Judges 9:42 says, And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.  Verse forty-three adds, And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them.  Being told that the people of the city were going to come out, Abimelech got ready, and he defeated them.  Verse forty-four states, And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. A third of Abimelech's forces blocked the way back into the city and the other two-thirds killed those who had come out to defy him.  Sin is the same way in a persons life.  There is no safe place that we can go to and it will lead to everlasting spiritual death wherever we are unless we accept forgiveness through faith in Christ.  Verse forty-five says, And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.  Abimelech completely destroyed the city.  Though he was successful, I don't believe it was by the power of God that he was.  Abimelech may have been leading God's people, but from his actions with Gideon's other sons, there is no evidence that he was following God's guidance.  Someone today may call himself or herself a Christian, but their actions may say otherwise.  Verse forty-six declares,  And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.  When the men of the tower of Shechem heard what had happened, they went into the hold in the house of the god Berith.  They were looking for safety from a false god, just as many people do today.  Verse forty-seven states, And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.  Then verse forty-eight adds, And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done.  Verse forty-nine continues, And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.  Abimelech cut wood and piled it around the hold that the people were in and had his men do the same, then he set it on fire.  This killed around a thousand men, women and children that were inside.  This was a cruel action on the part of Abimelech, and again I don't believe that it was done by the leadership of God.  Verse fifty states, Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.  Verse fifty-one adds, But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.  Abimelech then went to Thebez and took it, but there was a strong tower there that the men and women fled to.  Verse fifty-two says, And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.  Abimelech fought against the people in the tower and went to the door to burn it.  Verse fifty-three declares, And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull.  A woman in the city attempted to kill Abimelech by dropping a piece of millstone on his head.  The people did not give up easily, and at least one of the women was still willing to fight.  Verse forty-four states, Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.  Abimelech asked his armor bearer to kill him so it would not be said that he was killed by a woman.  He was still vain even at the point of death.  People today are often more concerned with how they will be viewed by the world than they are about how they will be viewed by God.  Abimelech should have been concerned more about his relationship with God than how the world would view his death, and so should we today.  Verse fifty-five declares, And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.  When the men of Israel heard that Abimelech was dead, they went home.  Their leader was dead, so they lost heart in the fight.  Verse fifty-six adds, Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:  We are told that the death of Abimelech was caused by God as a judgment of his wickedness.  No matter how we die in this world, we need to ultimately be concerned with how God will judge us.  Verse fifty-seven concludes, And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.  God also held the men of Shechem accountable for their sins.  Just because one sinner dies in his sin does not make others exempt from being held accountable for theirs.

Judges 9:35 says, And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait.  Gaal was standing looking out of the city, and then Abimelech and his army rose up out of hiding.  Verse thirty-six states, And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.  Gaal told Zebul that he saw people coming down from the mountain, and Zebul basically told him that he was just seeing things.  Since Zebul was working with Abimelech, he was attempting to keep Gaal from continuing to notice Abimelech, while at the same time ridiculing Gaal.  We should not be surprised when the people of the world who are supposedly allies are secretly working against each other.  They might just be looking out for themselves.  We as followers of Christ cannot afford to be that way.  We must always try to be honest with others and do our best to help them.  Verse thirty-seven declares,-And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.  Gaal once again said he saw the people coming down in two companies.  It would be unlikely that he would mistake the shadows of the mountain for two groups of people.  Verse thirty-eight states, Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.  Zebul asked Gaal if he had not questioned the power of Abimelech and despised him, and told him to now go out and fight him.  Basically, Zebul told Gaal that it was time to put his words into action.  It is easy to be brave as long as we don't really face the enemy, but it is sometimes a different story when we actually do face them.  Verse thirty-nine declares, And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.  To his credit, Gaal led the men of Shechem out to fight with Abimelech.  He at least attempted to live up to his boasts.  Of course, just be willing to live up to a boast does not ensure success.  Verse forty states. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate.  Though Gaal went out to fight Abimelech. he was soon running from him, and the people with him suffered many who were overthrown and wounded, all the way to the gate of the city.  Verse forty-one continues, And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.  Abimelech defeated Gaal and his forces and returned to Arumuh, while Zebul drove Gaal out of the city.  The people of the city might have still opposed Abimelech, but they had lost faith in Gaal, maybe partly because of his big talk.  We should never be surprised when people of the world turn on each other, even those who had seemed to be allied together.

