Judges 9:21

_AND JOTHAM RAN AWAY, AND FLED, AND WENT TO BEER, AND DWELT THERE, FOR FEAR OF ABIMELECH HIS BROTHER._ Jotham ran away, and fled. The moral of the parable he had spoken was this-That foolish and wicked men are found boldly usurping places of power and prominence, from the responsibility of which wise and good men are apt to shrink; and that the associates in such proceedings, where no regard is paid to principle or personal merit, will sooner or later fall by mutual destruction. AND WENT TO BEER - the modern village el-Bireh, on the ridge which bounds the northern prospects of Jerusalem....

7-21 There was no occasion for the trees to choose a king, they are all the trees of the Lord which he has planted. Nor was there any occasion for Israel to set a king over them, for the Lord was their King. Those who bear fruit for the public good, are justly respected and honoured by all that are wise, more than those who merely make a figure. All these fruit-trees gave much the same reason for their refusal to be promoted over the trees; or, as the margin reads it, to go up and down for the trees. To rule, involves a man in a great deal both of toil and care. Those who are preferred to public trust and power, must forego all private interests and advantages, for the good of others. And those advanced to honour and dignity, are in great danger of losing their fruitfulness. For which reason, they that desire to do good, are afraid of being too great. Jotham compares Abimelech to the bra...

Verse Judges 9:21. _WENT TO BEER_] Mr. Maundrell, in his journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 64, 5th edit., mentions a place of this name, which he thinks to be that to which Jotham fled, and supposed to be the same as Mishmash, 1 Samuel 14:5; 1 Samuel 14:31. It is situated, he says, towards the south, on an easy declivity; and has a _fountain_ of excellent water at the bottom of the hill from which it has taken its name....

EXPOSITION JUDGES 9:7 ON THE TOP OF MOUNT GERIZIM. Mount Gerizim rises on the south-west side of Samaria or Shechem as a sheer rock about 800 feet in height, facing Mount Ebal, which is separated from it by the narrow valley, "some 500 yards wide," in which Samaria, now Nablus, is built. It was from Mount Gerizim that Joshua, in accordance with the directions given by Moses in Deuteronomy 11:29, caused the blessings of the law to be proclaimed, after the capture of At, while the curses were proclaimed from Mount Ebal (Joshua 8:33, Joshua 8:35). Some explain the name to mean "the mount of t

AND JOTHAM RAN AWAY, AND FLED,.... Having delivered his fable, and the application of it, he made his escape, having the advantage of being on the top of a mountain, at some distance from the people, and perhaps they might not be inclined to do him any harm: AND WENT TO BEER; which some take to be the same with Baalathbeer in the tribe of Simeon, Joshua 19:8 Jerom f says, the village Bera, whither Jotham fled, is eight miles from Eleutheropolis to the north; but Mr. Maundrell g, who was in those parts in 1697, gives us a better account of it; and, according to him, it is about two hours and a half's travel from Bethel to it, and three hours and one third from it to Jerusalem; Beer, he says, enjoys a very pleasant situation, on an easy declivity, fronting southward; at the bottom of the hill it has a plentiful fountain of excellent water, from which it had its name:...

CHAPTER 9 ABIMELECH THE KING AND HIS WICKEDNESS _ 1. The murder of Gideon's sons (Judges 9:1)_ 2. Jotham's parable (Judges 9:7) 3. Scenes of strife and destruction of Shechem (Judges 9:22) 4. Abimelech's end (Judges 9:50) The story of Abimelech is intensely interesting in its typical meaning. Abimelech was the offspring of an unlawful union: the son of Gideon and the concubine in Shechem. He was half Israelite and half Canaanite. Abimelech means “my father was king”; he claims therefore supremacy, lordship over the people Israel on the basis of succession. His father had refused that honor; the bastard offspring

JOTHAM'S FABLE. Only in an apologue could Jotham, the sole survivor of Abimelech's massacre, express what was in his bitter, broken heart. The point of his fable is easily caught. His father and his brothers were the fruitful trees olive, fig-tree and vine who declined to rule over the other trees; his half-brother is the bramble who has accepted the kingship, but who will presently set on fire the cedars of Lebanon. If the Shechemites have acted in good faith to Jerubbaal in choosing Abimelech as king, may they have joy of the choice; but if not, may their king be a devouring fire among them! Judges 9:7. How Jotham got an audience at the top of Gerizim is not said. The language is not to be pressed, and a well- known crag overlooking the town has been pointed out as a natural pulpit. Judges 9:9

_Jotham's fable_ The author of the fable had several points in his mind: (_a_) the contrast between Gideon's refusal of the kingship and the arrogant claim of the son of his concubine; the other sons (or many respectable members of the community) had qualities which entitled them to rule; it was left to the mean -bramble" to claim the rank of king; (_b_) a warning to the Shechemites of the dangerous character of their upstart chief; his protection was worthless if they trusted him, and if they did not he would be their ruin; (_c_) a rebuke of the Shechemites for their ingratitude towards the house of Gideon. The fable, however, is not entirely consistent with the moral drawn from it; especially after Judges 9:15, the connexion is so difficult to trace, that many think that the fable was not composed for the occasion but borrowed from the folk-tales current at the time. This i

_Jotham Rebukes the Shechemites Judges 9:7-21_ 7 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. 8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. 9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. 11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? 12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. 13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted ove

THE STORY OF ABIMELECH This chapter breaks the regular order of the book, since Abimelech is not thought of as a judge, and the Canaanites are not here regarded as oppressors. The story, however, throws a valuable light on the way in which Israel fell into unfaithfulness, when free from the yoke of foreign oppression. 1-6. The rise of Abimelech....