DEPRAVITY WITHOUT GOD PART 10: RIDDLE ME THIS

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. Judges 13:1-1.

We have often walked down this street before and no fair lady awaited. But somewhere in the town of Zorah a man of the Tribe of Dan waited. Zorah means “town of wasps’ or “hornets”. The man had  felt the stings of outrageous fortune in that his wife was barren. Ironically, his name was Manoah, which means "quiet", which had been the state of his unnamed wife’s womb as

well as his patience. Tradition holds that her name was Hazelelponi (pictured right), a daughter of one Etam, mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:3. I am not sure where this idea of her name came from, but it hardly matters. Her name means “deliver me, O God who regards me”.

What matters is one day the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman. We said earlier in our discussion of Gideon that this was not an ordinary Angel. When we see this term, Angel of the Lord, it is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. We have some further evidence of this in Verse 18 after Manoah asks the Angel of the Lord his name: And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”

And later in verses 19-23, after Manoah has prepared a burnt offering of a goat:

And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.”

We need to back up a bit. Before the burnt offering, the Angel of the Lord had come to the woman and told her she was going to birth a son. This happens to a number of barren women in the Bible who God gave babies to: Sara, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah and Elizabeth. I don’t doubt the miracles at all because this happened to my wife. She was not exactly barren. She could conceive and she did so seven times, but she could not carry a baby and we ended up with seven dead children, either through miscarriage or still birth. The doctors told her she could never have children and no doctor would take her case anymore when she became pregnant again. 

But seven is the number of completeness. Upon the death of our seventh child I came to salvation and then through the prayers of some faithful Christians and a Christian doctor who was willing to place faith in God, rather than the opinion of men, my wife delivered, granted nick and tuck, a daughter. We went on to have two more impossible children, but that is all I wish to say about that right now.

The Angel of the Lord told Manoah’s wife.

“Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Judges 13:3-5.

I’m not sure how well I would have handled such a directive. 

Note that Manoah and his wife immediately went to prayer and they asked the Angel of the Lord to return and instruct them. God answered their prayer and returned, but again found the woman alone. Here we see once more the patience of God, just as we had with Gideon when he waited for Gideon to prepare a meal, no simple task in those times. This time he waits while she goes and finds Manoah and brings him back with her.

However, the Angel didn’t wish to wait while Manoah cooked a meal. He had more important things to do. He did explain about being careful about wine and eating any unclean thing, but no meal, a burnt offering would suffice. (Judges 9-16).

Manoah and his wife did not see the Angel of the Lord again, but she did conceive and have a baby son, and they named him Samson. Samson means “sun child” or “bright sun”

Now let me explain what a Nazirite was.  Jesus was called the Nazarene, but this just identified him as coming from the town of Nazareth. Nazirite was something different. This was someone with a vow to be concentrated to the Lord. Usually it was a voluntary act, but here it is said Samson was a Nazirite from the womb.  We are told that Samson grew and was blessed by God; and then the spirit of the Lord began to stir in him. I think at this stirring, Samson voluntarily recognized his vow.

RIDDLE ME THIS

Samson is known for his great physical strength, but he appears

to have been a bit head-strong as well. He certainly gave his parents some grief when it came to his marriage.

Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines (pictured right). Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” Judges 14:1-2

Samson doesn’t sound as if he is asking; he sounds as if he is demanding. Was she that sensational looking. 

 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” Judges 14:1-3

Apparently to Samson’s eyes she was that sensational. Well, Samson’s eyes could become a problem for him.

Anyway, we have gotten use to the idea that the Jewish fathers arranged the marriages for their offspring, but here we have this boy making demands against his parents wishes, which is understandable that they would. The Philistines were the Israelites enemy. His father and mother couldn’t believe he couldn’t find a proper wife among their own people, especially since it was forbidden to intermarry with the nations in Canaan. The Israelites were supposed to destroy the peoples of Canaan, but they had failed at that, so certainly they were not supposed to intermarry, but that they did do 

In the Midrash (an interpretive book used by the Rabbis, the concensus of the Rabbis was that Samson sinned in even being in Timnah, this Philistine city. The Israelites lived up in the hills; Timnah was down in the valley. That is why the Chapter started by saying “Samson went down to Timnah”. The Rabbis claimed Samson going down to Timnah was the beginning of a “descent entailing moral degeneration”. They specifically noted that on the trip to Timnah Samson and his parents passed through the Philistine vineyard which consisted of plants of different species being planted together, which was against the Law of Moses.

“You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. Deuteronomy 22:9

Now the condemnation of the Rabbis may have been unjust and the same for his parents because in Judges 14, verse 4 it says, “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.”

Still the Rabbis justified their condemnation that Samson sinned because they said despite it being from the Lord, Samson did it of his own inclination. Certainly Samson was drawn to the beauty of this woman. He certainly seems to have had wandering eyes for pretty women, all of the wrong faith.

He marries the woman of Timnah. Her name is never given. She is a Gentile and it appears this religious difference caused some  strife between them. If Samson did marry this woman as a means toward getting the Philistines that would be understandable and plausible, and basically it worked. 

(We can also take the rule against mixing seeds in the vineyard as applying to mixing two different faiths in marriage.)

