March 17 Daily Devotional

Judges 9

Among the sons of Gideon was Abimelech; a base and contemptible man. He had less virtue than the other sons of Gideon, but he was more ambitious than all his brothers. He persuaded a number of his mother’s friends to support him. With their assistance he killed all his brothers; only the youngest one escaped. His name was Jotham. A little later Abimelech was crowned king of Shechem.

When Jotham heard what had happened, he came and stood on the top of mount Gerizim. He lifted up his voice and said to the people that had gathered, “Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth at a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal (Gideon) and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands; (for my father fought for you … and delivered you out of the hand of Midian, and ye have risen against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons) … if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely … then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him rejoice in you: but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem … and let fire come out from the men of Shechem … and devour Abimelech.”

The people had chosen the basest and most wicked of the sons, a man among men as the bramble among the trees. They had to serve Abimelech with slavish fear, or he would burn them in his wrath. The words of Jotham became true. In three years the people of Shechem got tired of Abimelech, and rebelled against their bramble king. Abimelech came with an army, slew the people of the city, beat down the walls and sowed the place with salt. While the cruel king was about to set on fire the tower of Thebes which served as refuge for the people of the city, a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon his head, and he died.