Judges 9:25-35 – And the leaders of Shechem put men in
ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them
along that way. And it was told to Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed
moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put
confidence in him. And they went out into the field
and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival;
and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled
Abimelech. 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, and is not
Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why
should we serve him? Would that this people were under my
hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and
come out.’” When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the
son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. And he sent
messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and
his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. Now therefore, go by
night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. Then in the morning,
as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and
the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.” So
Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush
against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the son of
Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech
and the people who were with him rose from the ambush.
Psalm
32:7 – You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
Application:
- · Just as the fickle population had followed Abimelech, so they are now swayed by the deceptive proposals of Gaal.
- · The vintage harvest was one of the most joyous times of the year, but festivals and celebrations held at pagan temples often degenerated into debauched drinking affairs.
All Scripture verses taken from ESV
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