Judges 9:1-21

Judges 9:1-21

Abimelech sounds like a horrible man. He longs to be king and so persuades the towns people to allow him to murder all his brothers. O for one person to stand up and speak the truth in this situation, will no one say this is evil or wrong or wicked? But there is no one, and murder is done.
Abimelech is guilty, so are the silent ones who stood by. How often are we guilty in our silence?

One son escapes, Jotham. He returns with a parable which puts the matter pointedly before the people of Shechem. We are not told their reponse, and Jotham doesn't seem to wait around to find out either. We must presume they rejected Jotham and his parable, choosing to stick with the bad choice they made in Abimelech.
It is bad enough to make a bad decision once. But to stick by it! When it is pointed out to you and you won't change it! What madness is this? Not madness, wickedness, a wickedness we can all easily fall into as we harden our hearts against the Lord and his word.

The next few chapters of Judges are all bad. There are some deliverances from enemies, but surrounded by so much that is not good it is hard to find anything to celebrate. Mind you, they are not as bad as chapters 17-21!