Judges 10:10 says, And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.  Once again, the people of Israel called out to God.  They confessed their sin of having deserted God and serving Baalim.  This only happened when things got bad for them.  If we are a Christian and turn away from God's guidance, things will get bad for us, spiritually if not materially, and we must confess our sins and ask God to forgive us once more if we do.  Verse eleven states, And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?  God asked the people of Israel if He had delivered them many times before when they had been defeated by other nations.  The answer was yes.  God has  already delivered us from all our enemies if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, so if we fall back under the power of sin, this is a question that He will ask us today.  Verse twelve adds, The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.  God reminded the people of Israel of other times that they cried out to Him and He delivered them.  Verse thirteen declares, Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.  God told the people of Israel that since He had delivered them so many times and they had continually forsaken Him that he was not going to deliver them again.  This would be a very sad place to be.  As followers of Christ, we will never be in a place where God will not forgive our sins, but we might reach a point where He removes His protective hand from our lives if we continue to allow sin to come back into our lives.  Verse fourteen adds, Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.  God told them to call to the gods that they had worshipped in the good times and let them deliver them in the time of tribulation.  It is often easy to ignore God when things are going well in life and allow other things to become more important than Him, but these things will never be able to deliver us when tribulation comes.  Verse fifteen declares, And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.  The people told God once again that they had sinned, and told Him to do whatever He wanted to do to them, but to deliver them that day.  They were basically saying to God get us out of our current situation and You can do whatever You want to do to us after that.  Of course, God could have done whatever He wanted to do to them anyway.  They really had no bargaining power, and neither do we.  They had to rely on God's mercy and grace, as does everyone.  Verse sixteen adds, And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.  The people of Israel put away the strange god's and began to serve the only true God, and God was grieved by their suffering.  They didn't wait for God to change their situation before they started to serve Him again, and neither can we afford to.  When we know we have sinned before God, we must repent and return to Him, whether things change physically or materially for us or not.  Verse seventeen states, Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.  Then verse eighteen adds, And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.  The Ammonites and the people of Gilead were facing each other, and the people of Gilead said that whoever would lead them in a fight against the Ammonites would be their ruler.  The people were ready to fight after returning to God.

Judges 10:1 says, And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.  After Abimelech died, there was another ruler named Tola who arose to defend Israel.  We are told very little about him, except that he was of the tribe of Issachar, or the people of Israel during this time  Verse two adds, And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.  Tola ruled for twenty-three years, and he died.  Verse three states, And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.  The next judge, or ruler, of Israel was Jair, a Gileadite, who ruled for twenty- two years.  Again, we are told little of what was happening in Israel during his rule.  Verse four adds, And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.  We are told that Jair had thirty sons who traveled on donkey colts and they were the judges of thirty cities that they under their fathers rule.  Verse five concludes, And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.  Evidently, during these forty-five years that Tola and Jair ruled, Israel was at peace and these two rulers served with the best interest of Israel at heart and followed God's guidance.  Though it doesn't specifically say so, I believe we can assume this because nothing bad was said about the people at this time.  The times when God's people are following Him faithfully may not be noted in history for any particularly significant facts, but it will be a time of peace and security for them.  Verse six declares, And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.  After the death of Jair, we are told about the people of Israel.  They did evil again in the sight of God.  The pattern begins to repeat itself once again.   God's chosen people began to serve false gods once more.  We, as followers of Christ, God's people today, must never allow ourselves to put anything, any other god, between God and us.  Verse seven proclaims, And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.  God was angry with Israel, as He had a right to be.  He allowed them to be defeated by the Philistines.  Verse eight says, And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.  The people of Israel on the one side of the Jordan were under the rule of the Philistines for eighteen years.  Verse nine adds, Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.  The people of Israel on the other side of the Jordan were at battle with the Ammonites at the same time.  Though divided by the Jordan, all of God's people had turned away from Him and all suffered because of it.  No matter where we live in the world today, if we are God's people through our faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord, we cannot afford to turn away from Him.  We must always keep God first, or we will suffer spiritually, if not physically.

 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.