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Judges 9:50–57
“Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own ” (Judg. 9:56–57a).
The destruction of Shechem and the massacre of a thousand people in the tower is still not enough to soothe Abimelech’s anger over Shechem’s rebellion. He goes now to the small city of Thebez, located near Shechem and probably allied with it. He quickly takes the city, but it, like Shechem, has a tower, and all of the people of Thebez are able to crowd into it. Very well, Abimelech thinks—the tower of Thebez will burn just as well as the tower of Shechem. So he draws near to the tower with thoughts of employing the same strategy he used against the Shechemite citadel.
But it is not to be, for as Abimelech approaches the foot of the tower one of the women of Thebez drops a millstone that strikes Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull. The stone was surely guided by the hand of God. If the woman even knew that it was Abimelech standing below, we have to wonder whether she could have aimed an unwieldy millstone with any accuracy. More likely, she and other inhabitants of the city were merely tossing down whatever they could find at hand to hinder and injure their attackers. But her blow proves decisive, for it leads to the death of Abimelech, and his death takes all the fight out of the Israelites who are under his command, so that they abandon the siege and depart for their homes.
Abimelech’s actions in death reveal much about his character. Somehow he is aware of who dropped the millstone—and he cannot stand to have it said that he was killed by a woman. Therefore, he commands his armorbearer to kill him by the sword, preferring to die at his own command. Matthew Henry writes, “Here was no care taken about his precious soul, no concern what would become of that, no prayer to God for His mercy, but very solicitous he is to patch up his shattered credit, when there is no patching his shattered skull.… The man was dying, but his pride was alive and strong.”
The author of Judges closes this horrendous chapter by glorifying God’s justice. All that has occurred, he asserts, has come about by the will of God in order to repay Abimelech and the men of Shechem for their wickedness, fulfilling the curse of Gideon’s son Jotham. Truly fire came from both Abimelech and the Shechemites, so that both were consumed.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Abimelech’s effort to write the history of his own death failed (see 2 Sam. 11:21). It was God’s desire that he be destroyed in this way and that his ignominious end be known. Are you, like Abimelech, overly concerned with what others think of you? Make it your goal to live humbly and honestly. Live for God and leave your “legacy” to Him.
for further study
- Deuteronomy 32:35
- Isaiah 59:18
- Romans 12:17–19