Judges 9:50-57
50 Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it.
51 Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women—all the people of the city—had fled. They had locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof.
52 Abimelech went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire,
53 a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.
54 Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his servant ran him through, and he died.
55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.
56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.
57 God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
Abimelech’s Death
Attack on Thebez
In Proverbs, there are teachings such as, “Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity” (13:21), and “Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the Lord always” (23:17). Today’s passage is a concrete illustration of these teachings. Abimelech attacks another rebellious town, Thebez. The people take refuge inside a strong tower. Buoyed by his victory at Shechem’s tower, Abimelech attempts the same tactic to destroy Thebez. He goes up to the tower to set its door on fire, but an unexpected turn of events occurred. (1) A woman took a millstone and threw it on Abimelech’s head. This millstone was about 30 cm (12 in) in diameter, 15 cm (6 in) thick, and weighed about 9 kg (20 lbs). (2) His skull was crushed and suffered a near-fatal wound. (3) Abimelech called to the young man, his armor bearer, to kill him, so that it wouldn’t be said he was killed by a woman. (4) When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went back to their homes.
Lesson for us
With this, all the curses and prophecies spoken by Jerubbaal’s son Jotham were fulfilled. This means that the sins of the people of Shechem and the sins of Abimelech were all judged. (1) Abimelech was used to judge the sins of the people of Shechem. (2) An unnamed woman was used to judge the sins of Abimelech. This event seems to have been remembered by the Israelites, as it was mentioned even by King David (2 Sam. 11:21). God uses pagan kings and nations as instruments of His judgment to bring about justice in history. And those who have been used as instruments of judgment will also face judgment themselves if they have sinned. The Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, and even the Roman Empire were used as instruments to judge the Israelites, but in the end, they themselves faced judgment. Let us learn to fear the Almighty God. He is mightier than any human empire or government.
Today's prayer
Almighty God, I believe that You are sovereign above all human rulers and therefore, I give thanks to You. I pray for Your justice to be carried out on earth through Your sovereignty. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.