Judges 9:1-57
9:1-2 Abimelech, son of Gideon's concubine, is desperate for power. In complete disregard for God, he has a manipulative plan to ascertain a position as king. Although his own father, Gideon, had refused the title of king, he did live as one. Abimilech wants that lifestyle and that title for himself. He decides that in order to become king, he needs to substantiate his claim as well as eliminate his competition (after all, he has at least 70 other siblings).
Abimelech begins with a speech to the people of Shechem. He relies on the fact that the people of Shechem are more inclined to follow him over his other brothers since he is one of them, his mother having been of Shechem. Is it better, he asks, to be ruled by a group of Gideon's children or by just the one who is also from Shechem?
9:3-4 Abimelech's uncles support his claim. Likely, the thought of being a royal family became their sightless motivation. The character of Abimelech is a non-issue from the start. His whole campaign is inspired, founded and propelled simply by the fact that he is "flesh and bone" of Shechem. The uncles procure enough money for Abimelech to create a small military. Abimelech uses the money to hire "worthless and reckless men."
Abimelech does not care if the men are honest or fair. He does not care about their intentions as long as they obediently follow him and help him to pave the way toward a kingdom. So, to do inventory at this point in the story, we have a corrupt man, surrounded by corrupt men, assembling to encroach on the people.
9:5 The next order of business for Abimelech: pull out the roots of competition. In a mass execution, Abimelech kills his brothers. Only one brother survives: Jotham, because he hides (perhaps reserved by God for future redemption for this people). For now however, Abimelech has ensured that he is the only known surviving son of Gideon.
9:6 Beside the terebinth tree at the pillar in Shechem, Abimelech is made king. Abimelech used money, manipulation and murder to assert and assure his claim as king. The drastic difference between judges and prophets appointed by God is that none of them use or need the methods of money, manipulation or murder to become great and wise leaders.
Children of God are appointed by Him. They do not need to build campaigns or resort to corruption to solidify their position. God is making all of the power moves on their behalf. Jotham is not randomly spared from the mass execution; God, seeing the outcome of Abimelech's reign, arranged and set in place rescue.
9:7 Jotham is told of his brother's coronation and in response, speaks boldly to the people of Shechem this Parable of the Trees. Listen to me, you men of Shechem, he begins, that God may listen to you. As an introduction, Jotham explains the purpose of his speech. The Parable of the trees is an explanation of our organization under God's philosophy and authority. Each soul has a purpose and a contribution when submissive to our Master Organizer (God). Each souls finds contentment and even joy in its place when obedient to God. Yet another class, represented by a bramble bush, rejects the organization of God, lustfully desiring its own power instead, and, in a position of power, causes its subjects to suffer.
Therefore Jotham begins, listen to me in order to understand how electing Abimelech, the symbolic bramble bush, was a caustic choice. Electing a bramble bush, as we will see, is to disrupt organization and thus the fluidity of peace.
Abimelech's corrupt efforts for power and control is reminiscent of the Cherub, Satan's manipulative plot for the same. Like Abimelech, Satan was created in an honored family (God's).
Before we continue into the Parable of the Trees, how does this chapter relate to us on an individual and daily scale? For one thing, there have been and will always be people around us who disrupt order by pursuing their own selfish desires. For another, we a sometimes those people. One small and large scales. We will continue to break this down as the parable continues.
9:8 Trees are symbolic of people. The people are looking to appoint a king among them. They approach the olive tree, the noblest of trees first.
9:9 The olive tree refuses the position. Perfectly content with its honorable job of giving oil (quality --) to both God and people, it does not want the demotion of "king." Is it odd that the Olive Tree would find kingship a demotion? Not exactly. Matthew 20:16 explains to us that the most humble children of God will be made first. The Olive Tree would rather be first in the eyes of God than king to humans. Although the world might view king as the highest position of honor, 1 John 2:15, children of God are unimpressed by it.
The Olive Tree does not want to disrupt its God-appointed position. It explains its refusal: I like what I do. It's important. The quality of life of humanity would decrease if I abandoned my position given by God for one given by humans.
