We may not be as extreme as Abimelech was, but we still want to be kings of our own kingdoms. We have deep, intense desires, for recognition, control. And those desires drive us to do sinful things. We want to prove ourselves, make ourselves look good. We use others, our own families, to advance ourselves and our own agendas. The fire that comes from our sinful desires within us ends up hurting ourselves, and others. We go after our own kingdoms, instead of seeking God’s kingdom and wanting to be a fruitful tree of blessing to others around us.
1 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family,