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 to his brothers, he called out to the men of Shechem from the top of Mount Gerazim. Jotham did not raise an army and attempt to take over ruling the people of Shechem, even though Abimelech had said this was the intent of the sons of Gideon. He simply began to point out their stupidity in following Abimelech. Verse eight adds, 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 begin to speak in a parable about the trees wanting to elect a king. This parable was evidently inspired by God, and it showed Jotham's understanding of the situation. Sometimes, instead of fighting against those who profess to be Christians and who are doing things that are not in accordance with God's will, all we can really do is point out the error of their ways under the guidance of God. We cannot just base it on our own opinion, but must be based on God's word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Verse nine continues, 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 trees first went to the olive tree to ask it to be king, but the olive tree turned them down because it provided olives used to honor God and men, so why would it want to give this up simply to rule over the other trees. The trees really had no need for a king, and neither did the people of Shechem, because God was their king and they were simply to be productive doing what God called them to do, and this still applies to us today. We as followers of Christ should not aspire to rule, but to serve, doing what God calls us to do and bearing fruit for His kingdom and His glory. Verse ten states, And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. 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? The trees next went to the fig tree, and got pretty much the same answer as the olive tree had given them, which was why give up doing what it was designed to do simply to spend its time being a ruler over the other trees. If God has not called us into a leadership position, why would we today want to be in that position instead of serving where God has called us to serve? Verse twelve says, Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. 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, being determined to have a king that they didn't need, next went to the grapevine, and again received a similar answer as to why the grapevine wouldn't serve as their king. We should never be so determined to have an earthly ruler that we continue to look everywhere instead of looking to God. Verse fourteen states, Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. 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 trees finally asked the bramble, and unproductive and destructive vine, to be their king, and the bramble accepted. Since rhe bramble was being used to represent Abimelech, Matthew Henry says this might imply that the people of Shechem asked him to be their king and he in self pride accepted, but this really doesn't seem to be what the Bible says. The bramble did say that they were to trust in its shadow. We as Christians should never exalt leaders, especially those who do not seem to put moraliy first, if they continually exalt themselves. Verse sixteen continues, 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; Jotham then pointed out that this was what the people of Shechem had done when they foolishly chose Abimelech as their king, while ignoring all that Gideon had done for them while asking for nothing in return. We today need to judge people by what they have done to benefit others by God's guidance, and not by what they may have done to help themselves. Verse seventeen declares, (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: Verse eighteen adds, 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 reminded them of what his father, Gideon, had done for them and then of how they had treated him by killing his seventy sons on the word of Abimelech that they aspired to be king. Abimelech, Gideon's son by his concubine, who had done nothing for the people of Shechem, was the only one of Gideon's sons to ask to be made king. Yet, the people followed him because he said it would stop Gideon's other sons from wanting to rule over them. We need to be careful that we do not follow someone who promotes himself as being the one who can keep us from a harmful situation that does not really exist. Verse nineteen states, 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 said if they had dealt truly and sincerely with the Gideon and his sons, that they should rejoice and Abimelech should rejoice with them. Ultimately, as Christians, we all have ask ourselves if we are dealing honestly and truly with those that we may condemn or follow, and it must all be done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Verse twenty-one 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 said that if they had not done so, let Abimelech and them be destroyed by fire. One day, those who refuse to follow God by putting their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord will go away to everlasting punishment in the fires of hell. Verse twenty-one continues, And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. Jotham did not attempt to take over as king, but fled to Beer because of his fear of his brother, Abimelech. I don't believe that we as Christians today should ever run away out of fear, but neither should we claim power for ourselves, unless we truly believe that this is what God wants us to do.
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