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1Now 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, 2"Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, 'Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?' Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh."
3And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother." 4And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. 5And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.
7When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, "Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over us.' 9But the olive tree said to them, 'Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?' 10And the trees said to the fig tree, 'You come and reign over us.' 11But the fig tree said to them, 'Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?' 12And the trees said to the vine, 'You come and reign over us.' 13But the vine said to them, 'Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?' 14Then all the trees said to the bramble, 'You come and reign over us.' 15And the bramble said to the trees, 'If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'
16"Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved— 17for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, 18and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative— 19if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech." 21And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.
Jotham's fable introduces two paradigms, two kinds of persons. The first paradigm is represented by the three most prized plants in the Ancient Near East, the olive tree, the fig tree, and the vine. They are asked to accept becoming ruler over the rest of the trees, which translates into people asking people to become kings. Now their answers in all three instances are indicative of character traits. They say "No" to kingship, because they serve society by giving their respective fruit. The kingship in question here is one that entails an either-or kind of scenario: Either honor and support others and refuse the offer, or give up productive service and become worthless for others as king. The implication is clear: The kingship in mind is far from nurturing and has no nobility nor real value for the subjects. So, the first three are noble characters who refuse to be corrupted by power and prestige.
Next comes the bramble. Ironically, it is the most worthless of all plants for humans, its thorns do not even offer any shade, and its only value is as fuel for fire. But the bramble of all trees accepts the offer. The bramble is a worthless plant, and Abimelech is a worthless fellow; all he can do is kindle fire among his subjects, and this is what will happen as the story unfolds. But are Abimelech's policies so extraordinary in this world in which we live? Every society of man with concentration of power shows the same characteristics: Ruthless violence, hunger for power, backstabbing vengeance, irrational aggression, and, of course, the worship of idols. In this sense, Judges 9 is a realistic portrait of the potential evil of human politics, the church included.
The ethics of the kingdom of heaven are decidedly different, according to which rule comes in the form of service (cf. Matt. 20:25-28). This is what characterizes the three trees in the fable. They decline the offer of power and authority and prefer service to others and to God. No one has exhibited the ethics of the kingdom the way Christ has. On the night of his betrayal he rose from the Passover supper in order to wash his disciples feet. He, being Lord and Master, assumed the servant's role. Then he challenged his disciples—and us—saying, "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Amen, amen, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them" (John 13:15-17).
Leaders in Christ's church will find a constant challenge in these words not to seek their own glory, but Christ's and the good of others. But the rest of us will not get away with merely pointing the finger away from us. This is the marching order for the entire body of Christ. We see in Abimelech's example that God is stronger. Neither pretension nor hubris can dislodge the Lord from his throne. Abimelech's tour de force must yield to God's kingship, and the cycle is complete.
The author of these devotionals, the Rev. Martin Emmrich, is an ordained OPC minister (Westminster OPC, Corvallis, Oregon) as well as the author of Pneumatological Concepts in the Epistle to the Hebrews, a book on the teaching of Hebrews on the Holy Spirit. We are happy to make these devotionals on Ecclesiastes and other passages of Scripture available to you.
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