Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me so that they can't say, 'A woman killed him.' So his servant ran him through, and he died. (Judges 9:54)
The story of Abimelech and the people of Shechem is a sad and sorry affair - a cautionary tale. Abimelech was the son of Gideon's concubine. He sowed the seeds of treachery by offering himself as the lone ruler of Shechem, enlisting the support of his mother's family. The people of Shechem were 'inclined to follow him' (v.3), hardly a ringing endorsement. He then murdered seventy of his half-brothers and the people rewarded him with a crown (v.6).
Jotham, the youngest of Gideon's sons, escapes the carnage. From a distance (he is Gideon's son!), Jotham shouts a prophetic parable to the people of Shechem about the consequences of their treachery. They will reap what that have sown - the fire of judgment will consume Abimelech and the people of Shechem (v.20). Jotham then runs away afraid. He has inherited something of his father's cowardice. In the meantime, his prophecy proves terribly accurate as a newcomer (Gaal) sows seeds of discontent in the people of Shechem. Abimelech is enraged, destroys Shechem and its people, but then in besieging Thebez, is mortally wounded, not in battle - but by a millstone dropped by a woman! (v.53) He is desperately concerned to protect honor he does not have and so tries to cover the shame of his predicament by having a servant kill him. And so Jotham's prophecy, God's word, is proven.
Two things leap out at me from this cautionary tale. One, a leader cannot coerce, buy or manipulate loyalty. People follow leaders they trust. Abimelech never had the trust and loyalty of the people of Shechem. Ultimately he paid with his life. He had walked over the corpses of his half-brother to become king. Others take paths less dramatic, but in some ways equally bloody as they trample over people in a desperate attempt to get to the top. But such a path will always lead to a slippery slide back down at some point. Two, those who sow evil will in the end reap the consequence of it. There is a judgment, if not in this life, then in the next. We will pay for our sins - unless someone else pays the price for us.
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