What is the meaning of Judges 9:23? God sent – “Then God sent a spirit of animosity…” (Judges 9:23) – The verse starts by placing the entire episode under God’s sovereign initiative. The Lord is actively governing events, not passively observing. Compare: • Genesis 50:20 – God turns human intentions for His purposes. • Isaiah 45:7 – He forms light and creates darkness, working even through calamity. – This action fulfills the earlier warning of Jotham (Judges 9:19–20) that God would repay treachery with treachery. – It reminds us that no wrongdoing escapes divine notice; God oversees history to uphold His justice, even if His timing is unexpected. a spirit of animosity – The “spirit” here is an invisible influence that stirs hostility. Similar scenes appear when “an evil spirit from the LORD” tormented Saul (1 Samuel 16:14) or when a deceiving spirit enticed Ahab’s prophets (1 Kings 22:19–23). – Scripture never portrays God as authoring sin, yet He may withdraw restraint or employ rebellious beings to accomplish His righteous ends (Romans 1:24; Psalm 81:12). – Animosity becomes the tool by which hidden sins surface—Abimelech’s murderous rise (Judges 9:5) and Shechem’s complicity now bear bitter fruit. between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem – Abimelech, though Gideon’s son, was half-Canaanite through his Shechemite mother (Judges 8:31). The leaders had financed his coup with silver from Baal-berith’s temple (Judges 9:4). – Their alliance was political, not covenantal; shared greed united them, not shared faith. Proverbs 28:21 warns that such partnerships unravel. – By God’s design, the very parties who conspired to kill Gideon’s seventy sons now devour each other, mirroring Psalm 7:14–16 where the wicked fall into the pits they dig. and caused them to treat Abimelech deceitfully – The Shechemites set ambushes (Judges 9:25), secretly hoping to overthrow the king they had installed. – God “caused” this—not by compelling sin, but by letting sin’s internal rot turn friends into foes. Romans 2:5 shows how stubborn hearts store up wrath for themselves. – The deceit exposes the emptiness of leadership built on violence; Galatians 6:7 echoes the principle: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked.” summary Judges 9:23 declares that the Lord Himself initiated the breakdown of an evil alliance. By releasing a spirit of hostility, He ensured that Abimelech and the men of Shechem would reap the treachery they had sown. The verse teaches that God’s justice governs history, using even human animosity to expose and punish sin, while safeguarding His larger redemptive plan. |
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