I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 9-10.

    After Gideon’s victory over the Midianites the Israelites attempted to make him king, with one of his sons as his designated heir. Gideon refused the honor, but lived out his life ruling Israel in a manner not very different from a king. He had many wives and many sons. One of his sons by a concubine was related to people of influence in the city of Shechem. After Gideon’s death, this son, Abimelech, used his connections to get the people of Shechem to back him as ruler in place of his father. He used their financial backing to hire a group of mercenaries whom he had kill Gideon’s 70 other sons. At which point, the people of Shechem made Abimelech their king. However, one of Gideon’s sons had escaped Abimelech’s purge. When he learned that the people of Shechem had made Abimelech king he warned them that something which started this badly could only end badly. And that is indeed what happened. Abimelech used the support of Shechem to extend his rule over all of Israel (or, at least a large portion of it). But the way he started his rule (by killing his own brothers) soon proved to be the way he ruled and the people of Shechem rebelled against him. The rebellion ended with the destruction of Shechem and the death of Abimelech. This story warns us that we should be careful about who we choose to follow. If they treat others badly to gain power, they will treat us badly once they have power.