9) Abimelech decides that he wants to rule Israel. He becomes popular through the work of his mother's family. He hires 'worthless and reckless fellows' to follow him. He kills 69 of Gideon's sons: only Jotham survives and flees to Beer (unfortunate name).
Abimelech is made king, and rules Israel for 3 years.
Abimelech learns that a man called Gaal in the city of Shechem wants to rebel against him. The people of Shechem kick Gaal's family out of the city: they don't want any trouble.
But Abimelech attacks Shechem anyway. The city is destroyed. The remaining inhabitants hide in the Tower of Shechem. The tower is destroyed, the people killed.
Then he decides to attack another city: Thebez. The people flee into the Tower of Thebez.
'And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” '
'And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.'
10) The Sixth Judge: Tola (no more important details given)
The Seventh Judge: Jair. 'And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities'!
'The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites... And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.'
The people cry out to God for help, but God says: "I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”
'So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.'
11) 'Now Jephthah was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead's wife also bore him sons. And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.'
The Eight Judge: Jephthah
Desperate times call for desperate measures: Israel summons Jephthah to lead them in battle.
Jephthah sends messengers to Ammonites, asking why they are warring with Israel. The Ammonite king points out that Israel stole their land. Jephthah's reply explains that God gave the land to Israel, so shut up and be happy with the land you were allowed to keep. 'But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.'
War it is then. Jephthah makes a really stupidly specific deal with
“If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
He conquers the Ammonites and returns home.
'And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.”'
His daughter understands, but asks that he leaves her alone for two months so she can 'weep for her virginity'.
After two months of 'weeping for her virginity', she returns home, definitely still a virgin, and Jephthah sacrifices her as a burnt offering.
12) The men of Ephraim are upset with Jephthah because he didn't invite them to his
Fighting. Conquering. Slaughtering. 42,000 dead Ephraimites.
The Ninth Judge: Ibzan
The Tenth Judge: Elon
The Eleventh Judge: Abdon. 'He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys'!
NEXT TIME: Samson, the Incredible Hulk of the Old Testament.
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