The people in the time, and perhaps even our own, are dependent on a ruler. The will begin to vehemently demand a man-king in upcoming books. This parable is wisdom given to try to extinguish those demands: God's authority brings the peace and prosperity they want, not man. But, they (and we) are not exactly notorious for being good listeners - at least not for long - and this Book of Judges is evidence of that.
9:10 Continuing the parable: the trees then ask the fig tree to reign over them.
9:11 The fig tree also declines. The fig trees represents another type of human perfectly content with their position on earth. The fig trees follow the will of God and do good works in His name and are subsequently uninterested in taking away from that time and energy.
9:12-13 The trees then ask the vine to reign as king. Once again, they are refused. The vine does not wish to defect from its position of reverence and obedience to God to "go sway over trees." The irony is that to men like Abimelech, kinship is the ultimate goal: power, control and domination. To children of God, it's a dishonorable burden. God is their leader, they do not see reason to build a system of hierarchy on earth when divine authority already reins.
9:14 Finally, however, the trees, so desperate for a leader (utter neglect of God) ask a bramble tree to reign over them. Their insistence on creating a hierarchy in the world causes them to accept the lowest, truly vile option for king. The bramble tree is symbolic in that it is so sparse it does not even cast a shadow. It offers no protection over its subjects. Men who are symbolized by bramble trees over no protection over their subjects because their selfish corruption disregards human life.
9:15 Because the bramble tree, corrupt men, have no connection with God or compassion, the prospect of personal power is enticing enough to accept. They are not concerned about their ability to lead because they do not care if they bring peace to their kingdom. They are not concerned about disrupting God's organization because frankly, the idea of submission to him is detested by them. They have no humility and therefore believe that they are capable of maintaining their position and power, even if it means resorting to corrupt and violence behavior.
From the start, following the bramble tree is dangerous. The bramble trees already makes promises it cannot keep: it offers shade when it casts no shadow! But the words are charming and the trees accept. The bramble tree already makes demands: following me completely or else I'll burn everything down, I'll even devour the best of what God's children have established here on earth.
This parable is not preaching anarchy. It's preaching the organization of God. However, if we are insistent upon electing ruling officials (nearly all, if not all, countries do even in our day) do not let the bramble bush manipulate you. Like Satan and like the bramble bush in this chapter, the promises they offer appear to be so sweet! But a vigilant and observant child of God, organized by His wisdom, sees the flaw in the promises:
Therefore Jotham begins, listen to me in order to understand how electing Abimelech, the symbolic bramble bush, was a caustic choice. Electing a bramble bush, as we will see, is to disrupt organization and thus the fluidity of peace.
Abimelech's corrupt efforts for power and control is reminiscent of the Cherub, Satan's manipulative plot for the same. Like Abimelech, Satan was created in an honored family (God's).
Ezekiel 28:14-15
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,Satan's story continues through the Bible: In revelation we learn of his plotting before earth, Revelation 12:4. In Genesis 3 we learn of his plotting on earth with humanity; in the Gospels we learn of his attempted manipulation of Jesus, Matthew 4:1-11. Satan was the initial disruption of the fluidity of peace that God's organization brings. Therefore, men in the Bible who take after him, like Abimelech, are said to be the children of Satan, John 8:44.
Till iniquity was found in you.
Before we continue into the Parable of the Trees, how does this chapter relate to us on an individual and daily scale? For one thing, there have been and will always be people around us who disrupt order by pursuing their own selfish desires. For another, we a sometimes those people. One small and large scales. We will continue to break this down as the parable continues.
9:8 Trees are symbolic of people. The people are looking to appoint a king among them. They approach the olive tree, the noblest of trees first.
9:9 The olive tree refuses the position. Perfectly content with its honorable job of giving oil (quality --) to both God and people, it does not want the demotion of "king." Is it odd that the Olive Tree would find kingship a demotion? Not exactly. Matthew 20:16 explains to us that the most humble children of God will be made first. The Olive Tree would rather be first in the eyes of God than king to humans. Although the world might view king as the highest position of honor, 1 John 2:15, children of God are unimpressed by it.
