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Judges Chapter 9 – Abimelech Murdered His Seventy Brothers!

05 Saturday Aug 2017

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Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother’s clan, “Ask all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal’s sons rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember, I am your flesh and blood.” Judges 9:1-2

Because Gideon had broken down his father’s altar to Baal, the townspeople of Ophrah gave him the name Jerub-Baal saying, “Let Baal contend with him” (Judges 6:32).

Gideon had many wives who had born him seventy sons and a concubine who gave birth to his son named Abimelech. Abimelech means “my father is king.” He was the first Israelite to bear that name. There are three Philistine rulers mentioned in the Bible bearing the title of Abimelech in much the same way that the rulers of Egypt were called Pharaoh. The seventy sons of Gideon were Abimelech’s half-brothers who lived in Ophrah.

Abimelech’s question, “Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal’s sons rule over you, or just one man?” was a false insinuation. Gideon had rejected, with abhorrence, the proposal to make himself or any of his family king. Abimelech’s purpose was to stir up jealousy and alarm amongst the citizens of Shechem.

When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow, for they said, “He is related to us.” Judges 9:3

Gideon was from the tribe of Manasseh, while Abimelch’s mother and the citizens of Shechem were from Ephraim. Although Gideon was chosen by God to serve as a warrior judge of Israel and free the Israelites from the oppressive rule of the Midianites, Abimelech’s uncles convinced the citizens of Shechem to rebel against the sons of Gideon and make Abimelech their king.

They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and used it to hire reckless scoundrels, who became his followers. Judges 9:4

No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves by worshipping idols. They rejected Yehovah who had brought them out of the bondage of Egypt and into the Promised Land. The Shechemites had erected a temple to Baal-Berith. They took seventy shekels of silver from the temple offerings and used it to hire unscrupulous mercenaries to be Abimelech’s enforcers.

He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. Judges 9:5

Abimelech probably seized the opportunity of some local or family feast at which all his brothers would be gathered. He wanted to kill his half-brothers so that no descendant of Gideon would be left alive to challenge his tyranny, and in revenge for the demolition of Baal’s altar by their father. Abimelech used the stone as a block, on which the victims were executed one after another.

No doubt Abimelech and his mercenaries began by laying hold of the eldest sons, and sacrificed them first, since they were the greatest threat. This alerted Jotham the youngest not only to their plan, but gave him an opportunity to escape to a place where he was safe and avoid his own execution. Jotham’s name means, “Yehovah is perfect.”

Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king. Judges 9:6

The citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo did not gather to prosecute and punish Abimelech for his barbarous acts of murder, but to make him a king. They gathered under the great tree where the altar to Baal had been erected.

Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. 1 Corinthians 10:20-21

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; John10:10a

The Ephraimites rejected Yehovah as God. Instead, they embraced lewd Baal worship and offered up sacrifices to him. They became so demonized that they became like their father Satan, and sanctioned cold-blooded murder.

When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

 “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

“Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

 “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

 “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

“The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’ Judges 9:7-15

Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son who escaped Abimelech’s massacre of his sixty nine brothers, later returned to the top of Mount Gerizim to tell his prophetic parable under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Mount Gerizim rises as a steep wall of rock to the height of about 800 feet above the valley of Shechem on the south side of the city. From this lofty height, Jotham cried out with a loud voice. While his parable foretold the apostasy of the nation of Israel, Jotham himself represented a faithful remnant.

The olive tree, fig tree, and grape vine chose rather to serve than to rule. The basic lesson of the parable is simple. The trees pictured Gideon and other worthy men of noble stature who felt that their calling was to serve in various capacities and not to assert rulership over their fellow Israelites. Only the lowly thornbush; an unworthy, prickly nuisance of a shrub representing Abimelech, would be so presumptuous as to assume such a lofty office, and so callous as to take it by shedding innocent blood.

 “Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making him king? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you treated him as he deserves? Remember that my father fought for you and risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian. But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you. Judges 9:16-18

Jotham posed a rhetorical question. Of course the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo did not act honorably or in good faith by making Abimelech king. They disregarded the debt they owed to Gideon who had delivered them after seven years of harsh oppression by the Midianites and they slaughtered his sons.

So have you acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today? If you have, may he be your joy, and may you be his, too! But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!” Judges 9:19-20

Jotham’s parable is a prophetic declaration and curse against the citizens of Shechem and those of Beth Milo. These two groups who had conspired together and acted ruthlessly against the family of Gideon would one day be at each other’s throats and reap what they have sown.

Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother. Judges 9:21

Being close to the top of Gerizim, Jotham had the open country before him. It would take the men of Shechem at least twenty minutes to ascend the mount, by which time Jotham would be out of sight, and two or three miles on his way to Beer. This town noted for its well (beer means “well”), was most probably located outside of Ephraimite territory.

After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God stirred up animosity between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelech. God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers. Judges 9:22-24

Everything seemed fine between the men of Shechem and Abimelech for three years. Then, in judgment, God removed the peace that was between them and provoked them to hatred towards one another.

In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech. Judges 9:24

The men of Shechem set ambushes on the mountain roads, hoping to disrupt the trade routes that profited Abimelech.

Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his clan into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech.  Judges 9:26-27

Gaal was the son of Ebed, whose name means “servant” or “slave.” This “son of a slave” was a Canaanite. He was a descendant of Hamor who was the prince of Shechem during the time of Jacob. Since the expulsion of the Canaanites by the Israelites, his family had settled outside of Israelite territory. When Gaal learned of the animosity between Abimelech and the Shechemites, Gaal and his clan moved back to Shechem.

Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and why should we Shechemites be subject to him? Isn’t he Jerub-Baal’s son, and isn’t Zebul his deputy? Serve the family of Hamor,  Shechem’s father! Why should we serve Abimelech? If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to, ‘Call out your whole army!’” Judges 9:28-29

Abimelech, the son of a concubine, had convinced the citizen’s of Shechem to rebel against Gideon’s sons and put them to death because Gideon was from the tribe of Manasseh, while Abimelch’s mother and the citizens of Shechem were from Ephraim.

Now, the tables are turned. Gaal, the son of a slave and a Canaanite, appeals to the citizens of Shechem to rebel against Abimelech whose father was Gideon, an Israelite. Gaal refers to Abimelech’s father as Jerub-Baal, the one who tore down Baal’s altar, to provoke the apostate Ephraimites to overthrow Abimelech. Gaal also appealed to his own Canaanite clan make him their leader because Gaal descended from Hamor who had founded the city of Shechem.

Ironically, Abimelech who rose to power in Shechem because of his mother was now in jeopardy of being overthrown because of his father.

When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, “Gaal son of Ebed and his clan have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields. In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, seize the opportunity to attack them.” Judges 9:30-33

Zebul secretly informed Abimelech that Gaal was inciting the citizens of Shechem to rebel against their king. He advised Abimelech to launch a surprise attack against the city at sunrise when the inhabitants would be awakening from their sleep and disoriented.

 So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. Judges 9:34

Abimelech’s four companies had hidden themselves and had taken positions so that they would completely surround the city.

Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance of the city gate just as Abimelech and his troops came out from their hiding place.

When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!”

Zebul replied, “You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men.” Judges 9:35-36

The governor lied to Gaal in order to delay Gaal for as long as possible from calling the men of Shechem to take up arms and defend their city.

 But Gaal spoke up again: “Look, people are coming down from the central hill, and a company is coming from the direction of the diviners’ tree.”

 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your big talk now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?’ Aren’t these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!” Judges 9:37-38

Zebul challenges the braggart Gaal to put his money where his mouth is!

So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech. Abimelech chased him all the way to the entrance of the gate, and many were killed as they fled. Then Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem. Judges 9:39-41

Abimelech’s troops were victorious; but Gaal and his remaining forces were able to secure themselves in Shechem. They succeeded in closing the gates against their pursuers, but only at the cost of many lives.

The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance of the city gate. Then two companies attacked those in the fields and struck them down. All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it. Judges 9:42-45

When all the Shechemites in the field were either killed or scared off, Abimelech stormed the city, weakened as it was by the previous loss of so many of its defenders. The residents of the city held off the attackers as long as they could, but the city was taken before night fall. All the inhabitants were put to the sword. The walls were then razed to the ground, and the site was sown with salt.  The sowing of salt upon a place was a symbolical custom at that time, to express great hatred and anger against the people who had resided there, and that the city should remain barren and desolate.

On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there, he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, “Quick! Do what you have seen me do!” So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire with the people still inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died. Judges 9:46-49

The tower of Shechem was a lookout tower located in an unwalled village outside of the city. Some of those people who were working in the fields and escaped from Abimelech’s attack, warned the Shechemites to find a more fortified location.