Judges 9:22 says. When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,  Verse twenty-three adds, Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:  After Abimelech had ruled for three years, we are told that God sent an evil spirit to come between Abimelech and the men of Shechem.  Again I have to believe that it was more God allowing an evil spirit to come between them than His actually sending one, since I don't believe that God leads people to evil.  Verse twenty-four states, That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.  There was now a time for accounting for the cruelty in the killing of Gideon's other sons.  Both Abimelech and the men of Shechem who had backed him were guilty of their deaths.  All who participate in evil actions will be held responsible for their actions by God, even if they never are by the people of the world.  Verse twenty-five says,  And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.  The men of Shechem had men lie in wait for Abimelech at the top of the mountain and they robbed people who came along.  Verse twenty-six states, And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.  Gaal and his brothers came to the men of Shechem, and they put their confidence in him.  When the people of the world have given up on one ruler, they will always be looking for someone else to help them.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.  Having made Gaal their leader, the men of Shechem partied and cursed Abimelech.  These were the same men who had supported Abimelech when he had seized power.  Their own jealousy and ambition had caused them to now despise Abimelech, just as those traits, those evil spirits, will cause the people who do not follow God today to have disputes, even if they have been allied at times.  Verse twenty-eight declares, And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?  Gaal questioned why they should serve Abimelech.  He asked who Abimelech was that they should serve him.  He was bold in his defiance of Abimelech.  Verse twenty-nine adds, And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.  Gaal challenged Abimelech, but he also attempted to give his challenge God's endorsement.  Gaal told Abimelech to increase his army and come meet him.  People often get caught up in their own sense of power and at times also attempt to give their actions God's endorsement without really seeking God's guidance.  Verse thirty states, And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.  Then verse thirty-one adds, And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.  Zebul, the ruler of the city heard Gaal's plans and sent word to Abimelech.  Gaal should not have assumed that everyone was going to agree with what he was doing.  Verse thirty-two continues, Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field:  Zebul advised Abimelech to come by night and lay in wait in the field near the city.  Verse thirty-three concludes, And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.  Zebul then told Abimelech to come against the city early in the morning and when Gaal and the men of the city came out after him, Abimelech could do to them whatever he chose to do.  Zebul not only sent word to Abimelech, but the told him how to defeat Gaal.  Gaal had put too much faith in his own ability to get everyone to side with him against Abimelech.  Verse thirty-four declares, And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.  Abimelech carried out the plan.  The people that had been with him might have turned against Abimelech, but he was still the ruler.  Getting rid of those who come to power through evil ways may not be as simple as those who have enabled them to come to power think.

Judges 9:7 says, And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.  When Jotham heard what had happened, he went to the top of  Mount Gerizim and cried out for the people to listen to him, so that God might hear them.  What they had done was not what God would have had them do.  We should always proclaim God's word and ask others to listen to us.  Verse eight states, The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.  Jotham spoke in an analogy about trees.  The other trees wanted the olive tree to reign over them, much as the people of Israel wanted a leader.  Verse nine adds, But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?  The olive tree said there was nothing to be gained by leaving its fatness to rule over them.  Verse ten says, And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.  The trees next asked the fig tree to be their ruler.  Verse eleven adds, But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?   Once more they were rejected.  The fig tree said it wasn't worth its time to give up what it already had.  Verse twelve adds, Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.  Then verse thirteen adds, And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?  The trees next asked the vine to rule over them.  They seemed to be looking for just any ruler.  We cannot look to just anyone to be our spiritual leader, but must look for the person that God has chosen for us.   The vine asked why it should leave its making of wine simply to rule over the trees.  This was not God calling these various plants to rule over the others, but if God calls us to a place of service, whether great or small, we cannot say that it would cost us too much or that it doesn't fit in our plans.  Verse fourteen states,
Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.  The trees now went to the bramble, which would have been nothing but a  pest to them and asked it to be their ruler.  The trees really didn't even need a ruler, but they were determined to have one no matter how unqualified that ruler might be.  We cannot be the same way.  Verse fifteen adds, And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.  The bramble told the trees to put their faith in it, or else it would destroy them.  The trees now had something willing to rule over them, but only if the put all their faith in it to avoid being destroyed.  Verse sixteen declares, Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;  Then verse seventeen adds, (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:  Then verse eighteen continues, And ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)   Jotham then applies this to the people of Israel.  He asked if they had dealt honestly with the sons of Jerubbaal, or Gideon, in making Abimelech king.  Gideon was the one that God used to deliver them, and yet they had killed all of his sons except Abimelech and Jotham, who had managed to escape.  Jotham asked if they thought this was the right thing to do.  Then verse nineteen proclaims, If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:  Jotham told the people that if that had done right by Jerubbaal and his descendants, then they should rejoice with Abimelech and he should rejoice with them and rule over them.  Then verse twenty adds, But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.  Jotham then added a but to the proclamation.  If they had not dealt honestly with Jerubbaal and his descendants, then let them be destroyed by fire.  If we are putting our faith in false gods today, or any person that stands between God and us, one day our works will be consumed by fire.   Verse twenty-one states,  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.  Jotham went to Beer to live, because he feared Abimelech, his brother.  He did not call on God to empower him to defeat Abimelech, nor did he call on God to immediately destroy Abimelech.  When confronted with an enemy, as followers of Christ, we must call on God to help us overcome our enemies and should never run away from them in fear.

