“A Bad Tree”
Judges 9
Scripture: Judges 9:1-57
Memory Verse: “Blessed is the man….he shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water…”
Psalm 1:1a, 3a
Lesson Focus: A bad example “not” to follow.
Activities and Crafts: Coloring Page, Work Sheet
Craft for 1st and 2nd Graders: God’s Tree” – tell the kids to draw roots on their trees. Tell them
that a healthy tree gets its nourishment through it’s roots. We get our “spiritual” nourishment
through God’s Word. Tell them to draw a river under the tree. Tell them to draw fruit on their
tree. Tell them to color their tree green.
Introduction: “Good Example / Bad Example Game”
Tell the kids that you are going to give some examples. They are to tell you if they think
it is a good example or bad example by thumbs up for good, and thumbs down for bad.
Examples:
Using kind words?
Hitting someone?
Lying?
Helping your little brother?
Cheating on a test?
Obeying your parents?
Telling a friends secret to someone else?
Today, the Bible is going to show us a bad example of a life that is not well lived. The Bible is
showing us through the “bad example” of this life how we should live differently.
Bible Lesson:
Judges 9:1
√ Who is Abimelech?
1. He is Gideon’s Son – born to one of his concubines (not his wife)
2. His name means “My father is king”
3. He has 70 brothers
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4. His mother’s family was from Shechem
√ Do you remember when the people of Israel asked Gideon to become king, what he
said? (He told the people that he would not be king, that God was their King.)
Judges 9:2:
√ What does he ask the people of Schechem? (Would they like 70 of Gideions
sons to reign over them or just one to reign? He also reminds them that he is
one of them. Abimelech wants to be king. Even though his father said that God
was the only King that they needed, Abimelech wanted the power.
Judges 9:3-4:
√ What did the people of Shecham decide?
1. They wanted to follow Abimelech
2. They recognized that he was one of their people
3. They gave him money (70 shekels of silver
4. They hired worthless men to help him
√ Why does the Bible call them “worthless?” The Bible is not wasting
words….this means that they were men of poor character. They were
not good men.
Judges 9:5:
√ What did these men do with Abimelech?
They killed all 69 of his brothers
√ Did anyone survive? (his youngest brother, Jotham)
√ How did he survive? (He hid)
Judges 9:6:
√ What did the men of Shechem do after this killing?
They made Abimelech the king. He was only the King of Shechem, not of
Israel.
Judges 9:7-21: “Jotham’s Curse”
Jotham goes to the top of mount Gerizim. This is a mountain that is 800 feet in
elevation. This is the mount that the people of Israel spoke blessings when they
entered the Promised Land (Deut. 27:12) This mountain overlooks the city of
Schechem. Jotham is going to share a parable, the first in the Bible. This
parable is going to show us God’s heart for a good leader.
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The Parable:
The good trees, Olive tree, Fig Tree and Vine all said they would not rule,
because if they did, they would not be able to give the fruit that they
were made of give. But the “Bramble” says that it will be King. Bramble
is a thorn bush, the most worthless plant in the Middle East. In produces
no fruit and it lies close to the ground so that it is not even good for
shade. The wood of this plant is no good and can only be used for fires.
So in this parable, the worthless plant wants to be king.
Judges 9:16-21
After declaring that they have chosen a worthless “bramble” to their king
(Abimelech) Jotham ran away.
Jotham may be the first to compare men to trees, but he will not be the last in
the Bible. In Psalm 1, God says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel
fo the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners…but his delight is in the law of
the Lord….he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth
its fruit in its season…”
Judges 9:22-55 ( do not read all of the verses – just pick a few to read)
√ Who sent the spirit of ill-will to the men of Schecham?
√ Why would God do this?
1. So that the crime of killing the seventy sons would be punished.
2. To teach them a lesson
√ Does God forget? It had been 3 years since the killings and Abimelech was
made king. Do you think that he thought that he got away with it?
√ Does God ever let sin go unpunished? No!
Hosea 4:7 “They more they increased, The more they sinned against Me; I will
change their glory into shame. . . .So I will punish them for their ways.”
Romans 3:23, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Sin, never goes unnoticed by God. He knows that it is in our nature. That is why
He provided a way of escape through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for us.
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So now God is going to teach Abimelech and the men of Shechem a lesson:
1. The men of Shechem lay in ambush and kill and robbed everyone who
passed by in the mountain area.
2. Gaal becomes their leader against Abimelech – they steal and get drunk and
make a challenge to Abimelech to come out and fight them.
3. Abimelech makes a plan to go out at night and lay in ambush to fight.
4. Abimelech and the people of Schechem fight.
5. A women drops a large stone from a tower on Abimelech’s head and he asks
his armorbearer to kill him with a sword.
Judges 9:56-57: The Result:
1. God paid back the evil that Abimelech had done and the men with him
2. Their sin did not go unpunished.
3. The curse of Jotham came true
Conclusion:
What does this Bible story teach us?
That sin never goes unpunished – in this life or the next
How is Abimelech a bad example?
1. He wanted power that he did not deserve
2. He was a murderer
3. He did anything to get what he wanted
How can I apply this lesson to my life?
1. Be ready to confess my sin to God – 1 John 1:9
2. Realize that sin is a serious matter – Romans 6:23 – But God has provided an
escape.
3. Be careful of the people that we follow.
Are they leading us in the wrong direction?
Are they people of character? (Do they follow God?)
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