Judg 9:23 | KingComments | STEP | There is a saying that reads: God’s mills grind slowly, but surely. Sometimes it seems that God does nothing with what He has said. Also in 2 Peter 3 we have such a situation ( ). Has not the Lord Jesus said that He will come soon? He has still not come. But what is a thousand years for the eternal God? Well, in the case of Abimelech, three years have passed. But what is three years for the eternal God? He really hasn’t forgotten what He said through Jotham. It may take a long time, but there will come a time when God’s Word is fulfilled. Sin is overtaken by Him. After Abimelech ruled Shechem for three years, God sends an evil spirit. This drives a wedge of unfaithfulness between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. God sometimes makes use of an evil spirit to achieve His desired goal ( ; ). The word translated with ‘ruled’ in appears in the book of Judges only here and is probably chosen to distinguish Abimelech’s bad, self-perpetuating government from that of the faithful judges. God’s judgment comes both on Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem. We see how God judges the matter. He makes the judgment come on Abimelech because he is the murderer of his brothers and on the citizens of Shechem because they are complicit in it. God considers the citizens of Shechem no less guilty. They have supported Abimelech. This shows how evil it is for God to support someone who is doing wrong things, even though the supporter himself is not actively involved. It seems that Abimelech no longer lives in Shechem. This is probably evident from the fact that he has a lieutenant or ruler, Zebul ( ), who looks after his affairs. He has achieved his goal and no longer needs the citizens of Shechem. His personal involvement, with which he won their favor in the beginning of this chapter, has disappeared. In turn, the men of Shechem become unfaithful to him. This deceitful act of Shechem is transmitted by an unfaithful man of Shechem to Abimelech. It is a chain of betrayal, lies and deception.

‏ Judges 9:23

God Is Going to Repay

There is a saying that reads: God’s mills grind slowly, but surely. Sometimes it seems that God does nothing with what He has said. Also in 2 Peter 3 we have such a situation (2Pet 3:3-10). Has not the Lord Jesus said that He will come soon? He has still not come. But what is a thousand years for the eternal God? Well, in the case of Abimelech, three years have passed. But what is three years for the eternal God? He really hasn’t forgotten what He said through Jotham.

It may take a long time, but there will come a time when God’s Word is fulfilled. Sin is overtaken by Him. After Abimelech ruled Shechem for three years, God sends an evil spirit. This drives a wedge of unfaithfulness between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. God sometimes makes use of an evil spirit to achieve His desired goal (1Sam 16:14; 1Kgs 22:19-23). The word translated with ‘ruled’ in Jdg 9:22 appears in the book of Judges only here and is probably chosen to distinguish Abimelech’s bad, self-perpetuating government from that of the faithful judges.

God’s judgment comes both on Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem. We see how God judges the matter. He makes the judgment come on Abimelech because he is the murderer of his brothers and on the citizens of Shechem because they are complicit in it. God considers the citizens of Shechem no less guilty. They have supported Abimelech. This shows how evil it is for God to support someone who is doing wrong things, even though the supporter himself is not actively involved.

It seems that Abimelech no longer lives in Shechem. This is probably evident from the fact that he has a lieutenant or ruler, Zebul (Jdg 9:28 ; 30), who looks after his affairs. He has achieved his goal and no longer needs the citizens of Shechem. His personal involvement, with which he won their favor in the beginning of this chapter, has disappeared. In turn, the men of Shechem become unfaithful to him. This deceitful act of Shechem is transmitted by an unfaithful man of Shechem to Abimelech. It is a chain of betrayal, lies and deception.