Judges 9

v1-6: As "Abimelech gained a position of authority and made himself great," the rest of the Israelites foolishly just sat by and "remain unconcerned," even when he had all his brother killed at once, except one who escaped. The presence of unrepentant sin in God's people is not something we should ignore or remain unconcerned by.

v7-49: The sorry affair between Abimelech and the Shechemites led to the deaths of about a thousand men and women, "many of whom were probably totally unconnected with the quarrel" between them. The consequences of sin are far-reaching, and often cause harm to those who are not directly involved. Let's not forget this.

v50-57: Abimelech had no concern for his soul or what would come of this. He did not cry out to God for mercy in the face of death. "All he was concerned about was patching up his shattered reputation." But what Abimelech "wanted so much to hide [has] been more especially remembered than most aspects of his life." The end of Abimelech reminds us of two things. First, that "the humiliation that we seek to avoid by sin often rebounds on us and is remembered long after." Second, that "although evil may prosper for a while it will not succeed forever."