Seventy Pieces of Silver - Judges 9:4

In the book of Judges we learned how, “Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all he family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh” and in chapter nine and verse four of Judges, we learn how “they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith” where we read,

And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, 

wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.

The verse reads, “And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith,  …” The writer began with the words, “and they gave him” which means “and they, the people of Shechem, granted, bestowed and provided to him, Abimelech”, “threescore and ten pieces of silver” which means “seventy silver metal ornaments or monies” “out of the house of Baalberith” or “”from the dwelling place and habitation belonging to Baalberith whose name means ‘lord of the covenant’ and was “a god of the Philistines”. The writer shared how the people of “Shechem” granted seventy silver monies from the dwelling place belonging to “Baalberith”.  

The verse continues, “… wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.” The writer aded the words, “wherewith Abimelech hired” which means “and with the use of the silver monies Abimelech whose name means ‘lord of the covenant’ temporarily purchased and obtained the services of” “vain and light persons” which means “empty, idle, worthless, reckless and frothy human beings” “which followed him” or “who went after and extended themselves toward him, Abimelech”. The writer shared how “Abimelech” obtained the service of human beings who were empty, idle, worthless and reckless, and they went after “Abimelech”. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we see how the people of “Shechem” got involved in “Abimelech’s” plan to be come the ruler of Israel. They provided “Abimelech” with seventy silver monies which he used to obtain the services of idle and reckless people who went after him. We shall see how he uses these people in our next verses, but for now, let us be mindful that nefarious acts are often performed by people who desire power and authority in this world. God knows that proclivity is within all of us, and when we surrender to His Son Jesus who died not the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Sprit within us to guide us into all truth and reveal the ideas of those who hate us and are opposed to God. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 5:8) 

Next time we learn how “all the men of Shechem gathered together”, 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".