Zalmon was a lofty and thickly-wooded hill near Shechem. The name Zalmon is taken from the Hebrew root word, “tselem” which means “shady.” It was there that Abimelech had his men cut wood to set the temple of Baal stronghold on fire and burned a thousand men and women to death.

Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women—all the people of the city—had fled. They had locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof. Abimelech went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull. Judges 9:50-53

Thebez was a city about thirteen miles from Shechem and within its territory. Canaanite forts were generally secure mountain safe havens and often had a strong tower which served as a last refuge. Millstones come in pairs. The base or bedstone is stationary. Above the bedstone is a smaller turning runner stone which actually does the grinding. When Abimelech approached the fortified tower to set it on fire, a woman took an upper millstone and dropped it upon Abimelech’s head cracking his skull.

So as Jael, a woman and tentmaker, used her mallet and a tent peg to crack the skull of Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army; so did a woman and miller use a tool of her trade, an upper millstone, to crack the skull of Abimelech, the commander of his band of ruthless mercenaries.

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. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home. Judges 9:54-55

Abimelech wasn’t concerned that he would be remembered for butchering the sons of Gideon, or for burning men and women alive. He was concerned that he would be remembered for being slain by a woman.

Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them. Judges 9:56-57

The account of cruel Abimelech and the slaughter of his seventy brothers is a prophetic picture. Genesis chapter 10 lists a total of seventy original founders of the nations of the world or racial groups. Numbers 29:12-34 details the offerings for the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles. Thirteen bulls are offered the first day, twelve on the second, eleven on the third, etc. 13+12+11+10+9+8+7=70. According to Isaiah 56:7, the temple in Jerusalem was to be a house of prayer for all nations. The sacrifice of 70 bulls was offered as an atonement of the seventy nations.

Abimelech, who embraced idolatry and was a murderer, is a type of the Antichrist. The 70 sons of Gideon, who were worshippers of Yehovah, are a type of the followers of Yeshua (Jesus) from every nation who will be martyred during the Great Tribulation.

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:9

Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes, he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?” Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:13-14

Just as idol worshipping Abimelech had the seventy sons of godly Gideon put to the sword by his reckless scoundrels, so will a multitude from every nation die a martyr’s death by the army of the Antichrist because they will refuse to worship his image.

The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”Revelation 17:16-18

The above passage of Scripture is a description of the future punishment of the city Babylon which is the seat of power of the one-world false religion. The beast is the Antichrist and the ten horns represent the ten nation confederacy that supports him with their armies and resources. Just as God will put it into their hearts to burn this city because the idolatrous “Whore of Babylon” had spilled the blood of multitudes of God’s people, in a similar manner God stirred up animosity between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem who spilled the blood of Jerub-Baal’s sons. Abimelech destroyed the city and burned to death a thousand of her citizens.

Both Abimelech and the Antichrist will endure an eternity of punishment for their heinous acts against the worshippers of Yehovah, while the followers of the Almighty will experience an eternal state of bliss.

 

Genesis 26 – Isaac Settles in Gerar & He Deceives Abimelech!

07 Tuesday Jan 2014

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Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had  occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 26:1-2

Because of the famine in Canaan, Isaac starts to journey south towards Egypt and stops over in Gerar in the territory of the Philistines.                   

The LORD appeared to Isaac as He did to his father Abraham. This appearance was not in a dream or a vision. This was a visible manifestation  of God that was tangible to his human senses. Most probably this appearance was a Christophany – a preincarnate appearance of Christ. The LORD appeared to Abraham on three different occasions:

1) On his arrival in the land, wherein God promised the land to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:7-9).

2) When God reaffirmed his promises of land and numerous descendants to Abraham when he was ninety-nine years old (Genesis 17:1).

3) And on the Plains of Mamre before He sent his two angels on their way to destroy Sodom (Genesis18:1).

