The Downfall of Abimelech (Part 2 of 4)
><> ><> JUDGES 9:26-49 <>< <><
26 And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. 27 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. 28 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? 29 Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say[a] to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”
30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly,[b] saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up[c] the city against you. 32 Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. 33 Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.”
34 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies. 35 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. 36 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[d] the shadow of the mountains for men.” 37 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.” 38 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.” 39 And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. 41 And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.
42 On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told. 43 He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them. 44 Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them. 45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.
46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith. 47 Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” 49 So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
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As we shall see today, Chapter 9 in the Book of Judges is a long passage with many characters going in and out of the storyline. First, there was Jotham, which was okay because he was introduced as Gideon’s youngest son who escaped the bloody tyranny of Abimelech, his brother. However, we are now being introduced to people who, though they have a name and one with a descriptive title, yet, we do not have any background information on them nor what happened to them after they exited the story. For example, consider Gaal, the son of Ebed who moved with his relatives to Shechem. Had Gaal been an Israelite, he and his relatives would have had a family inheritance that was allotted to them by Joshua. The only reason an Israelite would leave their land would be due to some tragic disaster that caused them to sell their land and move. And that sale of land was only contingent for a while, as stated in the law of Moses. For example, Elimelech and Naomi left their home in Judah because of a famine (Ruth 1:1). Ten years later, Naomi returned with her daughter-in-law. As the story goes in the Book of Ruth, Noami, or rather Ruth, her daughter-in-law, had a kinsman redeemer to purchase the land and marry Ruth so she may have children. Another way to get their land back was in the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:13 and Leviticus 27:24). All land that was sold by an Israelite due to difficult times, was to be returned back to the owners. In our passage today, we do not know anything about Gaal, not even his ethnic heritage. He may or may not be an Israelite. We do not know. It is possible that Gaal and his relatives were Canaanites, I say this not because of the etymology of their given names, but mainly because of their meanings and how their names fit into the context of this story. Gaal means “contempt” or “loathing.” And the character of this man was contemptible and very loathing. He came into the city of Shechem and quickly gained their city official’s trust (verse 9:26). Not because he was noble, but according to the story, Gaal was just as contemptible and loathing as the people of Shechem who opened their arms, and welcomed him in. They were like two peas in a pod. Additionally, all we know about Gaal is that he is the son of Ebed, as if we are to know who Ebed is. But since Scripture does not reference Ebed at all, who is this man, Ebed? The meaning of this name is servant or slave. So, therefore, Gaal, a contemptible and worthless man is the son of a slave. And if they were Canaanites, to the Hebrews, this brings back the ancient curse of Noah upon all Canaanites in Genesis 9:25, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” Israelites, who are the intended audience for the Old Testament Scriptures, would easily see the meaning and connections. The reason we must study and examine context is to place us in their context at the time of writing. Gaal, most probably is a Canaanite, and God used him to bring a conspiracy among the people of Shechem against Abimelech. This led to the demise of many due to God’s divine justice. As Jotham pronounced in his curse, the people of Shechem will consume Abimelech and Abimelech will consume Shechem. After causing trouble, Gaal and his relatives leave. But we do not know where they went.
The next character is Zebul the ruler of the city (verse 9:30) and chief ally of Abimelech. He will aid in the events that lead to Abimelech’s demise. According to a Bible encyclopedia, Zebul זְבֻ֣ל meaning is “dominion, habitation, elevation, height, or lofty abode.” This is not to say that Zebul was noble in and of himself. However, as a chief ruler of the city, he is God’s instrument giving leadership, administration, and providing order to the society. We, as Christians, are instructed by the Apostle Paul to pray for all our leaders in government. First Timothy 2:1-2 says, “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” Zebul, though not noble, is a ruler in Shechem used by God to bring God’s divine justice upon the people of Shechem for their involvement in the murder of Gideon’s seventy sons.
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