Judges
9:1-2, 5b-21 (NIV) Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's brothers in
Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan, 2 "Ask all the
citizens of Shechem, 'Which is better for you: to have all seventy of
Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh
and blood."
. . . But Jotham, the youngest son of
Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. 6 Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth
Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown
Abimelech king.
7 When
Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and
shouted to them, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may
listen to you. 8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves.
They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.'
9
"But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods
and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'
10
"Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.'
11
"But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet,
to hold sway over the trees?'
12
"Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.'
13
"But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods
and men, to hold sway over the trees?'
14
"Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'
15
"The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king
over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out
of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'
16
"Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech
king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have
treated him as he deserves— 17 and to think that my father fought for you,
risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian 18 (but today you have
revolted against my father's family, murdered his seventy sons on a single
stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of
Shechem because he is your brother)— 19 if then you have acted honorably and in
good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy,
and may you be his, too! 20 But if you have not, let fire come out from
Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire
come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume
Abimelech!"
21 Then
Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his
brother Abimelech.
NOTE: Jotham's
concern over how Gideon's (Jerub-Baal's)
family is treated is repeated earlier in the story by the author (8:35). The
people are complicit in Abimelech's treachery in a number of ways. The first is they encourage Abimelech in his sin instead
of confronting his proposed wicked action. It was not just talk of a hot-head,
and it was evil. We too should remind people of sin and confront the proposed
action even if it is only words. Because words often lead to actions. Secondly,
the people ignore the action after it is accomplished. They seem to take the
attitude that what is done is done, and they can't change anything, so they
will ignore it. But this is also evil. We have a responsibility to stand up
against evil and lawlessness. We cannot ignore evil and hope it goes away or
doesn't affect our lives. Jotham calls out for justice and no one responds.
This story, like
many in Judges, reflects poor decisions all around. For instance, we do not see
Jotham do the right thing either. For instance, he does not give credit to God
for Gideon's actions, but sees Gideon as the one who saved them. Also, Jotham does
not pray for God's assistance, although we will clearly see God work and use
Jotham's word to accomplish his judgment. So, being in the right and being the
person who was abused, doesn't mean that our follow-on actions are pure either.
Jotham does do one thing right that the people do not. He speaks out loud and
rebukes the actions of his sinful brother.
He should have also taken it to God as a matter of prayer.
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