Judges 9:7 says, And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.  When Jotham heard what had happened, he went to the top of  Mount Gerizim and cried out for the people to listen to him, so that God might hear them.  What they had done was not what God would have had them do.  We should always proclaim God's word and ask others to listen to us.  Verse eight states, The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.  Jotham spoke in an analogy about trees.  The other trees wanted the olive tree to reign over them, much as the people of Israel wanted a leader.  Verse nine adds, But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?  The olive tree said there was nothing to be gained by leaving its fatness to rule over them.  Verse ten says, And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.  The trees next asked the fig tree to be their ruler.  Verse eleven adds, But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?   Once more they were rejected.  The fig tree said it wasn't worth its time to give up what it already had.  Verse twelve adds, Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.  Then verse thirteen adds, And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?  The trees next asked the vine to rule over them.  They seemed to be looking for just any ruler.  We cannot look to just anyone to be our spiritual leader, but must look for the person that God has chosen for us.   The vine asked why it should leave its making of wine simply to rule over the trees.  This was not God calling these various plants to rule over the others, but if God calls us to a place of service, whether great or small, we cannot say that it would cost us too much or that it doesn't fit in our plans.  Verse fourteen states,
Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.  The trees now went to the bramble, which would have been nothing but a  pest to them and asked it to be their ruler.  The trees really didn't even need a ruler, but they were determined to have one no matter how unqualified that ruler might be.  We cannot be the same way.  Verse fifteen adds, And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.  The bramble told the trees to put their faith in it, or else it would destroy them.  The trees now had something willing to rule over them, but only if the put all their faith in it to avoid being destroyed.  Verse sixteen declares, Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;  Then verse seventeen adds, (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:  Then verse eighteen continues, And ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)   Jotham then applies this to the people of Israel.  He asked if they had dealt honestly with the sons of Jerubbaal, or Gideon, in making Abimelech king.  Gideon was the one that God used to deliver them, and yet they had killed all of his sons except Abimelech and Jotham, who had managed to escape.  Jotham asked if they thought this was the right thing to do.  Then verse nineteen proclaims, If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:  Jotham told the people that if that had done right by Jerubbaal and his descendants, then they should rejoice with Abimelech and he should rejoice with them and rule over them.  Then verse twenty adds, But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.  Jotham then added a but to the proclamation.  If they had not dealt honestly with Jerubbaal and his descendants, then let them be destroyed by fire.  If we are putting our faith in false gods today, or any person that stands between God and us, one day our works will be consumed by fire.   Verse twenty-one states,  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.  Jotham went to Beer to live, because he feared Abimelech, his brother.  He did not call on God to empower him to defeat Abimelech, nor did he call on God to immediately destroy Abimelech.  When confronted with an enemy, as followers of Christ, we must call on God to help us overcome our enemies and should never run away from them in fear.