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The
biblical account of the punishment which God executed on those who murdered
the sons of Gideon shows very clearly that God hates those who shed innocent
blood and does not leave them unpunished. Here is what we read in the book of
the Judges: “And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his
mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the
house of his mother's father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all
the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of
Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one
reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his
mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all
these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He
is our brother. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of
the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons,
which followed him. And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew
his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon
one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left;
for he hid himself. And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the
house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar
that was in Shechem. And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in
the top of mount
Gerizim,
and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye
men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time
to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou
over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness,
wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the
trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But
the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good
fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the
vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I
leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the
trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over
us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over
you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out
of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Now therefore, if ye have
done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have
dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to
the deserving of his hands; (For my father fought for you, and adventured his
life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: And ye are risen up
against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and
ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his
maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;) If ye
then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this
day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: But if
not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the
house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the
house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went
to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. When Abimelech
had reigned three years over Israel, Then God sent an evil spirit between
Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously
with Abimelech: That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of
Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother,
which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing
of his brethren. And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top
of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and
it was told Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and
went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. And
they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the
grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and
drink, and cursed Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech,
and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal?
and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why
should we serve him? And would to God this people were under my hand! then
would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and
come out. And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the
son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. And he sent messengers unto Abimelech
privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to
Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee. Now therefore up by
night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field: And
it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise
early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is
with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt
find occasion. And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him,
by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the
son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and
Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. And
when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down
from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow
of the mountains as if they were men. And Gaal spake again and said, See
there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come
along by the plain of Meonenim. Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy
mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is
not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight
with them. And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with
Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were
overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate. And Abimelech
dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should
not dwell in Shechem. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went
out into the field; and they told Abimelech. And he took the people, and
divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked,
and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up
against them, and smote them. And Abimelech, and the company that was with
him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and
the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and
slew them. And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took
the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and
sowed it with salt. And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard
that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith. And it was
told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were
gathered together. And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the
people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut
down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and
said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste,
and do as I have done. And all the people likewise cut down every man his
bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on
fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died
also, about a thousand men and women. Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and
encamped against Thebez, and took it. But there was a strong tower within the
city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and
shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower. And Abimelech came
unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the
tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone
upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull. Then he called hastily
unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and
slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust
him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that
Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. Thus God rendered
the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his
seventy brethren: And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon
their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal”
(Judges 9:1-57).
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