The Olive Tree does not want to disrupt its God-appointed position. It explains its refusal: I like what I do. It's important. The quality of life of humanity would decrease if I abandoned my position given by God for one given by humans.
The people in the time, and perhaps even our own, are dependent on a ruler. The will begin to vehemently demand a man-king in upcoming books. This parable is wisdom given to try to extinguish those demands: God's authority brings the peace and prosperity they want, not man. But, they (and we) are not exactly notorious for being good listeners - at least not for long - and this Book of Judges is evidence of that.
9:10 Continuing the parable: the trees then ask the fig tree to reign over them.
9:11 The fig tree also declines. The fig trees represents another type of human perfectly content with their position on earth. The fig trees follow the will of God and do good works in His name and are subsequently uninterested in taking away from that time and energy.
9:12-13 The trees then ask the vine to reign as king. Once again, they are refused. The vine does not wish to defect from its position of reverence and obedience to God to "go sway over trees." The irony is that to men like Abimelech, kinship is the ultimate goal: power, control and domination. To children of God, it's a dishonorable burden. God is their leader, they do not see reason to build a system of hierarchy on earth when divine authority already reins.
9:14 Finally, however, the trees, so desperate for a leader (utter neglect of God) ask a bramble tree to reign over them. Their insistence on creating a hierarchy in the world causes them to accept the lowest, truly vile option for king. The bramble tree is symbolic in that it is so sparse it does not even cast a shadow. It offers no protection over its subjects. Men who are symbolized by bramble trees over no protection over their subjects because their selfish corruption disregards human life.
9:15 Because the bramble tree, corrupt men, have no connection with God or compassion, the prospect of personal power is enticing enough to accept. They are not concerned about their ability to lead because they do not care if they bring peace to their kingdom. They are not concerned about disrupting God's organization because frankly, the idea of submission to him is detested by them. They have no humility and therefore believe that they are capable of maintaining their position and power, even if it means resorting to corrupt and violence behavior.
From the start, following the bramble tree is dangerous. The bramble trees already makes promises it cannot keep: it offers shade when it casts no shadow! But the words are charming and the trees accept. The bramble tree already makes demands: following me completely or else I'll burn everything down, I'll even devour the best of what God's children have established here on earth.
This parable is not preaching anarchy. It's preaching the organization of God. However, if we are insistent upon electing ruling officials (nearly all, if not all, countries do even in our day) do not let the bramble bush manipulate you. Like Satan and like the bramble bush in this chapter, the promises they offer appear to be so sweet! But a vigilant and observant child of God, organized by His wisdom, sees the flaw in the promises:
- Satan offers Jesus the earth. Wow, what an offer! Except that... the earth is not Satan's to give.
- The bramble bush offers shade to the people! Protection! Rest! Sounds wonderful. Except that... the bramble bush does not even cast a shadow. Therefore, it has no shade to give.
If humans could faithfully live under God's organization, there is no need for a king. Alas, humans seems to be tragically unable to live faithfully under God's organization and bramble bushes continue to be elected into power. This discourse on kingship will be continued in 1 Samuel through I and II Kings.
9:16-17 Jotham finishes the parable and has a straightforward conclusion for his audience. Essentially the message is this: rest easy if your elected king has been made king due to honorable efforts. If you feel that you have been respectful to God and have honored Gideon's efforts on your behalf, disregard everything I am saying.
9:18 Continuing: But... I expect that you have not. You murdered Gideon's sons. You appointed Abimelech not because he's a good man but because he shares your family tree.
9:19-21 After this beautiful, creative and deep parable Jotham wraps up pretty quickly: if you have dealt peacefully, rejoice! For that is God's promise to righteous souls. However... if you have dealt corruptly, (in a rush of words) you're-going-be-devoured-by-fire-and-so-is-your-king-'gotta go! And Jotham flees because he has just infuriated his audience and his brother, king Abimelech.
As we see, Jotham was elected by God to deliver this parable and speech. Consider Matthew 20:22, the disciples were hasilty ready to sign up for anything Jesus had planned. While Jotham's parable was beautiful, its message and conclusion were extremely dangerous. The reminder here is that when we elect to become workers with God, we elect to do some serious work and have some serious discussions with possibly even our enemies. Therefore it is imperative that we develop our faith on a firm foundation and allow God to strengthen us for the journey and purpose He places on us.
