Judges 9:50 - Meaning and Application

We have already seen the ruin of the Shechemites brought about by Abimelech, and now it is his turn to be judged for leading them in evil. Thebez was a small city, probably not far from Shechem, and likely depended on it and joined its cause. Now the same man who destroyed others is brought low himself.

Abimelech tried to destroy this city (Judges 9:50). He drove all the people into the castle, or strong tower (Judges 9:51). Once they were trapped there, he expected to do the same kind of damage he had done at the stronghold of the temple of Baal-berith. He did not think about this, that a tower connected with an idol temple was more exposed to God’s judgment than any other tower. He tried to set the tower on fire, or at least burn its door and force his way in (Judges 9:52).

People who escape one bold and dangerous act often think they can safely try it again. This event was later used to show how dangerous it is to get too close to a besieged city (2 Samuel 11:20). But God confuses those whom he plans to bring down.

In the attempt, Abimelech was destroyed himself. A piece of a millstone struck his head and crushed his brain (Judges 9:57). No doubt he was a murderer, and though he had escaped the dangers of the war with Shechem, vengeance would not let him live (Acts 28:4). Evil follows sinners, and sometimes it catches them when they feel safest and most victorious.

Thebez was probably a weak and unimportant place compared with Shechem. Abimelech had conquered the greater city, so he thought the smaller one would be easy, especially when he had already taken the city and only the tower remained. Yet he lost his life there, and all his glory was buried with him. In this way, the powerful things of the world are often brought low by the weakest things, and by what people think least of. See how divine providence often gives a fitting rebuke to those who demand revenge beyond measure for injuries received. Abimelech had some cause to punish the Shechemites, and he punished them severely. But when he carried his revenge farther, and would not stop until Thebez was also handed over to his rage, he was not only disappointed, but destroyed. Truly, there is a God who judges on the earth.

Three things stand out in Abimelech’s death. First, he was killed by a stone, since he had killed his brothers all on one stone. Second, his skull was broken. Judgment struck that guilty head that had worn a stolen crown. Third, the stone was thrown by a woman (Judges 9:53). He saw the stone coming, so it is strange that he did not escape it. But it must have made his humiliation worse to see whose hand it came from. Sisera died by a woman’s hand and did not know it, but Abimelech not only fell by a woman’s hand, he knew it. When he was near death, nothing troubled him more than the shame of hearing, “A woman killed him.”

This shows his foolish pride. He cared deeply about this small stain on his reputation. He gave no thought to his soul, and no concern for what would become of it. He did not pray for God’s mercy. Instead, he worried about repairing his damaged name when his broken skull could not be repaired. “Let it never be said that a great man like Abimelech was killed by a woman.” The man was dying, but his pride was still alive. The same empty boasting that ruled him all through life showed itself at the end. As was his life, so was his death. God punished his cruelty in the way he died, and he punished his pride through the means of his death.

His next foolish step was trying to avoid this shame. He told his servant to kill him, not to end his pain sooner, but so people would not say a woman killed him. Could he really think this would hide what the woman had done? It would only make it more public. In fact, it added to the disgrace, because he became a self-murderer. It would have been better to have people say a woman killed him than to say his servant killed him by his own order. Yet now both would be said of him, and that would bring lasting shame. It is worth noticing that this very thing Abimelech tried so hard to hide seems to have been remembered by later generations more than much else in his history. Joab mentions it as the kind of reproach he feared David would use against him for getting too close to the wall (2 Samuel 11:21). The shame we try to avoid by sin only keeps its memory alive.

When Abimelech was dead, the outcome was this. First, Israel’s peace was restored, and this civil war came to an end. Those who had followed Abimelech each went home to his own place (Judges 9:55). Second, God’s justice was honored (Judges 9:56, Judges 9:57). God punished the wickedness of Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and he fulfilled Jotham’s curse, for it was not spoken without cause. In this way he upheld the honor of his rule and warned every age to expect blood for blood. The Lord is made known by the judgments he carries out, when the wicked is trapped in the work of his own hands. Though wickedness may prosper for a time, it will not prosper forever.