality. Cultivate faithfulness by all means but we must also learn to be perceptive in exercising it. Above all course, we must be faithful to God and to the advancement of His agenda.