Judges 9:7-15
7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and cried aloud and said to them, 'Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
8The trees once went out
to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree,
"Reign over us."
9The olive tree answered them,
"Shall I stop producing my rich oil
by which gods and mortals are honored,
and go to sway over the trees?"
10Then the trees said to the fig tree,
"You come and reign over us."
11But the fig tree answered them,
"Shall I stop producing my sweetness
and my delicious fruit,
and go to sway over the trees?"
12Then the trees said to the vine,
"You come and reign over us."
13But the vine said to them,
"Shall I stop producing my wine
that cheers gods and mortals,
and go to sway over the trees?"
14So all the trees said to the bramble,
"You come and reign over us."
15And the bramble said to the trees,
"If in good faith you are anointing me king over you,
then come and take refuge in my shade;
but if not, let fire come out of the bramble
and devour the cedars of Lebanon."
8The trees once went out
to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree,
"Reign over us."
9The olive tree answered them,
"Shall I stop producing my rich oil
by which gods and mortals are honored,
and go to sway over the trees?"
10Then the trees said to the fig tree,
"You come and reign over us."
11But the fig tree answered them,
"Shall I stop producing my sweetness
and my delicious fruit,
and go to sway over the trees?"
12Then the trees said to the vine,
"You come and reign over us."
13But the vine said to them,
"Shall I stop producing my wine
that cheers gods and mortals,
and go to sway over the trees?"
14So all the trees said to the bramble,
"You come and reign over us."
15And the bramble said to the trees,
"If in good faith you are anointing me king over you,
then come and take refuge in my shade;
but if not, let fire come out of the bramble
and devour the cedars of Lebanon."
THOUGHTS:
So I wasn't sure what to make of this passage after reading it a first time. I needed to open up my annotated Bible to get a little context for this passage. From what I read, Jotham was the only son of seventy to survive the slaughter by a man who wanted to be king. That is an over simplification of the story, but run with it for now.
This is an interesting parable when you look at it. The way I read it, is that the other trees were too busy doing other things. They were all doing things that were too important to them not to devote all their time to that task. So the trees literally ask everyone, including the lowly bramble, the least of all the trees. His response is basically, if you really want me to be king, good. Come hang out and let me rule you. If not, you will pay and I will destroy the greatest among you (the cedars were highly regarded as trees).
Now, you might ask what the lesson is. I think it is to be honest in all your pursuits, and never doubt the ability of the lowly to be great and do more than you think they can.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the continual grace we receive from these devotions this Lenten season. Allow us to gather the meaning of parable and always remember the bramble. Amen.
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