Judges 9

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 145
• Hymn — All Creatures of Our God and King (#248)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Heidelberg Catechism — Lord's Day 4 (Questions 9–11)
• Hymn — Lamb, Precious Lamb (#353)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon
• Hymn — The Lord Reigns (#93)
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Sermon Title: The Enemy Within

Scripture: Judges 9

I. The Enemy Within Produces Saviors Who Are Actually Villains

A. Abimelech, the "anti-judge," is the product of Gideon's sinful union with a concubine — a wicked man who brings chaos to Israel

• He manipulates the leaders of Shechem by appealing to tribal loyalty and fear, then slaughters 70 of Gideon's sons

B. Jotham escapes and delivers a parable from Mount Gerizim

• The olive tree, fig tree, and vine decline to rule — representing good leaders
• The bramble (Abimelech) accepts kingship, representing a destructive, unworthy ruler
• Jotham's curse: if Shechem did not act in good faith, let fire devour them and Abimelech — which is precisely what comes to pass (see Judges 9:46–49)
• The irony: Mount Gerizim, the mount of blessing in Deuteronomy, becomes the mount of cursing — the great reversal theme of Judges

C. God sends a harmful spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem (Judges 9:23)

• God is not the author of evil, but he uses evil spirits to accomplish his purposes
• The infighting is the manifestation of wickedness turned in on itself

D. The leaders of Shechem flee to the stronghold of the House of El-Berith (Judges 9:46)

• El was the chief Canaanite god, father of Baal; berith means covenant
• Shechem was set apart as a Levitical city of refuge (Joshua 21:21), but instead of sheltering in Yahweh of the covenant, they shelter in a pagan god — and are destroyed
• As Dale Ralph Davis observes: there is no true fellowship in evil; evil only uses its own (Revelation 17:16–17)

II. The Enemy Within Is Tribally Focused

A. The word relatives or brother drives the entire narrative

1. Abimelech appeals to his mother's relatives in Shechem (v. 1–2)
2. Shechem says "he is our brother" (v. 3)
3. Gaal uses tribal loyalty to stir revolt against Abimelech (vv. 26–28)

B. What is evaporating is Israel itself — there is no cohesive twelve-tribe nation, only clans, cliques, and factions

• As one commentator puts it: blood runs thicker than brains
• This same tendency appears in the church — splits typically begin with small disgruntled groups whispering rather than speaking face to face

C. Paul addresses this clickish, tribal mentality in 1 Corinthians 12

• God has so ordered the body that greater honor is given to the less gifted, less mature, and less socially prominent — that there may be no division in the body
• This is not merely a pragmatic strategy; it flows from hearts set on Christ

D. True Christian unity is not unity for unity's sake (which becomes lukewarmness)

• Unity that never corrects is as much a symptom of a darkened heart as tribalism
• Christian unity is a supernatural byproduct of the work of God in Christ by the Spirit — not a social achievement
• Israel's factionalism flows from hearts that have left Yahweh; the church must expect the same if hearts drift from Christ

III. The Enemy Within Is Conquered by Weakness

A. Jotham — the fugitive prophet — defeats the enemy simply by speaking God's word

• He does not muster an army; he speaks truth from Mount Gerizim and flees
• Yet the last word of the chapter is that the curse of Jotham came upon them (Judges 9:57)
• A weak fugitive gains victory over powerful enemies through God's word alone

B. Abimelech is killed by an unnamed woman who drops an upper millstone on his skull (Judges 9:53)

• To be killed by a woman was considered a disgrace in that culture
• This echoes Jael killing Sisera with a tent peg in Judges 4–5 — but here the woman is not even named; weakness is even more pronounced
• The mighty are brought low by the utterly insignificant

C. The ultimate fulfillment: Christ on the cross

• Jesus's last word in the Greek is one word — tetelestai, "It is finished" (John 19:30)
• A naked, humiliated, suffering servant crushes the serpent's head through apparent weakness
• Martin Luther's A Mighty Fortress: "one little word shall fell him"

D. Application: the missionary E. P. Scott

• Arriving among a hostile tribe in India with spears raised, he took out his violin and sang All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name
• At the stanza "let every kindred, every tribe… crown him Lord of all," the spears came down and tears flowed
• One little word, one little song — the conquering King wins through weakness
• For the Christian: when we are weak, then we are most strong (2 Corinthians 12:10)