What lessons can we learn about divine retribution from Judges 9:56? The Text at the Center Judges 9:56: “In this way God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.” Why This Moment Matters Abimelech had manipulated, murdered, and terrorized to seize power. For a time, it looked as if he had succeeded. Then, in a single day, a millstone dropped by an anonymous woman shattered his skull, and a sword from his own armor-bearer finished him. Scripture interprets the event for us: God Himself was settling accounts. Key Lessons About Divine Retribution • God keeps meticulous records. Nothing wicked or righteous slips past His notice (Proverbs 5:21). • Retribution may be delayed, but it is never denied. Years passed before Abimelech was judged, yet judgment arrived right on God’s timetable (2 Peter 3:9). • The punishment fits the crime. Abimelech shed blood; God required his blood (Genesis 9:6). • God often uses ordinary means—political turmoil, personal rivalries, even a falling millstone—to carry out extraordinary justice (Isaiah 10:5-7). • Leadership offers no immunity. Kings, commanders, and commoners alike answer to the same moral law (Psalm 2:10-12). • Innocent blood cries out. Murder of the defenseless provokes God’s swiftest response (Genesis 4:10). • Divine retribution vindicates the righteous and warns the living. Everyone watching Abimelech’s fall learned that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Patterns of Divine Justice Elsewhere in Scripture • Pharaoh’s drowning of Hebrew infants answered by Pharaoh’s army drowning in the sea (Exodus 1–14). • Haman’s gallows prepared for Mordecai became the instrument of Haman’s own death (Esther 7:9-10). • Ananias and Sapphira’s deceit judged immediately to protect the purity of the early church (Acts 5:1-11). • Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.” • Numbers 32:23: “Be sure that your sin will find you out.” • Romans 12:19: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” These scenes echo Judges 9:56: God repays measure for measure, preserving moral order. How God Executes Retribution 1. Direct intervention (Genesis 19:24). 2. Providential circumstances—political upheaval, natural events, personal conflicts (Judges 9:23, 53-54). 3. Internal consequences—restless consciences, spiritual blindness (Psalm 32:3-4; Romans 1:24-28). 4. Final judgment—eternal separation for the unrepentant (Revelation 20:11-15). Living Wisely in Light of God’s Justice • Walk in humble obedience; sin’s pleasures never outweigh God’s payback. • Repent quickly; confession breaks sin’s grip before consequences harden (1 John 1:9). • Refuse personal vengeance; entrust wrongs to the One who judges perfectly (1 Peter 2:23). • Intercede for leaders; their choices affect many, and God holds them doubly accountable (1 Timothy 2:1-2). • Take courage: when evil seems unrestrained, remember Abimelech—the Judge of all the earth still does right (Genesis 18:25). |
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