THE PARABLE OF TREES

#784 (use with #33)                                 THE PARABLE OF TREES                                                                                      

Scripture  Judges 9:7-15 NIV                                                                                                                  Orig. Date 8-26-51

                                                                                                                                                                      Rewr. Dates 9-26-90 

Passage:  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 humans 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 humans, 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!’”

Keywords:          Parable

Timeline/Series:               Old Testament Parables

Introduction

                Our story begins with Gideon.  He was chosen as judge of the people.  He sought confirmation.  Judges 6:36f “If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand.” So, both Gideon and the people knew that he was their leader.  They responded to him accordingly.

                In later years, they had come to depend on him so completely that they offered him rule over them.  Judges 8:22 “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the  hand of Midian.”

                The word for rule implies sovereignty.  It may or may not have the effect of royalty.  It is nonetheless clear that they were satisfied with all that had happened and were willing for the descendants of Gideon to come to the office and role of rule if not to the place of monarchy.

                Gideon rejected these advances.  He made it clear “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23).

                Besides king-like rule, Gideon left behind seventy sons “of his body begotten” (8:30), and a son, by a concubine, whom he called Abimelech.  At Gideon’s death, Abimelech struck quickly.  He went to Shechem, his mother’s home, claimed to be one of them, and the royal son.  Together, they went after his  half-brothers, killing all of them but Jotham, the youngest, who was delivered from this attempted assassination.

                The message here, a parable or fable, is Jotham’s message to the men of Shechem who have followed Abimelech’s wiles.

I.             It is First of All About Trees. Judges 9:8, “The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them.”  It has the quality of a fable, but it is meant to stand out as a moral lesson.  The meaning is hidden, but barely.  These Shechemites are to see themselves. Jotham means for them to not like what they see.

                There are some things we need to remember about trees.  They derive their sustenance from soil.  They take from the soil what they are fitted to take to meet their own needs.  The trees are not  valued equally in the codes of human economy.  They are different in terms of size, and sight, and fruit.

                Jotham then begins to identify certain of these trees and plants.  The olive tree was asked to reign over the forest.  One tree can yield a half ton of fruit per year, and there were numerous orchards.  It offers food and building supplies. The olive branch is a symbol for peace.

                The fig tree was called forth to reign.  The fig tree provides food;  in I Samuel 25:18, Abigail, an Israelite woman, made 200 cakes of pressed figs.  Adam and Eve used its leaves to cover themselves.  It is the first fruit mentioned in the Bible.

                The vine was singled out.  It produced fruit for nourishment and for medicinal purposes. In Numbers 13:23, the spies sent out by Moses cut a branch with a cluster of grapes, and also brought pomegranates and figs.  Micah 4:4, “But they shall sit every man under his vine,  and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.”

                Finally, the great cedar was pictured.  It was the greatest of Bible trees.  Herbert Lockyer wrote that a cedar could be as much as 120 feet tall, with a girth of 40 feet (A36p334).  Both Solomon’s temple and palace included cedars.  In Judges 9:15 fire devours the Cedars of Lebanon.

                A bramble is offered the role.  It is a plant with no fruit of worth.  Some use it as fuel.  It could be used as a hedge, 12-15 feet high.  The parable does not effect repentance.

II.            The Prophetic Message of the Parable/Fable.  Judges 9:15, “If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow.” 

                The  olive tree has to do with covenant privilege.  Romans 11:17-21: ¹⁷ ‘And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, [2] and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; ¹⁸ Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. ¹⁹ Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. ²⁰ Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: ²¹ For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.’ 

                It is evergreen, suggesting eternality.  In Exodus 27:20 the Hebrews were to bring “pure” olive oil for use in the tabernacle.

                The fig tree seems more to stand for the national privilege.  I Kings 4:25 “Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree.”  That is similar to Micah 4:4; Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah.    Zechariah 10:12 forecast the messianic time.  Think of the intended sweetness of the fig.  But the Christless Zion is the bane of most non-western nations.  Also, the great parable of Christ in Matthew 24:32, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree: when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that Summer is nigh.”

                The vine seems to speak of spiritual privilege.  Isaiah 5:4, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?  Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?”  The vine is God’s chosen symbol for joy.  The vine brought forth alien fruit.  Psalm 80:14, “Look down from heaven and visit this vine; and the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted; . . . turn us again, O Lord of hosts, cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”

                The bramble speaks of liberty, responsibility, privilege being sacrificed.  The bramble is willing to reign.  The cedars are willing to allow it.  The demand of the bramble is for the cedar to “put your trust in my shadow.”  It is said that when the Messiah comes, He will build the new temple, again of cedars, but instead, His head was anointed with bramble.