Judges 9:22-26 - God stirred up animosity

9:22,23

A regime founded on disorder and sinfulness will soon find itself devoured by the same forces it used to gain power. So after Abimelek had ruled Israel for three years God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the people of Shechem. Remember these were the same people who were instrumental in bringing Abimelek to power in the first place. We maybe see the same process at work in the so-called “sexual revolution”. Stonewall was once seen as a paragon of virtue (in the world’s terms, not in God’s terms!) with its advocacy of gay rights, but now there is animosity between parts of the “gay community” and Stonewall for its extreme advocacy of transgenderism. 

9:24-26

The reason God acted was to avenge the blood of Gideon’s seventy sons. It says that vengeance belongs to the Lord, and this is true. The men of Shechem set up ambushments on the hilltops. So we see that one form of lawlessness seeks to replace another form of lawlessness. Now that Abimelek was out of favour in Shechem, Gaal son of Ebed sought to make a move, and was supported by the people of Shechem. The people of Shechem are a fickle lot, they are like “sheep without a shepherd”.