Abimelech Dwelt at Arwmah - Judges 9:41

In the book of Judges we learned how, “Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate”, and in chapter nine and verse forty-one of Judges, we learn how “Abimelech dwelt at Arumah” where we read,

And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren,

 that they should not dwell in Shechem.

The verse reads, “And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, …” The writer began with the words, “and Abimelech” whose name means “Melek is father or my father is king” and was “the son of Gideon by a concubine” “dwelt at Arwmah” which means “abode, inhabited and lived at Arumah whose name means ‘I shall be exalted’ and was a place near Shechem, home of Abimelech”: “and Zebul” whose name means ‘exalted’ and was the chief man of the city of Shechem at the time of the contest between Abimelech and the native Canaanites” “thrust out Gaal” which means “cast away, tossed out and expelled Gaal whose name means ‘loathing’ and was son of Eved or Ebed who aided the Shechemites in their rebellion against Abimelech” “and his brethren” or “and his, Gaal’s, brothers”.  The writer shared how “Abimelech” lived within the city of “Arumah”, and “Zebul” expelled “Gaal” and his brothers from the following.

The verse goes on to say, “… that they should not dwell in Shechem.” The writer continued with the words, “that they should not dwell” which means “so they, Gaal and his brothers, were unable to remain and continue living and abiding” “in Shechem” or “within Shechem whose name means ‘back or shoulder’ and was a city in Manasseh; located in a valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, 34 miles (54 km) north of Jerusalem and 7 miles (10.5 km) southeast of Samaria”. The writer shared how “Zebul” not only expelled “Gaal and his brothers” from the city of “Shechem”, but they also were unable to live there any longer. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we see how “Abimelech” went back to his city, “Arumah”, and “Zebul” expelled “Gaal and his brothers” from the city of “Shechem” to the point they could no longer live there. The plan of God to rescue the people of Israel from these oppressive people was underway, and step by step His will was being fulfilled. God will use a process to be in a personal relationship with us, and He does this through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and rose from the grave after three days. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and give us the ability to recognize when He is at work even though we do not see Him. (See Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:15-16)

Next time we learn how, “the people went out into the field", so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".