Abimelech the false judge

​“When Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the Lords of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully,”

‭‭Judges‬ ‭9‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

Judge # 7 Abimelech

Abimelech was a son of Gideon. Gideon had 70 sons but Abimelech was born of a concubine. He despised his brothers. So when the townspeople of Shechem were on his side he killed all his brothers except one who escaped. But Abimelech was evil in the Lord's sight because he acted more like the king of foreign lands than a righteous judge God had set up. Abimelech and the townspeople of Shechem in the end got what was due them for their crimes against the sons of Gideon. The town of Shechem was destroyed by Abimelech but Abimelech was killed by a woman who threw a stone from the top of the tower she was hiding in. 

So what can we learn from Abimelech the false judge? 

Our deeds great or small, righteous or wicked, will return with their appropriate rewards or judgments. As the deeds of Abimelech were returned to him after three years by the very same people who helped him destroy his brothers, so too our sins will return on us. 

“Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭HCSB‬‬