Returning to this topic requires more focus on Ephraim's jealousy aimed towards Gideon and his success in liberating the House of Israel from her enemies. To begin with, why perhaps did Gideon, or rather the Lord, not include this tribe in the battle plans? The answer lies in the details of the narrative presented, for the Lord desired all of Israel to know that He, and He alone, delivered them and not their own devices or economic means. Gideon's flattery towards Ephraim concerning their plentiful fields suggests that the economic power of this tribe superseded that of all other tribes, save perhaps Judah. Had they been allowed to participate, and given their status as the birthright tribe, they undoubtedly would have insisted on taking the lead to ensure that they would aggrandize themselves, which would reinforce their position among the tribes. All this is to say that Ephraim, and the other tribes, would have attributed their victory to the "arm of the flesh" and perhaps may have led to their further distancing themselves from God and His commandments. But the scriptural account provides signposts indicating that something much more sinister was afoot among the Ephraimites. Before broaching the details concerning Ephraim, some preliminary information must be addressed.

Gideon and His Seventy Sons

The narrative informs the reader that during the days of Gideon Israel experienced forty years of peace under his watch, but it cannot be said that he ruled alone.

The scholarship of Michael S. Heiser has divulged insights concerning certain passages of scriptures that indicate the same organizational structure, a ruler and seventy others, derives its primary essence from the heavens. This is to say that God Himself rules with seventy others, possibly more, in what Heiser claims represents the “Divine Council” that appears in several instances throughout the scriptures.

Heiser’s research provides textual evidence that supports the governmental structure of a ruler with seventy councilors present in the divine order, and yet there are clues associated with Moses that illuminate the role mortals can have in this organization. Two verses declare something somewhat shocking to some and oftentimes consider blasphemous to the many concerning this point. Using Moses as an emissary to Pharaoh’s court necessitated God to place His seal of authority upon this man, and, in doing so, the Lord informed Moses of his divine authority in telling him that he will be God unto both Pharaoh and Aaron.

Going through the trouble of demonstrating Gideon’s divine authority to the reader was undertaken to impress upon the mind the divine order God commissioned Gideon to establish for the benefit and protection of His people. This order, however, did not last once the judge passed away. But did not Gideon’s sons remain to maintain this tranquil stated? They did but not for long, for Gideon had a son not enfranchised with the rights to governor in this order.

Abimelech’s Machination Against His Brothers

Believing the established order perhaps limited his prospects for power, Abimelech, whose name means “my father is king,” traveled to Shechem to visit his mother’s relatives in a ploy to stir up dissatisfaction against his brothers.

Shechem, according to most instances in the scriptures, represents the most ancient of the sacred towns of all the land holdings of the house of Israel. But more importantly for the analysis here, it belonged to and was under the government of the tribe of Ephraim. When Joshua partitioned the land to satisfy the requirements for tribal inheritances, he allocated this city into the territory of the Ephraimites, not to mention that the bones belonging to Joseph of Old were buried at this site.

All these factors provided an unusual advantage for Abimelech's bid for political power. Given Abimelech's mother, Gideon's Ephraimite concubine, came from this city, this added to his pedigree in the eyes of the audience he would persuade to his cause.

Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.

10

Note well the focus placed on Abimelech’s lineage and not whether he obeyed the commandments of God. Furthermore, these verses reveal his design to overthrow the established political order, an order decreed by God under the hand of Gideon, and replace it with one-man rule based on murder and intrigue. His calling Gideon by the name Jerubbaal before the masses persuaded the men of Shechem even more, for this name’s Hebrew meaning, “with whom Baal contends,” served to remind those present of the indignity done to Baal the day Gideon moved to deliver Israel.

Baal-Berith, the Covenant with Death

The plotting factor comes into view when the men of Shechem, along with Abimelech, entered the house of Baal-Berith. The association of the name Baal with this house alone should set off red flags for any student of the Old Testament, and yet the Hebrew of this house's name is even more stunning. The Hebrew term Baal (בַּעַל) denotes the supreme male deity in the Canaanite/Phoenician religion, with translators frequently rendering the term in English as "master" or "lord." The term Berith (בְּרִית) means "covenant." Combining these two terms results in "the lord of the covenant" and appears in this combination only in connection with Shechem and, by extension, the Ephraimites.

Entering in this house sets the scene for these men covenanting with Baal, an action through which Abimelech obtains seventy pieces of silver empowering him to hire men for his scheme. The plot's motive sought to rectify perceived injuries of all parties involved in the oath, and, in return, Abimelech would reign as king; those who consented to his power would benefit in various ways, whether it be obtaining positions in the new government or acquiring property. Both seem plausible. The scriptures apprise the reader concerning Abimelech's hired hands: they "were vain and light person."

These methods evoke the foundational event from which such things came about into the world: the machination of Cain against Abel. The Moses account offers details depicting Cain's covenant lord and the procedures by which this shadowy figure commanded his servant to operate.

And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands. And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret. And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.

15

This presents some parallels in the Judges' account that demonstrate Abimelech and his cabal's impetus to exchange the life of the rightful rulers so that they could accrue power for aggrandizing themselves before the whole of Israel. Undoubtedly, the success of their operation served as an example for the people, signalling that worshiping Baal has lucrative rewards for those willing to enter into the covenant with death. With Gideon and his seventy sons out of the way, the children of Israel had no righteous authoritative figures to curb their excesses by means of religious correctives. And historical as this account is, it serves to instruct the reader that such events again will present themselves in the future when Ephraim's secret works become known and preached upon the house tops, for they, like Cain, have again made a covenant with death.

Share That Zion May Go Forth