In Samson's case, tested in a seemingly little sign but a sign of entire subjection to God, and this in separation from all others, it was obedience; not so in our case, where we have the highest treasure in earthen vessels, but obedience in everything, and this formed and guided by the Spirit according to the written word, now set in the fullest light, because seen in the person, and ways, and work, and glory of Christ. Never was there failure of divine power with Samson against the foe; but moreover the pitifulness of Jehovah is marked towards His poor servant (for did He disdain when the thirsty man called on Himself, as he cried to God in his distress?). This is exceedingly instructive. i. The title of the children of Israel therefore to that land was indefeasible. If this be submitted to (and you might more consistently reject the Bible altogether, if you do not submit), one sees the hollowness and falsehood of sitting in judgment upon it: for who can question that to doubt that which comes directly from God Himself would be to take the place, not merely of an unbeliever, but of a blasphemer or an atheist? Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, . Isaiah 32:2. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. Hear what a solemn appeal Jephthah makes to the elders before he acts. WebJudges 9:8. . They had won the land by the provoked fight which the Amorite had drawn them into. The acoustics are quite interesting in many areas of the land. WebLet us read the parable. Let us not think it strange if we see folly set in great dignity (Ecclesiastes 10:6), and the vilest men exalted (Psalms 12:8), and men blind to their own interest in the choice of their guides. Such hand-stones averaged ten to fourteen inches long and weighed five pounds or more. (Wood). Yet was he a Nazarite from his mother's womb! According to our folly He may answer us, as well as withhold an answer. Eastern people are exceedingly fond of parables and use them for conveying reproofs, which they could not give in any other way. And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron." Changes will take effect once you reload the page. Here's old Abimelech down there, you know, trying to set the door on fire and she "knock" drops the millstone and cracks his skull. He gives a parable how that the trees of the forest came to the olive tree and they said, "Rule over us. The sound travels. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. The people took refuge in the stronghold, which was set on fire, and all in it perished. There is something about the elastic atmosphere of an Eastern clime which causes it to transmit sound with wonderful celerity and distinctness [HACKETT]. (Judges 9:7-15) It is not sure whether Millo is the name of a place by Shechem or of a family. Let fire come out - The propriety of the image is strictly preserved, for even the thorns of the worthless bramble might kindle a flame which would burn the stately cedars to the ground. a. Yet is the victory won by God's Spirit, without anything in the hand; but it is by direct antagonism to the enemy, not by guilty connection with his instruments. i. If man had the writing of the story, would he have dared to speak out thus plainly? Abimelech probably grew up in Shechem (Judges 8:31). Had not He a right to do so? If the Amorite got them from Ammon in the first instance, as was no doubt the fact, this was an affair not between Israel and Ammon, but between Ammon and Sihon. Undoubtedly there are many things in scripture of which we are ignorant; but then we are not entitled to interpret the word of God by ourselves. 15 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. God does not permit Israel, because this one or that is an enemy, to take the place of enemies to them. So he took his people, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field. Should I cease my new wine, From the temple of Baal-Berith: Abimelech received his pay from the temple dedicated to Baal. The people, apparently confident that the matter was concluded, went out into the fields as usual to engage in their daily occupations. (Cundall). ". But commentators observe it for a just hand of God upon Abimelech, that upon one stone he had slain his seventy brethren, and now a stone slayeth him: his head had stolen the crown of Israel, and now his head is smitten. (Trapp). Planted in orchards they look not unlike apple trees, but the leaves are slender like willow leaves and silvery as they are turned up by the wind. Even his father and mother knew nothing about their son's movements. But He knows how to wake them up from such disgraceful insensibility. And he said to the men of Shechem, [Now look fellas] who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve them? c. Let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon: The bramble warned that he would be an oppressive ruler and destroy anyone who disagreed with him. especially to posterity, when the benefactor if forgotten, as Joseph was among the Egyptians. a. . And the bramble said to the trees, WebHebrews 8:7-9 Commentary Hebrews 8:10-11 Commentary Hebrews 8:12-13 Commentary Hebrews 9:1-2 Commentary Hebrews 9:3-5 Commentary Hebrews 9:6-7 Commentary Hebrews 9:8-10 Commentary Hebrews 9:11-12 Commentary Hebrews 9:13-14 Commentary Hebrews 9:15-17 Commentary Hebrews 9:18-20 Commentary We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Invariably, when you listen to the written word of God, range yourself on His side. Parable of the Trees - Judges 9:8-15. The day may come when nobody appears to lend you a helping hand. Let fire come out of the bramble A strong catachresis. So it was pressed on Israel then. The spiritual man understands how it was. 21. In the next chapter (Judges 13:1-25) we begin a new kind of instrument God raised up for His purpose; and in this case the state of the people was such that God severs him to Himself as a Nazarite. Here sound decibels are rising year by year and all of the sounds that we're subjected to the sound pollution. Now I am far from denying that it is right for us to feel the pain and shame of Samson's ways. One man who is your brother who comes right of Shechem, who understands your needs and all or all of the sons of Jerubbaal? (1.) And so the men of Shechem began to set an ambush for him and the top of the mountains, or for the people, and they robbed all of those that were going along that way and it was told to Abimelech.And then this guy Gaal, sort of a big mouth kind of a guy, said to the men, he came with his brothers and he went over to Shechem. Now the moral importance of this was immense, for if they were simply doing the will and word of God, who could stand in their way? The result in the type alas! The condensed moral of the whole fable is this: Weak, worthless, and wicked men, will ever be foremost to thrust themselves into power; and, in the end, to bring ruin upon themselves, and on the unhappy people over whom they preside. (Clarke). But Jotham hid himself. "Thus saith Jephthah," was his answer, "Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon." Then Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. Killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal: Therefore, Abimelech killed his brothers with the support of his