From: The Preacher
4 They gave him seventy silver coins from the temple of Baal-berith, which he used to hire some reckless troublemakers who agreed to follow him. 5 He went to his father’s home at Ophrah, and there, on one stone, they killed all seventy of his half brothers … Judges 9:4-5, NLT
Once upon a time, a very ambitious but unqualified politician consulted with his people, that he must be king. He was desperate and indiscriminate in how he pursued the ambition. He couldn’t care even if it meant covenants with devils or killing his own brothers – in “his father’s home.” He couldn’t care even if he had to burn down a whole city, staining the land with blood.
Blood, even much blood, did not matter where his ambition stood. His name was Abimelech, which meant “father of the king.” Why shouldn’t the king’s ‘father’ be king himself? It was his turn, he mused. After all, he had the title of a Prince, and many “agreed to follow him.” Alas, how the ‘followers’ hailed him!
In the course of that ambition, Abimelech consulted the temple of Baal-Berith, the “lord of covenant,” the popular deity and temple of his people. There, he received financial support for his political ambition – 70 silver coins (or 70 shekels of silver). Bad money births no good project. With the money from that questionable source, he hired _“some reckless troublemakers.”_ The New King James Version called them _“worthless and reckless men.”_ With the 70 shekels from Baal processed by unnumbered worthless thugs, Baba Abimelech killed 70 sons – his own brothers, whom he considered reasonable obstacles in the path of his ambition. That strikes me: 70 souls for the 70 shekels. In other words, that was ritual money calling for blood, even though it was not so written on the coins. Abimelech’s Party, call it AP, was a ruthless, bloody, devilish, desperate gang, with many shekels for ugly deeds and much blood to service their altars.
Mind the sources of your monies in such political seasons. It could be your blood for the shekel, or that of your sons – on one stone, in one day. All glistening coins may not be clean money after all. There are two sides to many monies: the attractive glistening crispy side that every eye may see, and the masked mystic side that only opened eyes can behold. Ask Judas (Matthew 27:6), ask Gehazi (2 Kings 5:26-27).
How did Abimelech end? Tragic. In one of his obstinate bloody campaigns, he had his head smashed by the domestic millstone of a nameless ordinary wise woman. “And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place” (Judges 9:55), and the land had rest at last. Amen. Did you just hear a prophecy?
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