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Judges 9 — The thornbush who crowned himself king and the millstone that ended his reign
12 min read
nocap.bible editorialThis chapter is one of the wildest, most brutal stories in the entire Old Testament. — one of sons — decides he wants to be king so badly that he's willing to unalive his own brothers to get there. All seventy of them.
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What follows is a story about what happens when someone builds their entire on , manipulation, and . Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well. But before the fall, the youngest surviving brother delivers one of the most savage ever recorded. Buckle up.
After (also called ) died, his son rolled up to — his mom's hometown — with a pitch. And honestly, it was a pretty effective sales job. He basically went to his mom's side of the family and said:
"Hey, go tell the leaders of Shechem: what sounds better — being ruled by ALL seventy of Gideon's sons, or just ONE guy? And remember... I'm literally family. I'm one of you."
His relatives ran the campaign for him, and the leaders of Shechem were sold. They said, "He's our guy." So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the of -berith — pagan money from a pagan temple — and Abimelech used it to hire a crew of worthless, reckless dudes to follow him around. Then he went to his house at and murdered all seventy of his brothers on a single stone. Just massacred them. But the youngest son, , managed to hide and survive. After that, the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered together and crowned Abimelech king by the oak pillar at Shechem.
This is chasing at its most — building a throne on the bodies of your own family. 💀
When heard what happened, he climbed to the top of and absolutely COOKED the entire city with a . He shouted down to the leaders of :
"Yo, listen up, leaders of Shechem — if you want God to listen to YOU, then you better listen to ME first."
"Once upon a time, the trees decided they wanted a king. So they went to the olive tree and said, 'Come reign over us.' But the olive tree said, 'Why would I stop producing oil — the thing that honors God and blesses people — just to go wave my branches over the rest of you?'"
"So they asked the fig tree. And the fig tree said, 'Why would I leave behind my sweetness and my good fruit to go manage a bunch of trees?'"
"Then they asked the vine. And the vine said, 'Why would I give up my wine — the thing that brings joy to God and people — just to hold sway over trees?'"
"Finally, the trees went to the thornbush. The BRAMBLE. And the bramble said, 'If you're for real anointing me king, then sure — come sit in my shade.'" (Quick context: a bramble basically has NO shade — this is dripping with sarcasm.) "'But if you're not serious? Let fire come out of me and burn down the cedars of Lebanon.'"
The point was devastating: every tree with actual value said no. Only the worthless, dangerous thornbush said yes. That's . The leaders of Shechem passed over everyone with real worth and crowned a bramble. 🎤⬇️
wasn't done. He followed up the fable with a direct challenge:
"So here's the deal. If you acted with real integrity when you made Abimelech king — if you actually treated Gideon's family right after everything he did for you — then great. Enjoy Abimelech, and may he enjoy you."
"But let's be real. My father risked his life fighting for you. He delivered you from Midian. And THIS is how you repay him? You murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and crowned the son of his servant girl king — just because he's YOUR relative?"
"So if you DIDN'T act with integrity — and we all know you didn't — then let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo. And let fire come out from Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech."
Then Jotham bounced. He ran to Beer and stayed there, far from his brother's reach. But his words? Those didn't go anywhere. They hung in the air like a waiting to land. And spoiler: every single word came true. ⚡
ruled over for three years. Three years of a throne built on blood money and mass murder. And then God moved.
God sent an spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of . The same people who helped him rise to power started dealing treacherously with him. This wasn't random — it was . God was making sure the violence done to seventy sons would come back on both Abimelech AND the men of Shechem who helped him do it.
The leaders of Shechem set up ambushes on the mountaintops and started robbing everyone who passed by, cutting off Abimelech's supply lines and undermining his authority. The alliance was falling apart from the inside. partnerships always self-destruct eventually. 💯
Then this guy Gaal showed up — the son of Ebed — and moved into with his crew. The leaders of Shechem immediately put their confidence in him. During harvest season, they threw a whole festival. They crushed grapes, partied in their pagan , ate, drank, and started trash-talking .