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. Genesis 12:10

Almost as quickly as Abram entered into the land of Canaan, he leaves. Abram trusted God for over 1,000 mile arduous trek from Ur to Canaan. He left behind his home and family, and by faith, traveled to a country where he had never been. He did so because he believed that God was going to make him into a great nation. But when Abram arrived in Canaan and a famine hit the land he does not think he will survive for more than a few weeks. He goes to Egypt and tries to solve his problems himself. The man who trusted God for the ultimate, his future and for the future of his descendants, was unwilling to trust God for the immediate – food for himself and his family. Abram trusted God for huge promises to extend through generations, but didn’t have faith when it came to immediate needs. Yet faith means trusting God for both His eternal promises as well as for our daily bread. This is where we often fail. We trust God with our eternal salvation, and then we worry about the daily struggles that we are going through and the decisions we have to make.

The LORD commands Isaac not to go down to Egypt to escape the famine as did Abraham his father. Instead, the LORD exhorts Isaac to remain in the territory of the Philistines for a while and not leave Canaan. By obeying the LORD, the covenant promises that were made to Abraham would be established through Isaac.

 Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.” Genesis 26:3-5

The nations that occupied Canaan and the territory promised to Abraham that were to passed on as an inheritance to Isaac and his descendants are described in Genesis 15:18-21. The land would span from the Nile, which was the southern boundary of the land of Canaan, to the river Euphrates. Israel at one time had dominion over this expanse during the reigns of David and Solomon. Isaac would inherit other the covenant promises as well. He would be fruitful and the nations of the earth would be blessed because the Messiah would continue through Isaac’s lineage.

Abraham received the blessings of God and they were passed down though Isaac because Abraham obeyed (literally, hearkened to) the voice of the LORD. If we and our children are to be blessed then we must not just be aware of God’s Word but obey it. Although it would more than 400 years after God cut a covenant with Abraham until the Torah was given on Mt. Sinai to Israel, the LORD declared that Abraham kept God’s commandments, statutes and laws.

So Isaac lived in Gerar. When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “My wife,” thinking, “the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.” Genesis 26:6-7

Many years before, Abraham moved south from Hebron and also stayed a while in Gerar which is located in the western Negev.

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur.  For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. Genesis 20:1-2

Abraham may have been so deeply disturbed by the destruction of Sodom, the stench of the smoldering sulfur, and not knowing what happened to his nephew Lot, that he left Hebron. There in Gerar in the land of the Philistines, Abraham hid the fact that he was married to Sarah as he did when he went down to Egypt. Abram had gone down to Egypt along with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot during a time of famine in Canaan. Since Sarai was very beautiful, Abram had deceived the Egyptians into believing that Sarai was only his sister when in fact, she was his wife. Sarai was the half-sister of Abram, but a half-truth is still an entire lie.

 It came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, certainly she is your wife! How then did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘I might die on account of her.’” Genesis 26:8-9

Frightened concerning his own safety, Isaac succumbs to the temptation to pass off his wife as his sister as twice did his father Abraham. In doing this he was willing to risk Rebekah’s purity as the price for his personal protection.

Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” So Abimelech charged all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” Genesis 26:10-11

Although Isaac and Rebekah had been living in Gerar for a long time and Rebekah was beautiful, her virginity was preserved and she remained chaste because of God’s protection. The LORD is sovereign. He was not only going to fulfill His oath and establish the Abrahamic covenant through Isaac, but Rebeka was God’s chosen vessel as well. Abraham had declared to his servant that the LORD would send his angel with him and make his journey a success, so that his servant could get a wife for Isaac from Abraham’s own clan and from his father’s family (Genesis 24:7). Rebekah was chosen by the LORD to be Isaac’s wife. When she was asked if she was willing to leave with Abraham’s servant, Rebekah did not hesitate but was willing to immediately fulfill God’s calling for her life. She, like Abraham, was willing to leave her family and her country and dwell in a land far off.

The similarities between this sin of Isaac and that of his father Abraham are numerous. Both had their faith tested in times of famine. Both sinned in the presence of the ruler of the Philistines and were rebuked by that ruler. Although these were different men, both rulers were named Abimelech. Both Abraham and Isaac had a beautiful wife and feared for their own safety. They both believed that they might be killed so that someone could marry their wife. Both lied by saying that their wife was their sister. Yet, both Abraham and Isaac were blessed and protected by the LORD in spite of their fears and weaknesses because the LORD is a covenant keeping God who is abundant in mercy.

Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. Genesis 26:12-14

The natural elements and principles of Israel’s agricultural society were used by Jesus when He spoke in parables in order to reveal the supernatural elements and principles of the Kingdom of God. Isaac, who obeyed the LORD and did not go down to Egypt during a famine in Canaan, is blessed by God and reaps a hundredfold crop and he became rich. In Mark 4:1-9, Jesus uses the parable of a farmer who sowed seed on different types of soils to illustrate how the word of God in received in the hearts’ of men.

