If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too! But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you

 Judges 9:1-21

Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother’s clan,  “Ask all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal’s sons rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember, I am your flesh and blood.” When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelek, for they said, “He is related to us.”  They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelek used it to hire reckless scoundrels, who became his followers. He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. 

When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.

“Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you treated him as he deserves?  Remember that my father fought for you and risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian. But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you. So have you acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today? If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too! But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!”

Gideon, with some claim to kingship, firmly rejected it. Abimelech, his brutal and ambitious son, shows no such scruples. But Abimelech is not God's choice as his father was, and the writer plainly sees the dangers of inherited leadership. God-and justice- has the last word, even if it is presented in a rather tit-for-tat fashion.

Why?

Abimelek shows the desire to be king over his nation and over his family. His way is cruel and ambitious. His way is not like his father to be chosen by the Lord.

Gideon left the way to his family's bad seed of violence. They did not really turn to the Lord.

-----------

亞比+米勒：我父親+做王的含義。表示基甸有做王的意圖且不用負責。

一個人管比70個人管好，因為人都不想被管，少些人管愈好。做王就是要剷除異己。如果王就是要別人聽他的話，對人沒有好處。

橄欖樹，無花果樹，葡萄樹，供應別人，祝福別人了，我何必要做王，我已經在做王的事，祝福別人，幫助別人。只有荊棘沒有貢獻，大樹如何要它蔭下，荊棘只能要求別人低下，卻不能給別人好處，還會刺傷別人。擁立亞米比勒的人做王是愚蠢的。做王是供應別人的需要，祝福別人，給別人好處。

現在你們立亞比米勒為王，若按誠實正直善待耶路巴力和他的全家，這就是酬他的勞。大家都歡喜快樂。耶穌做榜樣服事人，幫助孤兒寡母。

願我們學習耶穌基督的榜樣，服事人，使人蒙福。

-----------

How?

The authority belongs to the Lord, even to be a king or president.