91 Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to his uncles and all his mother's relatives and said to them, 2 "Ask all the leading men of Shechem, 'What do you think is best, that seventy men rule you - all those sons of Jerub-Baal - or that one man rule? You'll remember that I am your own flesh and blood.'" 3 His mother's relatives reported the proposal to the leaders of Shechem. They were inclined to take Abimelech. "Because," they said, "he is, after all, one of us." 4 They gave him seventy silver pieces from the shrine of Baal-of-the-Covenant. With the money he hired some reckless riff-raff soldiers and they followed along after him. 5 He went to his father's house in Ophrah and killed his half brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal - seventy men! And on one stone! The youngest, Jotham son of Jerub-Baal, managed to hide, the only survivor. 6 Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered at the Oak by the Standing Stone at Shechem and crowned Abimelech king.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 9:1-6
Commentary on Judges 9:1-6
(Read Judges 9:1-6)
The men of Shechem chose Abimelech king. God was not consulted whether they should have any king, much less who it should be. If parents could see what their children would do, and what they are to suffer, their joy in them often would be turned into sorrow: we may be thankful that we cannot know what shall happen. Above all, we should fear and watch against sin; for our evil conduct may produce fatal effects upon our families, after we are in our graves.