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop–a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:8

From a single seed that is planted and takes root and entire fruit tree can grow and bear much fruit.  Seed must be planted in good soil means that the Word of God can only take root, grow and bear fruit in a softened heart and compliant heart. The hardness of the soil of the heart must be broken by humbling oneself, repenting of sins and forgiving others. The stones of bitterness and selfishness need to be removed. The heart must be watered by the Word of God and softened by the oil of the Spirit. When properly prepared and received, the word of God will bear much fruit. 

… a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Isaac was blessed and reaped a hundred times what was sown. Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac, the son of the promise was born. Isaac was sixty years old when Jacob the father of the 12 tribes of Israel was born. Joseph, who received a double portion of his father Jacob’s inheritance, was thirty years old when entered the service of Pharaoh and became second in command of all of Egypt. These three numbers, a hundred, sixty and thirty were significant in the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph.

Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth. Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us.” And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there. Genesis 26:15-17

The act of stopping up a person’s wells and cutting off their supply of water was often a strategy used in warfare. It would be impossible for flocks and herds to exist without access to water supplies. The Philistines were jealous of Isaac’s wealth and that was probably their motivation in committing these acts. Abimelech, both envious and fearful of Isaac, orders him to leave his city.

Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them.  But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah. Genesis 26:18-21

Isaac met with much opposition in digging wells. The first successful well Isaac’s servants had dug was a cause of contention between his herdsmen and the Philistines. It was named Esek, which means, “strife” or “contention.”Likewise, there was quarreling over the second well. This well was named Sitnah which is a feminine form of the Hebrew word for Satan (adversary) and means “enmity” or “hatred”.

 He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.” Genesis 26:22

Rehoboth is the English form of a Hebrew word which means literally a “broad place” or “room to live.” Abimelech had told Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us.” Yet, Isaac did not war against the Philistines when they claimed the first two wells that his father Abraham had originally dug. Instead, Isaac chose to move further and further from the Philistine territory until they ceased to make claim to his well.

 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. The Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well. Genesis 26:23-25

From Dan to Beersheba, a distance of about 144 miles became the usual way of designating the whole Promised Land with Beersheba being the southern border. The same night that Isaac arrives in Beersheba, the LORD appears to Isaac to comfort and reassure him. The LORD will keep His covenant promises that were made to Abraham and are now passed down to Isaac.

Although Isaac had be laid upon an altar as a potential sacrifice in Genesis 22, this is the first time mentioned in Scripture that Isaac himself had built an altar and called on the name of Yahweh.

Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’” Genesis 26:26-29

Isaac speaks the truth without hesitation or apology. He plainly states that Abimelech ordered him to leave the territory of the Philistines out of hatred that was motivated by Abimelech’s jealousy.

Abimelech clearly acknowledges that the LORD has been with Isaac and seeks to make a peace agreement with him. Although Abimelech acknowledges the blessings that the LORD was capable of bestowing on Isaac, Abimelech doesn’t seek the LORD but a promise from Isaac.

Abimelech is correct in stating to Isaac that we have not touched you. But considering that the Philistine shepherds contended over two wells that Isaac re-dug, Abimelech’s claim that the Philistines have done nothing but good  to Isaac is simple untrue.

Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace. Genesis 26: 30-31

According to the mid-eastern custom of hospitality, Isaac had a meal prepared for his guests. Since Isaac was entertaining a king, his advisor and the commander of his army, he had a feast prepared. Early in the morning Isaac’s guests arose, exchanged oaths and parted in peace.

When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7

 Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. Genesis 26:32-33                                                                                    

Shibah means “oath” or “seven”. Beersheba means the “well of the oath,” or “well of seven.” Abraham had entered into a compact with Abimelech and said to him, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well” (Genesis 21:30). After re-opening it, Isaac gave it the same name.