9:22 Everything goes as planned for Abimelech for 3 years. He reigns over even the children of Israel. Link - shortening of Satan's reign: Revelation 13:5, Matthew 24:22. After all, these events of the Old Testament are examples of the events of our future, 1 Corinthians 10:11.
9:23-25 Abimelech reaps what he had sowed. Through deception and injustice, he is brought down (just as he brought down his brothers). His faithful followers were not so faithful anymore for nothing build on corruption can last.
9:16-17 Jotham finishes the parable and has a straightforward conclusion for his audience. Essentially the message is this: rest easy if your elected king has been made king due to honorable efforts. If you feel that you have been respectful to God and have honored Gideon's efforts on your behalf, disregard everything I am saying.
9:18 Continuing: But... I expect that you have not. You murdered Gideon's sons. You appointed Abimelech not because he's a good man but because he shares your family tree.
9:19-21 After this beautiful, creative and deep parable Jotham wraps up pretty quickly: if you have dealt peacefully, rejoice! For that is God's promise to righteous souls. However... if you have dealt corruptly, (in a rush of words) you're-going-be-devoured-by-fire-and-so-is-your-king-'gotta go! And Jotham flees because he has just infuriated his audience and his brother, king Abimelech.
As we see, Jotham was elected by God to deliver this parable and speech. Consider Matthew 20:22, the disciples were hasilty ready to sign up for anything Jesus had planned. While Jotham's parable was beautiful, its message and conclusion were extremely dangerous. The reminder here is that when we elect to become workers with God, we elect to do some serious work and have some serious discussions with possibly even our enemies. Therefore it is imperative that we develop our faith on a firm foundation and allow God to strengthen us for the journey and purpose He places on us.
9:22 Everything goes as planned for Abimelech for 3 years. He reigns over even the children of Israel. Link - shortening of Satan's reign: Revelation 13:5, Matthew 24:22. After all, these events of the Old Testament are examples of the events of our future, 1 Corinthians 10:11.
9:23-25 Abimelech reaps what he had sowed. Through deception and injustice, he is brought down (just as he brought down his brothers). His faithful followers were not so faithful anymore for nothing build on corruption can last.
9:26-29 Abimelech's men flit over to a new leader: Gaal. Abimelech's corrupt rule never earned him any respect or loyalty. Without any qualms, his men abandon him and then plot against him.
9:30-33 Abimelech is warned of the impending ambush and told to prepare.
9:34-41 The commander of Abimelech's army, Zebul, severely debilitates the opposing army and reminds them of how they mocked Abimelech.
9:42-49 Abimelech's army continues to crush the opposing force.
9:50-55 At this point, Abimelech's army is the dominant and triumphant force. He defeats the city of Thebez but the remaining resides have hidden in the top of a tower. Abimelech approaches the tower to set fire to it but a woman uses his close proximity to throw a stone down onto his head. Abimelech is debilitated beyond repair. Knowing that he is going to die, he asks one of his soldiers to kill him with a sword (so that a woman will not have killed him, he says).
Abimelech then dies just as he killed his brothers - by the stone.
9:56-57 In a short space of time, Abimelech reaps what he had sowed.
9:30-33 Abimelech is warned of the impending ambush and told to prepare.
9:34-41 The commander of Abimelech's army, Zebul, severely debilitates the opposing army and reminds them of how they mocked Abimelech.
9:42-49 Abimelech's army continues to crush the opposing force.
9:50-55 At this point, Abimelech's army is the dominant and triumphant force. He defeats the city of Thebez but the remaining resides have hidden in the top of a tower. Abimelech approaches the tower to set fire to it but a woman uses his close proximity to throw a stone down onto his head. Abimelech is debilitated beyond repair. Knowing that he is going to die, he asks one of his soldiers to kill him with a sword (so that a woman will not have killed him, he says).
Abimelech then dies just as he killed his brothers - by the stone.
9:56-57 In a short space of time, Abimelech reaps what he had sowed.
