God Will Repay

“Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he committed toward his father in murdering his seventy brothers.” Judges 9:56

Abimelech was an unsavory character who decided to take the throne by killing all but one of his 70 brothers. He wades through rivers of blood to accomplish his desire for power. The lone surviving brother Jotham, tries to warn the people that supporting Abimelech is a bad idea, but the people ignore him. They make him king and Abimelech reigns for three years.

Abimelech is clearly a wicked and evil man. We would wish that God would move more quickly to repay such wickedness, rather than allowing this kind of evil to reign unabated for even three years. But, given that God allows humanity to exercise freewill, we cannot always expect immediate and exact retribution.

This story is one time that the wickedness is repaid. Abimelech goes on a military tirade, eventually coming to the town of Thebez and capturing it. Then townsfolk fled to a tower in the middle of the city, shut themselves inside, and climbed to the top. This was a common defensive strategy in ancient times. Thus, God is often called a “strong tower” in Scripture.

Abimelech presses the attack, approaching the door to set it on fire. A woman drops an upper millstone on his head, cracking his skull. Abimelech, knowing he will die, does not want to suffer the disgrace of dying at a woman’s hand, and so asks his armor-bearer to thrust him with his sword.

Though much of the story makes our modern blood curdle, there is a truth about God which encourages us. Though wickedness may seem to have its way, God will have the last word. What interests me is that it was Abimelech’s own evil that led him to his final demise.

Yes, God has allowed freewill; that freewill means wickedness may sometimes prosper; but the same freewill means that the wicked will drive themselves to their eventual end. There is much encouragement here for those who have felt the heavy boot of wickedness in their lives. Be patient, look to God, let Him deal out the final payment for evil.

This sort of “trusting in God” does not mean we refrain from speaking out or campaigning for justice in the world. Exactly the opposite. It means that, if we are on the side of good; if we are speaking up for the broken, the disadvantaged we can do it trusting God will eventually make things right.

It inspires bravery to speak against tyranny with the words of both truth and compassion. It encourages the attempts to be world-changers pointing others to a better life than self-serving advancement. It motivates us to humble tenacity even when it seems that ego and pride win all the prizes.

For those who patiently endure, who speak truth in love, who unswervingly speak for the voiceless, there is promise of a final restitution. Whether wickedness fails because of its own devices, or God directly intervenes, God will repay wickedness. It is not ours to pay the wages of evil; it is ours to embody the good.