Judges 9 (part 1)
I am floored by this story. Gideon had 70 sons. He had Abimelech with one of his slaves. He goes to his people, Shechem, and proposes they make him king. His statement was, “Would you rather be ruled by all 70 of Gideon’s, or one man.” They choose Abimelech and he hires an army and kill 69 of his half brothers, Gideon’s sons, on one stone. The illustration of leadership that follows is brilliant. When the younger brother that escaped the massacre heard they had made Abimelech king, he shouted a story down to them from the top of a mountain.
8 Once upon a time the trees decided to elect a king. First they said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ 9 But it refused, saying, ‘Should I quit producing the olive oil that blesses both God and people, just to wave back and forth over the trees?’ 10 ”Then they said to the fig tree, ‘You be our king!’ 11 But the fig tree also refused, saying, ‘Should I quit producing my sweet fruit just to wave back and forth over the trees?’ 12 ”Then they said to the grapevine, ‘You be our king!’ 13 But the grapevine replied, ‘Should I quit producing the wine that cheers both God and people, just to wave back and forth over the trees?’ 14 ”Then all the trees finally turned to the thornbush and said, ‘Come, you be our king!’ 15 And the thornbush replied, ‘If you truly want to make me your king, come and take shelter in my shade. If not, let fire come out from me and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
The response of the productive trees is interesting. They asked why they would give up being productive just so they could wave above the other trees. More to come…