Then Samson went down with his father and mother to  Timnah,

and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson's eyes.

After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion. Judges 14:5-9

Good grief, there is mom and pop and Samson just walking down to Timnah to see this woman. His folks went ahead of him into the vineyards and just after a lion comes toward Samson. It seems to be threatening since it is roaring, but not much else is said about it. Was it hungry? Was it Satan wandering about seeing who he could devour? Whatever the Lion was about to do, the Holy Spirit came upon Samson and he tore the lion to pieces with his bare hands. He went on his way and never told his folks about the lion. He went down into Timnah and talked with this woman who was so right to his eyes.  Then he returned home.

(Frankly, Samson should have avoided the vineyard as a Nazirite. Not only couldn't he drink wine, he was forbidden to eat grapes or grape juice under his vow. He should have avoided any vineyard.)

After some days passed, Samson made another trip to Timnah in order to take this woman. We will presume that meant he planned to take her as his wife. Being the curious sort, he turned aside on his trip to view the lion he had dispatched several days ago, He discovered it’s carcass now had a swarm of bees in residence, and there was honey. Yum, he said. He scooped out some of the honey and ate as he walked. Upon arrival he gave some to his parents to enjoy, but he didn’t tell them where it came from. I don’t know, digging it out of some road kill doesn’t sound real appetizing.

His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” 

And he said to them,

“Out of the eater came something to eat.

Out of the strong came something sweet.” Judges 14:10-14

Judges gives us a sort of Reader’s Digest version of Samson, fairly condensed. It makes it a bit difficult to follow as far as time is concerned. So we have Samson returning to Timnah after the lion has been dead for a few days and he finds honey in the carcass. He gives some to his folks, then his father goes down to visit the Philistine woman. Samson shows up about the same time and he prepares a feast. I understand there was plenty of bread and honey. It says this was a tradition of young men, possibly this was some sort of betrothal party. Might it even have been the wedding feast, since it lasted seven days and only a few days into that week and by the end the woman is referred to as Samson’s wife. Anyway, the townspeople rounded up 30 companions for him, all apparently Philistines.

Samson is a bit of a braggart and a wise guy, so he makes a bet with these other men. It is a fairly expensive one, too. He bets them 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes that he can tell them a riddle they can’t solve by the end of the feast. Judges 14:10-18.

“Out of the eater came something to eat.

Out of the strong came something sweet.” Judges 14:14

After three days they were still mystified and getting desperate because this was an expensive loss they faced. On the fourth day they stormed into Samson’s wife home and threatened her and her father with burning down their house. They weren’t very nice guys. 

During the entire feast, Samson’s wife began to weep and wheedle, weapons women are very practiced in using. She even pulled out the “You don’t love me” card. She said he had told everyone but her, so he must not trust her. He pointed out that he hadn’t told his mom and dad either, which did little. She just kept on crying and because Samson was no stronger than any man when facing a woman’s tears, after seven days he gave in and told her the answer.

Right away, before the sun went down, she ran to the men and told them. Judges 14:15-17

Things are about to turn ugly.

And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

“What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?”

And he said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,

you would not have found out my riddle.” Judges 14:18

There is enough insults for everyone in what Samson says. For one he calls his new bride a heifer. In other words, he is comparing her to a young, foolish and stubborn cow. The use of the word heifer here might also indicate that Samson had never consecrated the marriage. He is also telling these guys they were too dumb to have figured it out on their own. He is probably right there. At any rate, this is certainly souring his marriage even before it turns tragic.

 It is a strange revenge Samson takes. It says the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, but it still seems a bit unfair. Now he didn’t take revenge directly agains Timnah, but went down to the Philistine coastal city of Ashkelon. This was one of the five cities of Philistines and was the largest and oldest of its seaports sitting along the coast of the Mediterranean, something like 24 miles away.

We must begin to read between the lines. Remember what the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, Samson’s mother, when he first appeared to her.

“Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”Judges 13:3-5

Why was Samson born? He was born to this barren woman as a Savior of Israel, one of the Judges. And who was Samson to start, not finish, but start to save Israel from?  The Philistines. After this betrayal by his wife he is consumed by the Spirt of  God. By the way, I have seen Samson being compared to Hercules. I say he is more compatible to The Hulk. You wouldn’t like him when he gets angry.

This is the beginning of Samson’s calling to his mission. There are some speculations we must make here. 

The fine silk clothes that Samson is after are not everyday wear. They are clothes worn for special occasions, such as weddings, but also for feasts honoring the Philistine God Dagon.

Ashkelon would have been a center for worshiping Dagon, the 

Fish God (pictured right). It is quite possible that Samson was aware of a feast to Dagon occurring in Ashkelon at the time and here is where he would find clothes of the type he needed. It would certainly been a place to begin an assault on the Philistines.

Samson went to Ashkelon and he killed thirty of the towns men and gave their garments to the thirty young men in Timnah to pay off his bet. He was still seething when he returned to his father-in-law’s house to get his wife. He arrived and discovered his wife had been given to the man who had been his Best Man. Judges 14:19-20

Things are about to get hot.

DEPRAVITY WITHOUT GOD PART 8: LOST GENERATION

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?