In the book of Judges we learned, “when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren”, and in chapter nine and verse fifty-seven of Judges, we learn how “all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads” where we read,
And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads:
and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
The verse reads, “And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads:” The writer began with the words, “and all the evil” which means “and each, the whole and every portion of the bad, disagreeableness, malignancy and wickedness” “of the men of Shechem” or “pertaining to the male human beings belonging to 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” “did God render” or “turned back, repaid and returned the Supreme Deity” “upon their heads” which means “on their, the men of Shechem’s, physical tops, summits and upper parts of their bodies or heads”. The writer shared how the Supreme Deity Jehovah God returned to the male human beings in “Shechem” the wickedness and bad they performed and produced.
The verse continues, “… and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.” The writer added the words, “and upon them” or “and on them, the men of Shechem” “came the curse of Jotham” or “entered and carried the vilification and execration belonging to Jotham whose name means ‘Jehovah is perfect’ and was the youngest son of Gideon who escaped from the massacre of his brothers” (See Judges 9:16-20) “the son of Jerubbaal” which means “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Jerubbaal whose name means ‘let Baal contend’ and was the name given to Gideon by his father when he destroyed the altar of Baal”. The writer shared how the execration spoke of by “Jeruubbaal’s son” “Jotham” was fulfilled upon the “men of Shechem”.
When we think through the words in this verse, we see how the prophecy of Gideon’s son “Jotham” was fulfilled upon “Abimelech and the men of Shechem”. Each of these were in opposition to God’s best for the people of Israel, and God worked on Israel’s behalf. God loves Israel, and He loves us as well. When He saved and rescued “Israel”, it became a type for us who need salvation from the power of sin and death. (See Romans 8:2) God sent His Son Jesus into the world to be crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us to be mindful that God will set everyone free who will yield to Him. (See John 3:16; Galatians 5:1)
Next time we begin a new chapter and learn, “after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah”, 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".
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