Gaal, full of liquid courage, stood up and started going OFF:
"Who even IS Abimelech? And who are we that we should serve him? He's just Gideon's son with Zebul as his little officer. We should be serving the legacy of Hamor, the ORIGINAL founder of Shechem — not this guy."
"Man, if these people were under MY command, I'd remove Abimelech so fast. I'd tell him straight up: 'Build up your army and come fight me.'"
Classic big talk energy. Gaal was out here making at the function that his resume couldn't cash. 🫠
Here's where it gets messy. Zebul — the actual ruler of and guy on the ground — heard Gaal's whole speech and was HEATED. But instead of confronting him, Zebul went full snake mode.
He secretly sent messengers to Abimelech:
"Yo, Gaal and his people moved in and they're turning the whole city against you. Here's the play: come at night, set up an ambush in the fields. In the morning when the sun comes up, rush the city. When Gaal comes out to fight you, do whatever you need to do."
So Abimelech rolled up in the dark with his crew and set up four companies around Shechem. The next morning, Gaal was standing at the city gate looking out — probably feeling himself after last night's big speech — when he spotted movement on the hills.
"Yo Zebul, look — there are people coming down from the mountains!"
And Zebul — standing RIGHT NEXT TO HIM, knowing EXACTLY what was happening — said:
"Nah bro, you're just seeing shadows. The mountains are playing tricks on you."
Gaal looked again:
"No for real, there are people coming from the center of the land, and another group from the direction of the Diviners' Oak!"
THEN Zebul dropped the act:
"Oh, NOW where's all that big talk? Weren't you the one saying, 'Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?' Those are the people you were talking trash about. Go out and fight them then."
Caught in 4K. 📸 Gaal had no choice — he led the men of Shechem out to fight Abimelech and got absolutely wrecked. Abimelech chased him all the way back to the gate, with bodies dropping the entire way. After that, Zebul drove Gaal and his whole family out of Shechem for good.
But wasn't done with . The next day, the people of the city went out to their fields like nothing happened. Someone tipped Abimelech off.
He split his forces into three companies and set up another ambush. When the people came out of the city, he attacked. One company rushed to block the city gate while the other two swept through the fields and cut down everyone outside the walls.
Then Abimelech fought against the city itself for the entire day. He captured it, killed everyone inside, tore the city to the ground, and sowed the ruins with salt — an ancient way of saying "nothing will ever grow here again." He didn't just conquer Shechem. He erased it.
The bramble's flames were consuming the trees. curse was coming true in real time. 🔥
When the leaders of the Tower of heard what happened to the main city, they fled to the stronghold of the of El-berith — the most fortified building they had.
got word that they were all gathered inside. So he marched his entire force up Mount Zalmon, grabbed an axe, and started chopping down branches. He piled a bundle of brushwood on his shoulder and said to his men:
"You saw what I just did. Do the same thing. Now. Hurry."
Every one of his men cut down their own bundle, followed Abimelech to the stronghold, and piled the wood against it. Then they set the whole thing ablaze. About 1,000 men and women died inside — burned alive in the place they thought would keep them safe.
The bramble's was now literal. This is what happens when consumes everything it touches — even the people who helped start it. 💀
kept going. He moved on to Thebez, captured the city, same playbook. But there was a strong tower inside the city, and all the people — men, women, leaders — fled to the top of it.
Abimelech rolled up to the tower door, ready to burn it down just like he did in . But this time, a woman on the roof dropped an upper millstone right on his head and crushed his skull.
Even in his final moments, Abimelech's wouldn't quit. Dying on the ground with a caved-in skull, he gasped to his armor-bearer:
"Pull out your sword and finish me off — I can't have people saying a woman killed me."
So the young man ran him through, and Abimelech died. When the men of saw he was dead, everyone just went home.
And the narrator drops the mic with two of an incredibly satisfying verse in the Old Testament: God returned the of Abimelech back on his own head — for murdering his seventy brothers. And God made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads too. curse landed. Every. Single. Word.
You can build your on blood, manipulation, and . But God keeps receipts. And the bill always comes due. ⚡