(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Judges 9:1–6, “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 Baalberith, 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.”
While Gideon’s sons all lived in his main home and formed the Judge’s household at that time, Gideon’s concubine lived in another town, Shechem, so he was not counted as part of that household. In spite of that fact, Abimelech was an ambitious man and had been brought up in relative poverty, he was also an outcast from the mainstream of society. He called all the people from his home town together, after his father’s death and persuaded them that it would be much better for them if a man from their own town became the next ruler of Israel. After that he went and killed all his brothers so that there would be no competition for the position of leader. The he told everybody that he was the king. This was done outside the Lord’s will and was a consequence of this time of rebellion against the Law of the Lord.
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