Wednesday 18th June Judges 9.22-41

Qn. 7

And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem,..(23): The concept of an evil spirit that comes sent from the LORD is not new in the Old Testament. It’s of very old beginning with the book of Job (1.12). In contrast with the story of Job, Saul got filled by an evil spirit from the LORD after losing the Spirit of God (1 Sam. 16.14; 18.10). The leadership Abimelech got after killing his brothers did not last long, in 3 years the power was taken away from him (22). However good things might look like, if God is not involved; they don’t last long. 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,….(28): Could be that Gaal the son of Ebed was a Canaanite because he was calling people to serve Hamor, the father of Shechem. Hamor was the one who sold his land to Jacob (Gen. 33.18-19). Some commentators say that Gaal managed to inactivate commercial roads, and there was scarcity of taxes, thus making life so expensive, and the people of Shechem ended up rebelling against Abimelech. Consider: After the Lord Jesus has accepted us, he puts favor on us and inspires people to love us.