WAIT… THAT’S IN THE BIBLE? — DAY 14

A lighthearted look at some of the wonderfully unexpected things you discover when you actually read your Bible, context still matters!

“A woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull. Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, “A woman killed him.”’”
Judges 9:53–54

Abimelek is attacking a tower.

A woman standing above him sees what’s happening, grabs an upper millstone and throws it down.

BONK.

Right on Abimelek’s head.

His skull is fractured.

He’s mortally wounded.

And even at this point, Abimelek apparently has one major concern:

“Whatever happens… DON’T LET PEOPLE SAY A WOMAN KILLED ME.”

So he orders his armour bearer to finish him off with a sword.

Problem solved.

Reputation saved.

Except…

THE BIBLE WROTE DOWN EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.

And it gets even worse for poor Abimelek’s reputation.

Years later, in 2 Samuel 11:21, his death is mentioned again:

“Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall…?”

Abimelek:

“Just don’t let anyone say a woman killed me.”

The Bible:

“Anyway, remember that bloke who was killed when a woman dropped a millstone on him?”

Context still matters!

Abimelek wasn’t an innocent victim. His story is one of violence, ambition and ruthless pursuit of power, including murdering his own brothers. His death forms part of the judgment that Judges 9 says came upon him for the evil he had committed.

There’s actually a sobering truth underneath the strange ending:

Pride can become so consuming that we worry about protecting our reputation even when everything else is falling apart.

But still…

Abimelek tried desperately to make sure history didn’t remember him as:

THE GUY A WOMAN TOOK OUT WITH A MILLSTONE.

Approximately three thousand years later…

here we are talking about it.