When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah. Genesis 26:34-35

When Esau was forty years old, the same age that his father Isaac had married his mother Rebekah , Esau married two Canaanite women. Esau’s grandfather Abraham had been insistent that his servant not get a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanites but from his own relatives. Isaac’s favorite but wayward son brought no less than two idolatrous wives among them—an additional proof that Esau neither desired the blessing nor dreaded the curse of God. Esau, who despised his birthright, also intentionally dishonored his grandfather and father’s wishes not to intermarry with idolaters

Genesis Chapter 20 – Abraham and Sarah Deceive Abimelech

06 Saturday Jul 2013

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Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur.  For a while he stayed in Gerar, Genesis 20:1

The LORD had visited Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre and assured Sarah that she would have a son. This region is a plain near Hebron. Abraham pleaded with the LORD to spare Sodom, but not even ten righteous men could be found in this wicked city. The LORD sent his two angels to rescue Lot and his family before they destroyed the cities of the plain of Jordan. Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

Abraham moved from where he had lived for fifteen or twenty years, into the more southern parts of the land of Canaan. He may have been so deeply disturbed by the destruction of Sodom, the stench of the smoldering sulfur, and not knowing what happened to his nephew Lot, that he left the area. Abraham went to dwell between Kadesh and Shur which were two wildernesses in the western Sinai. The name Kadesh comes from the Hebrew verb,“qadash”which meansto be consecrated, hallowed or sanctified. Shur means “wall.” Abraham lived between two wildernesses that walled him in so that he could be sanctified. But then he moved on to Gerar to stay there for a while.

Gerar was an ancient town in the Negev. It’s location in modern day Israel is roughly half-way between Beersheba and Gaza.Gerar was ruled by the Philistine king named Abimelech.

and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. Genesis 20:2

There in Gerar in the land of the Philistines, Abraham hid the fact that he was married to Sarah as he did when he went down to Egypt. Abram had gone down to Egypt along with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot during a time of famine in Canaan. Since Sarai was very beautiful, Abram had deceived the Egyptians into believing that Sarai was only his sister when in fact, she was his wife. Sarai was the half-sister of Abram, but a half-truth is still an entire lie.

There are four men named Abimelech in the Bible. The first mention of the name Abimelech is the king of Gerar who lived during the time of Abraham. The name Abimelech consists of two parts. The first is “abi” formed from the Hebrew word “ab” usually meaning the male parent, but can also mean a far removed ancestor, or the chief of a large household or town. The Hebrew letter “yod” added to “ab” to form the compound abi, means either “my father” or “father of.”

The Hebrew noun, “malak” is usually translated as king, but more specifically means magistrate. The name Abimelech means, “My father is king” or “Father of a king.” Abimelech may have had the name, “Father of a king” but Abram was renamed Abraham by the LORD which means, “Father of many nations.”

Sarai was about 66 when she and Abram went down to Egypt. Since she lived for 127 years, she may still have been in her prime and was very beautiful. Now in Gerar, Sarah was about ninety years of age, and probably pregnant with Isaac. Her beauty isn’t specifically mentioned as a motive for Abraham’s attempt to deceive Abimelech. Sarah may now have been chosen by Abimelech in an attempt for him to form an alliance with Abraham. Not only was Abraham wealthy, but a petty king such as Abimelech would naturally be glad to form an alliance with such a powerful chief as Abraham who had defeated the four kings of Mesopotamia.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” Genesis 20:3

When Abram had gone down to Egypt, he presented Sarai as his sister and not as his wife. They apparently saw themselves as fleeing from certain death in the Canaanite famine and assumed that Sarah’s unusual beauty meant that she was likely to be taken anyway. The only question was whether Abram himself could survive. As a husband he would not, but as a brother he might. Out of desperation, they lied. Afterwards, Pharaoh and his household became very ill. In his inquiry to understand why, Pharaoh discovered that he has taken Abram’s wife as his own and was being punished for it.

But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. Genesis 12:17

When Abraham and Sarah sojourned to Gerar, they also deceived Abimelech into believing Sarah was unmarried. Although Abimelech had taken Sarah, he wasn’t inflicted by disease but warned by God in a dream that he was facing a death sentence.

Even before the Ten Commandments were instituted, these accounts of Pharaoh and Abimelech are two biblical examples that adultery was understood to be a serious offense by the LORD.  

Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.” Genesis 20:4-5

Although Abimelech had not attempted to be physical with Sarah, the account in Genesis 12 does not say whether or not Pharaoh had approached Sarai physically. Perhaps, he and his household were inflicted with serious diseases because Pharaoh had attempted intimate physical relations with Sarai. Whereas, Abimelech had not as of yet gone near her.

