What
happened to Abimelech and the people of Shechem was God’s way of dealing with
them for their unfaithfulness. God is always dealing with his people to purge away
the evil within the community of believers. In His sovereign plan, He had
allowed Abimelech and the people to come against each other as part of His
purging process. From their experiences, we learn about the consequences of
unfaithfulness, and so hopefully be challenged to stay faithful and loyal to
God, and His way to conduct life.
In
the previous verses we saw how God dealt with Gaal and had him removed.
Fortunate for Abimelech, he had Zebul who was loyal to him. Zebul had assisted
him to deal with Gaal. Judges 9:42-45 describe how Abimelech dealt with the
unfaithful citizens of Shechem who went to work in their field. They thought
that everything had returned to normal now that Gaal had fled and those who had
joined him slain or scattered. Besides, Abimelech seemed to have left them where
they were. So, they came out of their protective wall and worked in the field.
When Abimelech was alerted that the people had resumed their normal activities,
he divided his troop into three companies and positioned each strategically in
the different parts of the city. One company of his troops attacked and
captured the city gate. The other two companies attacked the people working in
the field. Part by part Abimelech conquered the city of Shechem. The people of
the city were slain and the city razed. We are told that he even sprinkled salt
upon the ruin of the razed city. Judges 9:46-49 reveal that during
Abimelech’s attack, some leaders of Shechem were at the tower fortress of the
city. They quickly sought refuge in the inner chamber of the temple of
El-berith. Abimelech and his people then went up to Mount Zalmon and
cut some branches from the trees, carried on their shoulders and with the wood
set fire to the inner chamber. He was able to kill all who were hiding inside
and thousands were said to be
slain.
Then as providence would have it, Abimelech marched
to nearby Thebez. This was about six miles north of Shechem where the people of
the city were also in rebellion against him. Abimelech could have quite easily
captured the city. But by a divine act, he was destroyed by a lady who threw an
upper millstone from the tower as he was attempting to burn its entrance. The
stone struck his head and left him seriously injured. Aware that he would not
be able to make it alive, he told his armorbearer to kill him. His reason was
so that it would not be seen as if a woman had killed him. The armour-bearer
obliged and so he was killed. That ended his ambition. All who followed him
then departed to their homes. Jotham’s prediction of what would happen to
Abimelech came to pass. In what had transpired, God dealt with Abimelech for
his wickedness of ruthlessly killing his brothers. God also dealt with the
people of Shechem for their waywardness, their idolatrous worship of Baal and
for joining in the rebellion of Abimelech. The experience of Abimelech and the
citizens of Shechem show us how important it is to stay faithful to God and act
rightly in life. One wrong move and our life will be plunged into a chaotic
end. We must, therefore, learn to keep in step with God to ensure the best
outcome in life.
No comments:
Post a Comment