Judges 9:1 says, 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,  Abimelech, the son of Gideon's concubine, went to Shechem, and talked with his uncles.  Verse two states, 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.  Abimelech had a proposition for them to propose to the men of Shechem.  He asked his uncles to ask the men if it were better for them to serve the seventy sons of Gideon, or to serve one man, Abimelech, who was related to them by blood.  The question is somewhat the opposite today, and that is whether it is better for a person to serve one God, or to serve all the things, or many gods, of this world.  The powers of the world will always make themselves seem the better option, just as Abimelech did.  Verse three says, 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.  After Abimelech's uncles asked the men who they had rather serve, they decided on Abimelech, since he was a blood relative.  Sometimes, we might be inclined to follow our blood relatives, but if they are not following the leadership of God, then we need to follow those who are truly God's people instead.  Through our faith in Christ, we become a part of a new, spiritual family, and we must never turn our backs on them.  Verse four declares, 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 men of Shechem gave Abimelech seventy pieces of silver, which was the same as the number of the rest of Gideon's sons.  Abimelech then hired some disrespectful men to follow him.  The people of the world are always going to be ready to spend money to defeat God's people, and it will have to be accomplished by disrespectful people.  Verse five declares, 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.  Abimelech and those with him went to Gideon's house and killed all of his sons, except the youngest, Jotham, who managed to hide himself.  It is not unusual in parts of the world today for leaders to kill all their relatives that they think might be a threat to their power.  Gideon had been a mighty man of God, and he left behind many sons, but somewhere along the line we quit hearing about Him asking God for guidance, and now all that was left was two sons, one of which had killed all the others except one.  All we can leave behind in this world that is of everlasting value is our spiritual legacy.  Verse six says, 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.  The men of Shechem gathered together and made Abimelech king.  There is no reference to anyone asking God if this was His plan, which should be our first step in anything that we as Christians do today.