(Judges 9:8-15)8 "The trees once went
forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over
us!' 9 But the olive tree said to them, 'Should I cease giving my oil, With
which they honor God and men, And go to sway over trees?' 10 "Then the
trees said to the fig tree, 'You come and reign over us!' 11 But the fig tree
said to them, 'Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, And go to sway
over trees?' 12 "Then the trees said to the vine, 'You come and reign over
us!' 13 But the vine said to them, 'Should I cease my new wine, Which cheers
both God and men, And go to sway over trees?' 14 "Then all the trees said
to the bramble, 'You come and reign over us!' 15 And the bramble said to the
trees, 'If in truth you anoint me as king over you, Then come and take shelter
in my shade; But if not, let fire come out of the bramble And devour the cedars
of Lebanon!'
Chapter 9 of the Book of Judges described
the story of Abimelech. His mother was Gideon's concubine. (Judges 8:31). He
belonged to Shechem. After Gideon passed away, Abimelech and his mother's
brothers persuaded Shechem to anointed Abimelech to be a king. Abimelech hired
worthless and reckless men to kill his seventy brothers except the youngest
brother named Jotham. Jotham hid. While men of Shechem anointed Abimelech as a
king, Jotham went to the top of Mount Gerizim to proclaim the parable of the
trees. He used olive trees, fig trees, and vine as examples of Gideon and other
wise men. They knew their role which was arranged by God. However, Abimelech
was similar to the brambles. He thought he cover the shade for all other trees.
He was pleased to be anointed as a king. If they didn't anoint him as a king,
he will devour the cedars of Lebanon.
Jotham then cursed Abimelech. (Judges 9:16-20)
Jotham reminded the people how his father Gideon saved them by willingly
sacrificing himself. As a result, he received "reply virtue with
grievances" as his return. Jotham
did not ask for revenge for himself, but proclaiming a prophecy as a prophet
“Start from thorns, let fire come from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem
and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and Beth Millo and
devour Abimelech (Judge 9:20) “ Finally, as Abimelech broke up with Shechem, he
attacked the tower of Shechem and killed a thousand of men and women. On the other hand, while Abimelech was attacking Thebez, he was
crushed by an upper millstone on his skull and committed suicide. God has let the event fulfill with Jotham’s
curse.
Abimelech’s father, Gideon, was appointed
by God himself as a judge, and he knew that his position was to save the people
from the enemy’s hands, but he did not have the authority to manage the people;
In Contrast, Abimelech used cruelty and
deceit to get the position he wanted. Abimelech, didn't know that God was the
king of the Israelites, and he didn't understand his position, so he became
king only three years before he was retribution and defeated.
Our generation often encourages people to
pursue success, but it makes people like Abimelech lose sight of their position
and seek high positions and authority as if achieving these is a success. As
the people of God, we should not follow the crowd, but understand that our Lord
is the God who saves our souls. Pray that God will let us know what kind of
tree we are on this earth. Don’t seek to
float on top of the trees, but use God’s gift of talent in every place arranged
by God, do our best to work, and finally attract people to return to the
embrace of God, and believes that when we meet in heaven, we can say to each
other: Thank God, we live up to our mission.
(2 Timothy 2: 20-21) 20 But in a great
house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also wood and clay,
some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself
from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the
Master, prepared for every good work.
(Zechariah 4:6) 6 So he answered and said
to me: "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power,
but by My Spirit,' Says the Lord of hosts.
Translated by 余姿瑩
