Judges 9:1-8: a reflection

1Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2“Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.” 3His mother’s brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words. Their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, “He is our brother.” 4They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and reckless fellows who followed him. 5He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone; but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6All the men of Shechem assembled themselves together with all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem. 7When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice, cried out, and said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8The trees set out to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

The account of Abimelech is a dark study in what unchecked ambition for power can do. Wanting to make himself king, Abimelech conspires with his mother's kinsmen, hires reckless men with money from a pagan temple, and murders his seventy brothers on one stone to remove every rival, so that he alone might rule. His ambition for power stopped at nothing; to gain the throne he shed his own brothers' blood. This is ambition unchecked, grown murderous and destructive, willing to destroy whatever stands in the way of power. The lust for power, when it is not restrained, becomes ruthless, trampling and destroying to reach its end. Abimelech's path to the throne was paved with the blood of those he removed. Unchecked ambition for power is a destructive thing, capable of great evil in pursuit of its end.

Notice how destructive Abimelech's ambition became when it was unchecked. He wanted power, the throne; and to get it, he was willing to conspire, to hire reckless men, to murder his own brothers, to destroy every rival. His ambition knew no restraint, no limit; it trampled whatever stood in its way, even his own kin. This is what the lust for power can become when nothing restrains it: ruthless, murderous, destructive of others and, in the end, of the one it possesses. Ambition for power, unchecked by conscience or love or the fear of God, does not stop at what is decent; it will destroy to reach its end. The account holds this up as a warning, not a model. Unrestrained ambition for power is not a harmless drive but a destructive one, capable of terrible evil. To let ambition for power go unchecked in our hearts is to nurse something dangerous. The lust for power, unrestrained, consumes both others and the one who harbors it.

That is worth taking to heart, for unchecked ambition for power is destructive, and we must guard our hearts against it. We can nurse ambition for power, position, or advantage, and let it go unchecked, unrestrained by conscience or love or the fear of God; but Abimelech's unchecked ambition became murderous, destroying his own brothers to seize the throne. Ambition for power, when nothing restrains it, becomes ruthless and destructive. There is danger in letting the lust for power go unchecked in our hearts. Do not let ambition for power go unchecked in your heart; it is a destructive thing, as Abimelech's murderous rise shows. Guard your heart against unchecked ambition for power, which becomes ruthless and destructive when nothing restrains it, as Abimelech murdered his seventy brothers to seize the throne; for the lust for power, unrestrained by conscience or love or the fear of God, does not stop at what is decent but will trample and destroy whatever stands in its way, consuming others and in the end the one who harbors it, so that we do well to guard our hearts against it rather than nurse it.

Lord, the account of Abimelech is a dark study in what unchecked ambition for power can do. Wanting to make himself king, Abimelech conspires with his mother's kinsmen, hires reckless men with money from a pagan temple, and murders his seventy brothers on one stone to remove every rival, so that he alone might rule. His ambition for power stopped at nothing; to gain the throne he shed his own brothers' blood. This is ambition unchecked, grown murderous and destructive. Show me how destructive Abimelech's ambition became when it was unchecked. He wanted power, the throne; and to get it, he was willing to murder his own brothers, to destroy every rival. His ambition knew no restraint; it trampled whatever stood in its way. This is what the lust for power can become when nothing restrains it: ruthless, murderous, destructive of others and, in the end, of the one it possesses. Ambition for power, unchecked by conscience or love or the fear of you, does not stop at what is decent. The account holds this up as a warning, not a model. Take that to my heart, for unchecked ambition for power is destructive, and I must guard my heart against it. I can nurse ambition for power, position, or advantage, and let it go unchecked; but Abimelech's unchecked ambition became murderous. There is danger in letting the lust for power go unchecked in my heart. Keep me from letting ambition for power go unchecked in my heart, Lord; guard me against it, for it becomes ruthless and destructive when nothing restrains it, as Abimelech murdered his brothers to seize the throne.