READ: Judges 8:28-35, 9:7-18
Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
Proverbs 17:13
In this amazing story, Gideon was rewarded for his hard work by the killing of his seventy children. This was the way the nation of Israel thanked Gideon for all his adventurous missions where he risked his life for the nation. That is not a nice way to say, “Thank you”. These things bring curses to people’s lives years after they have departed from the earth.
And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull. Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: and all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
Judges 9:52-57
Abimelech’s skull was broken when a lady threw a big stone out of the tower. Abimelech must have had a big headache and knew he would not survive. All the people who were involved in killing Gideon’s sons were destroyed in the wars that followed. They were all cursed because they had repaid Gideon’s efforts by killing his children. He that repays good with evil will always have evil in his house.