Judges 9:1-57

When men thirst for power and position for themselves apart from the fear of the Lord, the results can be absolutely devastating.  Gideon did not seem to have a thirst for power but was careless in his life and family as well as his worship of God.  His sins paved the way for the devastation that followed in his family.  His illegitimate son, Abimelech, was hungry for power and ended up gaining a power and a following that brought nothing but pain and hardship to the people, Gideon’s family and even himself.  The path of man apart from God will bring pain.  We must recognize that we are under divine direction and power and that we must serve Him with every aspect of our lives.

ABIMELECH DECEIVES THE PEOPLE: Abimelech was hungry for power and was able to convince the people that making him the ruler over all of them would be far better than being under the rule of the other 70 sons of Gideon.  He presents himself as an understanding brother and the people fall for his act.  They decide that he will be more understanding and pay him to become their ruler.  Ambition is a very dangerous thing.  Anytime there is someone who becomes self-promoting it is dangerous to trust them because they will start out by promising whatever others want to hear but in the end they will bring about great conflict and pain in order to maintain their position of dominance.

ABIMELECH DESTROYS HIS BROTHERS: The first thing that he does is to go and kill all of his brothers.  He does not want any competition for his position and he has no fear of Lord for killing innocent men.  Only one of the brothers escapes and he comes forward to warn both Abimelech and the people that their treachery against his family will not go unpunished but will result in great pain and hardship for both of them.  He prophecies that they will eventually turn upon one another and end up destroying one another.

ABIMELECH DEMONSTRATES HIS RAGE: It does not take long for the relationship between Abimelech and the people to become strained.  Competition arises and the people begin to encourage war between the newcomer and Abimelech.  The end result is that the new leader was killed and all of his followers and then Abimelech takes out his wrath on the men of the city that had originally made him king and he and his men burn them alive in the tower where they were hiding.  God uses perverse leaders to punish rebellious people, not because the leaders are worthy of any praise, but because God uses sin to punish sin.

ABIMELECH DIES IN SHAME: Abimelech continues on the war path and goes to the next city to take out his rage and ends up attempting to kill all the people in the tower of that city as well when a woman drops a mill stone on his head and brings an end to his miserable life.  Sin simply creates havoc and great waste.  Gideon’s sin multiplied and brought such great hardship to his family and then was multiplied in the life of the people.  When we turn our backs upon God and the purpose that He has for our lives we will inevitably end up causing pain, hardship and wasting the potential of our own lives and the lives of others.