The first king, unauthorised

Imagine reading in the headlines that the president of a country had all but 1 of his 70 political rivals assassinated so that he could rule. Uproar would reverberate across the globe. How can someone be so selfish and wicked?

Judges 9 documents this very cruelty. Saul may have been the first king of Israel anointed by God, but Abimelech was the first king of Israel, unauthorised by God and not even acknowledged as a judge. The path to his kingship was lined with the wicked execution of all of his 70 stepbrothers except the youngest, Jotham, who escaped.

We don’t know what drove his desperate, violent ambition. Was it his name, meaning “My father is king,” that elevated him to fanatical dreams of grandeur? An insecurity of being born of a mere female servant (Judg 9:18)?

Abimelech's wickedness

Abimelech’s heart, however, strayed far from this truth. Rather than direct people to the glorious Lord God, Abimelech wanted all glory to be given to himself, no matter the cost. Like his father, he must have been a charismatic man, too. He could quickly persuade his mother’s brothers to win over all the men of Shechem to follow him. They even gave him seventy shekels of silver from their idol’s temple to finance his brutal slaughter and enable his political coup (Judg 9:2-4).

In persuading political allyship, what Abimelech said wasn’t wrong. It was probably better than the men of Shechem was ruled by 1 of their own, rather than by 70 sons of Gideon. But this narrative begins with the wrong frame. Who ought to rule? In resisting the people’s seductive pull to rule over them, Abimelech’s father, Gideon, responded that God was their king (Judg 8:22-23).

Hold on to God's justice

What I take heart from is how the Lord sees and knows. A righteous believer living in Israel then might have been appalled, even distressed, by the lack of justice. Imagine the nights Jotham would have spent grieving over his brothers. Over kinship and shared moments lost in a senseless act of violence.

Someone in Jotham’s shoes would have yearned for swift justice. We see his exasperation when he curses Abimelech and his followers (Judg 9:19-20).

Perhaps we feel the same when we see powerful people remain seemingly untouchable, no matter how long their laundry list of corruption grows.

Cling on to God’s justice. He sees and knows.

When God’s time came, He repaid the wickedness of Abimelech and his followers (Judg 9:56-57). 3 years after Abimelech had reigned over Israel, God actively stirs up conflict between him and his followers. Chaos ensues. Finally, it ends with Abimelech’s cowardly death (Judg 9:53-54).

How far will we go to get what we want? Abimelech’s betrayal and deceit seemed to buy him success—until it didn’t, because God repaid his evil. Our God is a just and righteous God. He is the King over all, even if we do not anoint Him to be the King of our hearts.

Reflection questions

1. Are there events going on that make you feel disheartened about God’s justice? How does Judges 9 encourage you?

2. Have you faced the temptation to gather people’s support through unkind means (e.g. betrayal, lies, hurting others)?

   1. If yes, what happened?

   2. If not, how will you protect your heart from such temptations?

3. Abimelech justified his unauthorised kingship by saying that it was better for one of Gideon’s sons to rule than 70 of them. Are there any excuses you’re making for something you shouldn’t be doing?