Chapter 91. Judges 9:1-22. Jotham’s Parable.
AFTER Gideon’s death, the Israelites forsook God entirely, and turned to idolatry. They did not profit by their bitter experience with the Midianites, and went on as if they had no account to take of a Holy God who saw their wicked ways. Gideon had many sons; the name of one was Abimelech. He was a very ambitious man and wanted to be king. He went to Shechem, where his mother’s people lived and asked his relatives to use their influence with the people. The men of Shechem were pleased with Abimelech, and attended to what he said, and gave him money, promising to make him king. With this money lie hired some wicked men who followed him wherever he went. Then he went to Ophrah and killed his brothers, seventy in all, upon one stone, except the youngest of all, Jotham, who hid himself and escaped. When the brothers were dead, the men of Shechem made Abimelech king. Jotham, hearing of it, went and stood on Mount Gerizim, and called with a loud voice to the people of Shechem to listen to him while he told them an allegory: The trees of the forest, one day, said he, went out to find a king who would reign over them. They said to the olive tree: “Reign thou over us.” But the olive tree answered: Shall I leave my fatness with which they honor God and man, and be promoted over other trees? The trees came next to the fig tree and asked him to be their king. But the fig tree answered: Should I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? They passed on to the vine and said: “Come thou and reign over us.” But the vine said to them: “Should I leave my wine which cheers God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?” Last they came to the bramble, and said: “Come thou and reign over us.” The bramble answered: If you really want me to rule over you, come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, fire will come and burn all the trees, even the cedars of Lebanon.
Jotham was trying by this story to show the Israelites how foolish they were to take such a man as Abimelech for their ruler, and what the result would be. If those who were like the olive tree, the fig tree and the vine—fruit-bearing— (that is, whose works were pleasing to God, and for the good of the people,) refused to rule, because, as Gideon had said, God should reign over His people, what would the rule of such a one be except to bring them to destruction?
When Jesus was on the earth, He told His disciples that He was as one that served in their midst. If we follow His example, seeking always what good we can do to others, in honor preferring one another, (as we are told in Rom. 12:10), we shall then be far more pleasing to Him, and He has said, “Every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”. Luke 18:14.
Jotham continued to speak to the Shechemites from Mount Gerizim, saying: If you have done well in making Abimelech king, and if you have treated my father’s house well, (for my father fought for you, risked his life and delivered you from the Midianites. and yet you have killed his seventy sons) then, you may rejoice in Abimelech, and he in you, but, if not, let fire come from Abimelech and destroy the men of Shechem, and let fire come from the men of Shechem and destroy Abimelech.
Then Jotham ran away, and went to live in Beer, for fear of his brother Abimelech.
It was not long before these words of Jotham’s became true, as we shall see in our next chapter.
May the Lord keep us from wanting to appear to be above others! for pride is an abomination in the Lord’s sight. In the sixth chapter of Proverbs God puts pride, lies and murder in the same list of the things which He hates. It was the root of Abimelech’s wicked crimes. Let us watch that we may be kept from it, humbly following in the footsteps of Jesus, who although He was God, yet “took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, in earth and under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!” Phil. 2:7-11.
ML 04/28/1912