But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you. – Judges 9:18

Today's Scripture Reading (March 18, 2022): Judges 9

On June 15, 1519, Henry Fitzroy was born to Elizabeth Blount, the mistress of King Henry VIII. For the King, his birth must have felt like a cruel joke. Henry the VIII was desperate for a healthy male heir, but that desire had not yet been made a reality. And then his mistress gives birth to what the world would consider an illegitimate boy, one that would bear the name of his father, the King. It seems likely that Henry VIII had other illegitimate children, but Henry Fitzroy was the only one that the King ever acknowledged. And not only did the child bear the King’s first name, but his surname, Fitzroy, literally means “the Son of King.”

Henry Fitzroy was brought up as a prince, educated as a prince, and addressed as a prince. For a time, Henry VIII considered declaring Henry Fitzroy his legitimate heir. And with each passing year, and as Henry VIII's daughters and stillborn sons continued to mount, the pressure to make Henry Fitzroy his legitimate heir grew. Anne Boleyn opposed making Henry Fitzroy the king’s legitimate heir, hoping that the King would make her daughter, Elizabeth, the future Queen of England. Unfortunately, Henry Fitzroy died at the young age of 17, before the issue of who would follow in the footsteps of Henry VIII could be settled. No one knows for sure the cause of Henry Fitzroy’s death, but his death is thought to have been due to tuberculosis. Henry Fitzroy died at about the same age as his uncle, Prince Arthur, and his younger half-brother, born a year after Henry Fitzroy’s death, King Edward VI.

Abimelek is the illegitimate son of Gideon. It is a point that Jotham, a legitimate son of Gideon, wants to make abundantly clear. Abimelek had gone to his mother’s family in Shechem to gain control of the nation. But this is not Gideon deciding that he wanted to make an illegitimate son legitimate so that there would be an heir to the country's throne. Gideon had already refused the honor. “Gideon told them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you’” (Judges 8:23).

But Abimelek is not happy with his father’s decision. And so, he convinces the people of Shechem to support his desire to rule over Israel as King on the basis that he is one of them. And then he kills his half-brothers, the legitimate sons of Gideon, so that no one can make a counterclaim on the throne of Israel. The only son to escape Abimelek’s murderous rampage was Jotham. And Jotham goes to the people of Shechem with an important question for the people there. Did they really believe that they were honoring the memory of Gideon and showing gratitude for all of the things that he did to save the nation by killing the legitimate sons of Gideon and allowing Abimelek to be King? Would Gideon be pleased with them for doing something he had expressly forbidden?

But the reality in Shechem was that Gideon was dead. And they believed that Abimelek would serve their selfish desires better than anyone else. And so, they had made Abimelek king and gave the era of Israel’s Judges their first king and anti-judge.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Judges 10