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.

Judges 8:22 says, Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.  The men of Israel asked Gideon to be their ruler, and for his sons and grandsons to follow him in ruling them.  They said that he had delivered them form the Midianites, but really God had.  Verse twenty-three states, And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.  Gideon said neither he nor his sons would reign over them, but that the LORD would.  No matter who the earthly leader may be today, as followers of Christ we can never forget that God is in charge.  Verse twenty-four adds, And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)  Gideon then requested that the men give him the earrings that they had gotten from their enemies.  This would have been seen as some of the fruits of war.  We really shouldn't look to profit materially from defeating our spiritual enemies,  Verse twenty-five says,  And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.  The men said they would willingly give the earrings to Gideon, and they did.  Gideon did not demand that they do this, but they willingly granted his request.  When we are asked to give up the things of this world that may come between God and us, we need to do so willingly.  God will never demand that we do this, but He will ask it of us.  Verse twenty-six states, And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.  There was a lot of gold.  No matter how much we are asked to give up of the things of this world in order yo remain true to God, we must never feel that it is too much.  Verse twenty-seven declares, And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.  Gideon made an ephod of the gold and put it in his city, and the people of Israel began to worship it.  This became a snare to Gideon and his house.  If we allow anything to stand between God and us, it will become a snare to us.  Verse twenty-eight states, Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.  Israel once again had a period of peace during Gideon's lifetime, for forty years.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.  Then verse thirty adds, And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.  Gideon lived in his house, not in a palace as a ruler, and he had seventy sons, since he had many wives.  I don't believe that he would have been following God's will in this, but would have been living by his own desires.  Just because God uses us to accomplish great things in the world does not give us the right to then live by our own desires.  Verse thirty-one says, And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.  Gideon also had a son named Abimelech with his concubine at Shechem.  He not only had many wives, but he had at least one concubine, with whom he had a son.  Verse thirty-two states, And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.  After a long life, Gideon died and was buried.  No matter what we do for God, there will come a day when we die, unless Christ returns first.  Verse thirty-three declares, And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.  Once Gideon was dead, the people of Israel once again turned away from God and started worshipping Baal.  We cannot allow our faith to be based on any earthly leader, but it must be based on our relationship with Christ.  Verse thirty-four adds, And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:  The people of Israel, God's chosen people, once again forgot God and all that He had done for them.  We as followers of Christ cannot afford to be the same way, but must always remember what God has done for us and remain true to Him.  Verse thirty-five concludes, Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.  The people of Israel may have wanted Gideon and his descendants to be their rulers, but now that he was dead, they no longer felt any reason to honor his descendants.  If people forget God, we should not be surprised that they do not show any respect for those who serve Him and have been used by Him to do great things.

We will pause our study of the book of Judges this morning to think about Easter Sunday, the day that the world really changed.  This year, with all the change brought about by the coronavirus, we are not having a normal Easter, but neither did the world all those years ago.  Those who opposed Jesus thought He was dead and sealed securely in the tomb.  The disciples were hidden away in discouragement and felt defeated.  The women closest to Jesus were on the way to prepare His body for a regular burial.  But then, everything changed.  When the women got to the tomb, the stone was rolled away and instead of a dead Jesus, they found an angel.  Then, they got the good news that Jesus was not there, but He was risen.  He was alive, and the world has been a different place ever since.  Today, when the world seems to be a nearly hopeless mess because of the coronavirus, we as followers of Christ have good news, and that is that Jesus is alive.  Peter and John ran to the tomb when the women told them what had happened, but Jesus wasn't there.  We may feel the need to congregate at a church building today, but we do not have to be at a particular place to worship God, just as the disciples didn't have to be at the tomb to find Jesus.  Jesus is with us wherever we are as followers of Christ through the Holy Spirit, and the good news is that we can worship Him wherever we are.  So today, let's just declare, "He is risen," and because He is risen, He will be with us forevermore if we simply accept Him as our Savior and Lord by faith.  The coronavirus will pass, but Jesus lives forever and calls us to salvation through Him.