Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” Judges 8:22-23
Gideon, after the great victory over Midian, made this promise when the people asked him to be king. King was a position Israel did not have at the time, but Gideon humbly turned down the honor. He even went further and promised his son would not be their king either. He also said, “The Lord will rule over you.”
Well, that crazy idea kinda went quickly to the curb. Gideon went right out and made himself an idol of a golden ephod from the spoils of those vanquished Midians. (Judges 8:24-28) Then it seems he busied himself picking up wives right and left, until he many. 
If you recall, Gideon had this one son named Jether. This son was still a youth when the two final Midian princes, Zebah and Zalmunna were captured. Gideon wanted Jether to dispatch them but the lad couldn’t do it, so Gideon killed them himself. Jether was Gideon’s oldest son, and he didn’t become a king. Gideon went out and had 69 more sons (Judges 8:30). None of them would become king either, so it appears his pledge that neither he or his son would be the Israelite king was kept.
Except, Gideon wasn't satisfied nor satiated with many wives. He had to have concubines as well. One of his concubines, and I am guessing he had more than one because it calls this one his concubine in Shechem, and why made the distinction if there were only one. She was probably a Canaanite and not of high regard. According to the Jewish Historian, Josephus, her name was Drusa, which mens drunk or drunkiness.
Gideon would have at least one son by this woman and his name was Abimelech. The name means, “My father is king”.
Abimelech’s mother was not married to Gideon. She was his concubine, basically a woman on the side for sexual pleasures. The offspring of such a relationship was considered illegitimate and had no rights of inheritance or succession to the father’s title, land or estate.
Despite this son’s name meaning "My father is king", Gideon was not a king. He was a Judge of Israel, but he was functioning pretty much as a king after the defeat of Midian. It makes me believe Drusa probably named the boy, adding a status not true or allowed by society. It might have been a way of pointing out just whose child this was.
Gideon acting as the ruler, if not taking the actual title, would be subject to the same standards set for kings. He did not, of course, do so. Deuteronomy 17:17 says of a king that: “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”
Gideon did both these forbidden things, the same things that would bring trouble upon King Solomon in the future. Gideon gathered all those golden spoils to himself and created a golden ephod. He also went about multiplying wives, until he had many.
Although Gideon had swore to Israel that he would not be their king, nor would his son ever be their king, that didn’t count much with Abimelech.
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.
Remember Jerubbaal was another name given to Gideon.
And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.
And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.
The “they” here are the relatives of Drusa, his mother the concubine, and the leaders in Shechem whom they sweet talked into joining with them in support of Abimelech against the house of Gideon. These leaders gave Abimelech 70 pieces of silver out of the shrine to Baal-berith. Recall that Baal-berith was equated by Rabbinic tradition with Beezlebub, that is the Lord of the Flies, or Satan. What good could ever come from a gift from Baal-berith, then.
Of course, good did not come. Abimelech used this gift of money to hire shady and low men to be his followers.
And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
And these men followed him to the home of Gideon and assassinated Gideon’s 69 sons by his wives. Only the youngest of the boys escaped by hiding.
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. (Judges 9:1-6)
The men of Shechem are called the men of Hamor in some verses (Judges 9:28) So what? Who is Hamor. If we go back to Genesis 34 we learn that Jacob was around Shechem and that he and his wife Leah had a daughter named Dinah. Dinah went out to visit the women of the region and she was raped by the Prince of Shechem, who was the son of its ruler, Hamor. Hamor came to Jacob and tried to get Dinah as a wife for his son. He then met with her brothers, who weren’t happy about the rape. They said she could marry Humor’s son if all the men of Shechem got circumcised. Hamor agreed and all the men came and were circumcised. Three days after the snipping, when all these men were in some pain, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers set upon them and slew them all. They also killed Hamor and his son and sacked the city of Shechem. This was just another rather sordid tale the sons of Jacob got involved in.
Anyway, Shechem has a long Biblical history, too much to get into here, but the base of the pillar where Abimelech was made king is still there. Many archeologists believe this was the stone Joshua erected when he renewed the Covenant. (Joshua 24:27).
Recall, after the hired assassins went to Gideon’s home and killed 69 of his 70 sons, one escaped. This was Gideon’s youngest boy named Jotham, who had managed to hide. When Jothan learned that Abimelech was named as king, he went to the top of Mount Gerizim. You might recall that name from Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan women at the well.
The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship (John 4:19-20)
Mount Gerizim is the mountain the woman is referring to because the Samaritans considered it sacred. Anyway, Jotham goes to the top of this mount and calls out a somewhat strange tale.
When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’ (Judges 9:7-15)
A little weird to our ears, I suppose. First though, lets recognize that this was pretty courages of Jotham to come out of hiding, stand up high in plain sight and confront these people of Shechem.
Here is what is generally felt about these trees. The olive tree was a very valuable tree to Israel and it refuses to be king, just as Gideon, who was also valuable did. Gideon had promised his sons wouldn’t rule over Israel either, just as the fig trees, who seem to represent righteous people, like the true sons, also refused. No one wants to give up their true value to the people to rule over them. Even the grape vine, which isn’t a tree at all, wasn't willing to do that. Scholars feel the grape vine represented the Priests.
