After Dark
Dying to Be Somebody
Years ago I lived in Marin County, California, and I was trying to get in shape. Not stay in shape. Get in shape. For some reason I decided sprinting would be a great way to do it. I’m not sure why anybody would ever think that, but I did.
So I went to a running store to buy some track spikes. I didn’t want to spend much, because I’d been here before and I knew I wasn’t going to need them for long. The owner went to the back and came out with a box. The spikes were multicolored, silver and gold, in a very particular design. Flashy. I bought them.
I drove to the track, sat on the tailgate of my truck and started lacing them up. A car pulled up and four guys got out. It was obvious they were not there to get in shape. They looked at my shoes, and I saw recognition in their eyes. Then they asked if I wanted to warm up with them.
I should have known better. But I was flattered, so I said yes. We started running, and I quickly realized they were in a whole different class. So I did what any of you would have done. I faked a calf injury, limped over to the side of the track and sat there watching them work out.
I found out later they were training for the U.S. Olympic team. Those spikes were only given to world-class athletes. The store owner had a few pairs left over, and I’d bought them without knowing their pedigree. When those guys saw them on my feet, they figured I was one of them. I wasn’t. I’d just bought the leftovers.
The shoes said one thing about me. The truth said something else. And I was willing to fake an injury rather than let anybody see what was really under the shoes.
That’s funny. Mostly. This week’s story isn’t. Abimelek wanted to be somebody so badly that he killed his brothers to get there. And when he was dying, with his skull cracked by a rock a woman dropped from a tower, his last request was still about his image.
When ambition leads to abuse, God takes it personally.
What’s your version of the flashy spikes: something you’ve worn, driven, said or posted to look like more than you are?
What are men willing to sacrifice to be important?
Read the Whole Thing
The Story in Four Scenes
Read Judges 8:22–35 and all of Judges 9. It’s long, it’s violent and it’s in your Bible on purpose. Watch for every fire. You’ll see why.
Judges 8:22–9:6
After a huge victory, Israel begged Gideon to be their king. He said no: “The LORD will rule over you” (8:23). Good answer. Then he collected gold, lots of wives and seventy sons, and named one of them Abimelek: “my father is king.” Maybe Gideon didn’t want the crown. His son did.
Abimelek went to his mother’s hometown, Shechem, with a simple pitch: Would you rather be ruled by seventy strangers or by one of your own? They paid him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith. Seventy pieces. Seventy brothers. He hired some “reckless scoundrels,” killed his brothers on one stone, and Shechem crowned him king. Only the youngest, Jotham, escaped.
What argument won Shechem over? Why does “one of your own” still work on people?
Who paid for the murders? What does that tell you about who’s responsible?
Judges 9:7–21
Jotham climbed Mount Gerizim, right above the city, and shouted down a story. The trees wanted a king. The olive tree, the fig tree and the vine all said no. They were too busy being useful. Finally the thornbush said yes, offering “shade” it couldn’t give and threatening fire if they didn’t take it. Then Jotham ran for his life.
What does the thornbush promise that it can’t deliver?
Why do people follow a leader they know is dangerous?
Judges 9:22–49
Three years. That’s how long it lasted. Then “God stirred up animosity” (9:23), and the men who’d made Abimelek king started ambushing travelers and mocking him at parties. He came back, crushed the city, scattered salt on it, and burned the stronghold where about a thousand men and women had run for safety. Jotham’s fire wasn’t a figure of speech anymore.
What did Shechem gain at first? What did it end up losing?
Judges 9:50–57
At the next town, Thebez, Abimelek walked up to another tower to burn it too. A woman on the roof dropped an upper millstone, the stone she used every day to grind grain, and cracked his skull. His last words? “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, ‘A woman killed him’” (9:54). Dying, and still managing his image.
Then the narrator tells us what it all meant: God repaid Abimelek for murdering his brothers, and Shechem for helping him (9:56–57).
What does his last request tell you about him?
Read 9:56–57 out loud. Why do you think the writer spells it out so clearly?
Did You Know?
Behind the Story
Jesus once watched dinner guests scramble for the best seats. His advice: take the lowest place. “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Abimelek grabbed the head seat and lost everything. Jesus said greatness means serving (Mark 10:43–45), and then he did it himself. One man killed his brothers to be king. The real King died for his.
What the text teaches
Power without character destroys. Judges doesn’t admire Abimelek. Compare what God wanted in a king (Deuteronomy 17:18–20) with what Jesus said about greatness: “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43).
The men who enable it share the blame. Shechem wasn’t a bystander. It wrote the check. This story asks not just how we lead, but who we follow, fund and make excuses for.
Your image won’t outlive the truth. Abimelek fought for his reputation to his last breath. Three thousand years later, we still know a woman killed him. Jesus did the opposite: he “made himself nothing” (Philippians 2:7), and God lifted him up.
God is not indifferent to injustice. The point isn’t just “pride is bad.” It’s that God sees, and God repays (9:56–57). That’s a warning to anyone climbing over people, and a comfort to anyone who’s been climbed over.
Man to Man
Real Life
Where did ambition become using people? What would real repentance look like for him on Monday morning?
What’s the difference between protecting authority and protecting your ego? How could an apology make him a stronger leader?
How are his defenders like the leaders of Shechem? What accountability does an effective leader need?
The Pride Audit
Just between you and God. Your answers stay on your phone.
| Rarely | Sometimes | Often |
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The one I need to work on this week:
Before the Lights Go Out
Your Week
Lose one argument without losing your integrity.
Listen to a criticism without defending yourself. Find the part that’s true. If you’ve hurt someone, own it and make it right. Humility doesn’t mean agreeing with a lie or letting someone mistreat you. It means you don’t have to win. Ask yourself: Who pays the price when I need to be important?
Five minutes a day
My specific step this week:
The Prostitute Was Right · Genesis 38
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