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Genesis 20:6

God made it clear to Abimelech that he was facing fatal consequences for taking a married woman as his own. Yet, God kept Abimelech from sinning unintentionally by warning him in a dream. By restraining Abimelech, Sarah was kept from being defiled. Sarah was either pregnant with Isaac, “the child of the promise” or soon would become pregnant by Abraham. Through a dream, God protected his chosen vessel Sarah who would birth the “miraculous son” of the covenant.

There are a number of instances in the Bible where God has sent a warning to a person through a dream.

On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” Genesis 31:22-24

Using a dream, God warned Laban, who was in hot pursuit of Jacob, not to harm Jacob or try to keep him from returning to the Promised Land through flattery. God protected the patriarch of the 12 tribes of Israel through a dream.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Matthew 2:11-12

After worshipping the newborn “King of the Jews” and presenting him with their gifts, the Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod. Although King Herod told the Magi that he wanted to worship the child, Herod actually wanted to murder the newborn king. By means of a dream, God protected Jesus by keeping the Magi from reporting his whereabouts to Herod.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” Matthew 2:13

In a dream, Joseph was warned to flee to Egypt with his wife and the Christ Child in order to escape King Herod’s jurisdiction.

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream  to Joseph in Egypt and said,”Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” 

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee. Matthew 2:19-22

Joseph was commanded in a dream to return to Israel with his family after the death of King Herod. Then Joseph was warned in another dream not to live in Judea, but instead, he and his family went to live in the town of Nazareth.

God not only warned Abimelech in a dream that Sarah was another man’s wife; God commanded that Abimelech return Sarah to Abraham.

Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die.” Genesis 20:7

Psalm 105 and verse 15 reads, “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” Abraham was designated by the LORD to serve Him as His prophet. Therefore Abraham was a spokesperson for God who had been anointed (empowered by the Holy Spirit) to fulfill this office. Abraham is not only the “Father of the Faith” but is also the first person in the Bible to have been called a prophet.  

Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Genesis 20:8

Abimelech wasted no time making matters right before God. He arose early in the morning and reported the substance of his dream to all of his officials. It is obvious by the reaction of Abimelech’s officials that they believed that God can speak through dreams and that their lives were in danger.

Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” And Abimelech asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?” Genesis 20:9-10

Abraham had been justified by his faith and entered into a covenantal relationship with the LORD. Yet, he now stands before a pagan king and is rightfully accused of acting in an unrighteous manner. This episode in Abraham’s life reminds the reader that all men, including the patriarchs have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’ Genesis 20:11-13

Twenty-five years before this, Abraham had committed a nearly identical sin down in Egypt. Both times he acted in fear and not from faith. By stating that there is surely no fear of God in this place, Abraham’s explanation is an attempt to place the blame on the victims of his deception. It was their fault that he had to lie, and therefore place their lives in jeopardy.

Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.” Genesis 20:14-15

It may have been the fear of Abraham’s God, rather than Abraham’s explanation that motivated Abimelech to be generous towards him.  Not only does Abimelech return Sarah to Abraham and offers him valuable gifts, Abimelech offers Abraham the right to dwell anywhere in his territory.

Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.  Genesis 20:16

The purpose of the payment of silver, in addition to the flocks, herds and slaves, was to compensate Sarah for any wrong Abimelech may have done to her and to clear her reputation. Abimelech did not say to Sarah, “I am giving your husband a thousand shekels of silver,” but that he was giving the payment for the offense to her brother. Abimelech had originally taken Sarah because he believed that Abraham was her brother and not her husband. Abimelech said that he was giving the payment to her brother, to both admonish Abraham and to rebuke Sarah so that this would be the last time they lied about their married relationship.

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, for the Lord had closed up every womb in Abimelech’s household because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. Genesis 20:17-18

After Abraham interceded in prayer for them, God healed Abimelech and his wife and slave girls. The women had been afflicted by some disease that rendered it impossible for them to have children till it was removed. Abimelech had also been smitten by the LORD with an infirmity that kept him from going near Sarah and defiling her.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9

Abraham was declared righteous by his faith and was in covenant relationship with the LORD. Even when Abraham devised a plan of deception out of fear, God supernaturally intervened so that His purposes would stand. When Sarah was placed into circumstances that could have compromised God’s promise that Sarah would birth Isaac, the LORD prevented Abimelech from touching her.

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty; but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:9-11