Because Gideon has been discussed at some length, the next major figure in the book of Judges that will be looked at is Abimelech, the son of Gidean and the wanna-be king of Israel. His story exemplifies two major epochs of Israelite history: their increasing decline into disobedience and apostasy, which carries forward to their eventual desire to herald a king to rule over them.
Abimelech's story is chronicled in Judges 9. An all-too-brief summary of Abimelech: Abimelech is one of 70 of Gideon's sons. He tries to prop himself up as king over all Israel by killing all but one, Jotham, of his brothers. Thus the kingdom of Israel is in his hands, not by the will of God but by his own bloody volition. His brief reign, just three years, was marked with continual warring and death. He died drenched in blood and his end came just as his reign had: by the sword.
The story of Abimelech points to the downward spiral of disobedience and apostasy. Essentially, Abimelech is a product of his environment, but more so, he represents more of what can happen when good, godly men fail to stand up and lead their people. In this case, Gideon, the previous judge and Abimelech's father failed to train his son in the way of the Lord, and the whole nation suffered for it.
This is a major turning point in the story of the judges as each subsequent judge is more sinful than the last and less sufficient in their delivering while offering fewer years of peace and rest for the people. Abimelech also serves to foreshadow the story of Saul, in the Israelites' earnest desire for a king. His story serves as a literary marker in the narrative of Israelite history and an important testimony that man should not seek to assert himself as the leader for selfish ambitions, but needs to wait for God's prompting.
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