relatives on his mothers side. [Note: For parallels to this fable in ancient Near Eastern literature, see W. C. van Wyk, "The Fable of Jotham in its Ancient Near Eastern Setting," in Studies in Wisdom Literature, pp. All rights reserved. With which they honor God and men, 4. the house of Baal-berith--either the temple, or the place where this idol was worshipped; Baal-berith, "god of the covenant," by invocation of whom the league of cities was formed. is this the tribe for the praise of Jehovah? To Samson, as we see, it was far different. Keep in mind that there was rule of law at this time. Then the trees said to the fig tree, What's best? "And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he looked, and there were the people, coming out of the city; and he rose against them and attacked them. The bramble is a worthless plant, not to be numbered among the trees, useless and fruitless, nay, hurtful and vexatious, scratching and tearing, and doing mischief; it began with the curse, and its end is to be burned. Nor are you thus called to believe anything like an extravagance, though it surely would be so if the Bible were a human book, and so to be treated like any other, which after all even infidels do not: witness their occupation with it and zeal against it. And go to sway over trees? WebJudges 9:8-15 New International Version 8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. b. By contrast Abimelech is like a bramble: he can give neither shelter nor protection. The allusion is far more probably to the use of thorns for fuel: Exodus 22:6, If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn . Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. 2 Samuel 17:18-21). What avails the show of Jehovah's name, or form of consecrating a Levite to be priest? And the oxen, as he would go around, would pull the stick and it would cause this millstone to go around the groove. or that one reign over you--a false insinuation, artfully contrived to stir up jealousy and alarm. Proud even in death, he then had to answer to God for his wicked actions. Degraded to the utmost, Samson becomes their sport as well as their slave. Nevertheless we learn even from the lowest He deigned to work by that, while doubtless there was a most humiliating condition in Israel, God's rights were maintained for His people. There was then "a man of mount Ephraim whose name was Micah," who, not satisfied with carrying out the impiety of his mother in making a graven and a molten image of silver dedicated to Jehovah, for this purpose gets a Levite to be consecrated as his priest. ., p. And this is the great point for us that we can and ought to count on. This was for two reasons: God had not established a hereditary monarchy in Israel, and there were sixty-nine other sons of Gideon (Judges 8:30) who might also want to succeed their father. Web8 From there he went up to Peniel[ a] and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem--The idolatry which had been stealthily His history is of interest primarily because of the light it throws on this period of Israels national life and the continuing decline in Israel. Pride, look what it would do, even when you're dying, you know. Now of course, he's calling, in an essence this Abimelech a bramble and you guys have, you know, you're settling for a bramble to rule over you.And having finished his rebuke and his speech, rebuking them for the evil that they have recompensed to Gideon. Abimelech was more like a tyrant than a king. (Wolf), ii. I don't want them, I don't want them to say a woman killed me." Samson felt it easier to die for His name than to live thus in Philistia. 1 - 6. It is the sequel to and indeed the climax of the Gideon story, and it portrays the disastrous results of Gideons legacy. But it need surprise none that the proper history of this judge terminates according to the mind of God here; for what has the Lord to tell in the next chapter? Come and put your trust in any shadow The vain boast of the would-be sovereign; and of the man who is seeking to be put into power by the suffrages of the people. You said, you know, if he were just here I'd handle him.". "And the Spirit of Jehovah" to some minds a marvellous fact under the circumstances "came mightily upon him." i. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. why did not the strong man learn wisdom in the fear of Jehovah, as he again visited the place where his first lesson was given? Respectfully submitted as my Scriptural understanding, I share with you what His Spirit has shared with my spirit. Well, site uncertain) where he hid from his brothers wrath. Is it then a matter of wonder that men went wrong in early days under the Christian profession? And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.". If this be so, the captivity might be the Assyrian, and not that of the Philistines. But God was about to magnify Himself and His own ways. He permitted that there should be no confidence in the peaceable intentions of Israel, for the very purpose of putting them in possession of the land. Ah! And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. (Judges 15:4-5). And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. Such a one was Abimelech, and yet chosen to the government by the trees, by all the trees; this election seems to have been more unanimous than any of the others. Then come and take shelter in my shade; We come to look at a parable, the parable of the trees. Salem Media Group. Nor was there any occasion for Israel to talk of setting a king over them; for the Lord was their king. So they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and made merry. The king of Ammon had no just claim whatever. By the Holy Spirit only can we enter in and enjoy. . Undoubtedly the iniquity was beyond measure on the part of the men of Benjamin, and an utter disgrace to God or even to Israel. Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez--now Tubas--not far from Shechem. Could they therefore suppose that such a low-born, uneducated, cruel, and murderous man, could be a proper protector, or a humane governor? This shows the problem of following a man who comes to power through violence. Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him--idle, worthless vagabonds, the scum of society, who had nothing to lose, but much to gain from the success of a revolutionary movement. WebThe Book of Judges Chapter 9 Chapter Overview: Abimelech usurps the government at Shechem, ver. Ceremony is easy and attractive to the flesh, and there may be the more, as there usually is, where there is least power or reality. Gideon had left many sons that were an honour to his name and family, and these they had barbarously murdered; one son he had left that was the blemish of his name and family, for he was the son of his maid-servant, whom all that had any respect to Gideon's honour would endeavour to conceal, yet him they made their king. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. And what did Israel? Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. And so Abimelech led a group of vain fellows and they came to the houses of Gideon's sons and they wiped them all out with the exception of just one of his sons, Jotham.
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