And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.
This verse belongs to the account of Jotham's parable and its fulfillment, in which trees are pictured as holding a council and speaking to convey a lesson. The talking trees are figurative, not a literal account of speaking trees. Abimelech, the son of Gideon's maidservant, arranged for Gideon's sons, his brothers, to be slain so that he might become ruler of Israel, gathered worthless followers about him, and was chosen as ruler by the men of Shechem. Shechem was the very ancient stopping-place of Jacob when he returned from Padan-aram to Canaan.
The verse places the events at Shechem on the day after Abimelech's initial action, when the people went out into the field and word of it reached him. This going out was open rebellion after three years of demoralizing rule and heartless tyranny. The very men who had made him king by treachery had become disgusted with him and were determined by treachery to remove him.
The discord, strife and hatred between Abimelech and his subjects was sent by the Lord and fulfilled the words of Jotham. It brought the time of retribution both for Abimelech and for the Shechemites who had sustained him. Their cruelty had begun with the sons of Gideon and had continued in putting to death everyone who opposed his will.
The rebellion led Abimelech to attack Shechem, slay the inhabitants, utterly destroy the city, reduce it to ashes, and sow the ground with salt as a token of perpetual desolation. About a thousand people who had taken refuge in the tower of Shechem were destroyed with it. Having been permitted to execute God's vengeance upon Israel, he passed the limits of divine forbearance and his career of crime was cut short. The parable teaches that those doing valuable work for God do not seek to rule their fellow believers, and that ambition to be exalted over others shows a person is unfit to rule, while the outcome teaches that sin will never go unpunished and warns of the danger of disobedience.
This verse belongs to the account of Jotham's parable and its fulfillment, in which trees are pictured as holding a council and speaking to convey a lesson. The talking trees are figurative, not a literal account of speaking trees. Abimelech, the son of Gideon's maidservant, arranged for Gideon's sons, his brothers, to be slain so that he might become ruler of Israel, gathered worthless followers about him, and was chosen as ruler by the men of Shechem. Shechem was the very ancient stopping-place of Jacob when he returned from Padan-aram to Canaan.
The verse places the events at Shechem on the day after Abimelech's initial action, when the people went out into the field and word of it reached him. This going out was open rebellion after three years of demoralizing rule and heartless tyranny. The very men who had made him king by treachery had become disgusted with him and were determined by treachery to remove him.
The discord, strife and hatred between Abimelech and his subjects was sent by the Lord and fulfilled the words of Jotham. It brought the time of retribution both for Abimelech and for the Shechemites who had sustained him. Their cruelty had begun with the sons of Gideon and had continued in putting to death everyone who opposed his will.
The rebellion led Abimelech to attack Shechem, slay the inhabitants, utterly destroy the city, reduce it to ashes, and sow the ground with salt as a token of perpetual desolation. About a thousand people who had taken refuge in the tower of Shechem were destroyed with it. Having been permitted to execute God's vengeance upon Israel, he passed the limits of divine forbearance and his career of crime was cut short. The parable teaches that those doing valuable work for God do not seek to rule their fellow believers, and that ambition to be exalted over others shows a person is unfit to rule, while the outcome teaches that sin will never go unpunished and warns of the danger of disobedience.