But the bramble, who is Abimelech, is ready and willing to assume the role. The bramble didn’t have much to qualify him for the role. His order to come and take shelter in his shade is ridiculous. The bramble wasn’t a tree and wasn’t really high enough for other trees to shelter under. Getting beneath brambles was risky, since the thorns could rip the flesh. The bramble was good for fires, because it burnt easily, and we will see that fire will play a role with Abimelech. Actually, Jothan’s last words to the people of Shechem was a curse involving fire:
If you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” (Judges 9:19-20)
After this, Jotham fled to the city of Beer to live out his days.
There was a Beer mentioned in Numbers 21:16-18, the 44th stop of the Israelites doing their wanderings in the wilderness. Moses dug a well there. Many believe this place where Jotham went was Beeroth, a ancient settlement about 7 miles northwest of Jerusalem. There are no ruins of the town left, so the exact location is disputed. People did inhabit Beeroth until the Babylonian captivity in 586 B.C. They returned to the area 70 years later after the captivity. (Ezra 2:25 and Nehemiah 7:29_
Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. At this point God had enough of the guy and he sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. (Judges 9:22-23)
It is doubtful that God would send an evil spirit for this purpose. If an evil spirit was involved, then most likely God gave Satan permission to use a demon here. The word translated “spirit” is the Hebrew “ru akh”. There are several meanings, and spirit is but one. It can also mean breath, wind or mind. God may have allowed a disagreeable frame of mind between these people and the Men of Shechem turned against Abimelech, kind of out of guilt for their involvement with the murders of Gideon’s sons. At any rate, peace was taken from Israel and chaos reigned about Shechem and Abimelech.
And the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech. (Judges 9:23-25)
The leaders in Shechem now turned on Abimelech and set up ambushes around about, robbing anyone who dared come that way. Somebody ratted them out to Abimelech, however.
And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”(Judges 9:26-28)
So a man named Gaal moved into Shechem with his own followers and family during a festival. We don’t know a lot about this guy, here in Judges is the only place he appears. We don’t know this Ebed either, but this may not be an individual. The term “son of Ebed” could indicate that Gaal was a slave and he is leading a revolt. against Zebul, who was overseeing the city as a top officer to Abimelech. More likely, I think, is Gaal is a former follower of Hamor in Shecken and has returned seeking revenge to the former leaders Abimelech forced out. Gaal questions Abimelech’s claims and rights to being leader. He is telling the people they should follow the men of Hamor, who he obviously considers himself, and not the usurper Abimelech. Gaal brags that he will take care of Abimelech, even challenging him to increase his army. Zebul is incensed by the Gaul of Gaal and sends a message to Abimelech to set up a sunrise ambush of Gaal.
And so the battle began.
So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies.
And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city,
and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush.
And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!”
And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.”
Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners' Oak.”
Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.”
And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate.
And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem. (Judges 9: 35-41)
Gaal proved to be more roar than tiger. When Abimelech attacked he had to be prodded to go out and fight and afterward he was driven out of Shechem by Zebul, whom he had previously ridiculed. The battlefield was left strewn with bodies all the way up to the gates of Shechem Abimelech appeared solidly in control as he went to a home in Arumah, a town about 6 miles southeast of Shechem, possibly where the ruins of El-Omeh were found.
But the next day the people of Sheckem came out into the battlefield. These passages are a bit unclear on these events, but perhaps they came to look for wounded or to remove the dead, Abimelech learned that the people and the leaders of Shechem had come out to the field and he returned in ambush. Abimelech was thorough and brutal as he attacked Shechem. He killed all the people in the field, then he took the city and killed all within it and sowed the grounds with salt. The leaders of Sheckem fled into a tower stronghold.
Abimelech ordered his followers to cut down the brush, possibly the brambles common to the area, and tie the cuttings into bundles. Picture the horror of what is happening if you were one of those trapped in the tower. Here comes this army stacking these bundles around the walls and then setting them ablaze to burn you out. All the people at the Tower of Sheckem died, around 1,000 men and women.
Abimelech now seems determine to conquer all the territory nearby. He goes west, halfway between Shechem and the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Thebez, intent on sacking it as well. There was a tower stronghold in Thebez as well and all the citizens fled to its roof for safety.
Abimelech decided if fire worked once, it would work again. During the fight against the Tower, he took a torch and moved near the door intent on setting it afire, but high about him, a woman came to the upper edge and threw a millstone down upon him.
Abimelech fell with a fractured skull. Where would we have been with these women crushing big shot men’s heads, Jael with a tent nail and this woman with a large stone.
Of course, it was a disgrace for a great, strong he-man to be killed by a woman back in those days. Abimelech called with his dying breaths to his armor-bearer to run him through with a sword and thus Abimilech was a lier to the end, pretending to have died in face to face combat…with a man.
Then everybody still alive just packed up and went home.
In this God brought all the evil of the men of Shechem back upon them for their part in the killing of Gideon’s sons. The curse of Jotham upon them was fulfilled. (Judges 9:42-57)
So, whose next?
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