The Politics of Brambles
Introduction: The Itch for a King
There is a perennial temptation in the heart of man, and it is the itch for a certain kind of king. We see it throughout the Scriptures, and we see it every election cycle. Men grow tired of the slow, steady, fruitful work of righteousness. They grow impatient with the kingdom that is like a mustard seed. They want a king they can see, a king like the other nations have, a king who will "wave over them." They want a political savior who makes grand promises, who has a commanding presence, and who offers them a shortcut to glory. And in their lust for such a king, they will very often choose a bramble.
The story of Abimelech is a sordid and bloody affair, a grim episode in the downward spiral of the book of Judges. Gideon, a mighty man of valor, had delivered Israel, but after his death, the people quickly turned to idolatry. And one of Gideon's sons, Abimelech, the son of a concubine, decided he wanted to be king. He conspired with his mother's relatives in Shechem, and with their backing, he murdered seventy of his own brothers on a single stone. Only the youngest, Jotham, escaped. The men of Shechem then made the fratricidal Abimelech their king.
This is the context for our text. Jotham, the lone survivor, stands on a mountain and delivers one of the most potent political parables in all of Scripture. It is a sermon on the nature of leadership, the folly of ambition, and the iron-clad law of covenant consequences. It is a warning against the politics of brambles, a warning that is as relevant in our day as it was in his. When men reject the leadership of the fruitful and the worthy, they do not get nothing. They get a tyrant. They get a thorn bush. They get a fire.
The Text
Then they told Jotham, so he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice and called out. Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you. The trees surely went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness, with which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good produce and go to wave over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us!’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which makes God and men glad, and go to wave over the trees?’ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’
“So now, if you have dealt in truth and integrity and made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have dealt with him according to the bountiful works of his hands, for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian; but you have risen against my father’s house today and have killed his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your relative, if then you have dealt in truth and integrity with Jerubbaal and his house this day, be glad in Abimelech, and let him also be glad in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem and from Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.” Then Jotham escaped and fled and went to Beer and remained there because of Abimelech his brother.
(Judges 9:7-21 LSB)
A Parable for Political Fools (vv. 7-15)
Jotham stands on Mount Gerizim, the mountain of blessing, to pronounce what is effectively a curse. He begins with a fable, a story about trees looking for a king. This is not a charming little story for children; it is a razor-sharp political critique.
The trees, representing the men of Shechem, first approach the worthy candidates. They ask the olive tree to reign. The olive tree is valuable. Its oil, its "fatness," is used to honor God in the sanctuary and to anoint kings and priests. It is a symbol of peace, prosperity, and divine blessing. But the olive tree refuses. Why? "Shall I leave my fatness... and go to wave over the trees?" The olive tree has a high and holy calling, a productive purpose given by God. To abandon this for the empty pomp and circumstance of political power, to simply "wave over" the others, would be a dereliction of its duty.
Next, they ask the fig tree. The fig tree provides sweetness and good fruit. It is a symbol of domestic peace and well-being. To sit under one's own vine and fig tree was the Israelite ideal of shalom. The fig tree also refuses, for the same reason. It will not abandon its God-given fruitfulness for the sake of ambition.
Then they ask the vine. The vine produces wine that "makes God and men glad." Wine was used in libations to God and was a source of joy for men. It is a symbol of celebration and covenantal joy. And the vine, like the others, understands its purpose. It will not trade its glorious fruit for the barren task of political posturing.
The olive, the fig, and the vine represent true, godly leadership. Such leadership is fruitful, humble, and focused on its calling. It is not interested in power for power's sake. The best men for the job are often the ones who do not want it, because they are too busy being faithful in the work God has already given them.
Having been rejected by the worthy, the trees turn to the bramble. The bramble is a thorn bush. It is worthless. It produces no fruit, gives no nourishment, and provides no real shelter. It is a nuisance that chokes out good crops. And the bramble, unlike the others, eagerly accepts the offer. Its response is dripping with arrogant menace. "If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade." This is a blackly comic invitation. A bramble provides no shade. To take refuge in it is to be torn and bloodied. It is a false promise from a false king. And it comes with a threat: if you are not loyal, "may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon." The worthless thorn bush threatens to destroy the most majestic and valuable of trees. This is the nature of tyranny. It produces nothing, but it has an immense capacity for destruction.
The Indictment of Ingratitude (vv. 16-18)
Having laid the groundwork with his parable, Jotham now applies it directly to the men of Shechem. He drops the allegory and speaks with the fire of a prophet.
"So now, if you have dealt in truth and integrity... if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house..." (Judges 9:16)
This is biting sarcasm. Jotham knows they have acted with utter treachery. He holds up the standard of "truth and integrity" precisely to show them how far they have fallen from it. He then reminds them of their debt to his father, Gideon, whose other name was Jerubbaal. "My father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian" (v. 17). Gideon was their olive tree, their deliverer. He had served them faithfully.
And how did they repay this faithfulness? "But you have risen against my father’s house today and have killed his sons, seventy men, on one stone" (v. 18). This was an act of staggering ingratitude and covenant-breaking. They slaughtered the sons of their savior. And whom did they elevate in their place? "Abimelech, the son of his maidservant." Jotham makes sure to include this detail. It is a deliberate slight. They rejected the seventy legitimate sons of Gideon to make a king out of the son of a concubine, and they did it for the worst of reasons: "because he is your relative." This was not a decision based on character, wisdom, or righteousness. It was tribalism. It was identity politics. They chose their bramble because he was their bramble.
The Curse of Mutual Destruction (vv. 19-21)
Jotham concludes with a prophetic curse, framed as a conditional outcome. The logic is simple: you reap what you sow.
"if then you have dealt in truth and integrity... be glad in Abimelech, and let him also be glad in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem... and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem... and consume Abimelech." (Judges 9:19-20)
The blessing is impossible because the condition has not been met. They have not acted in truth. Therefore, only the curse remains. And the curse is one of poetic justice, a perfect reflection of the parable. The unholy alliance between the bramble-king and the foolish trees will self-destruct. They are bound together by murder and treachery, and that is the same currency their relationship will run on. Fire will come from Abimelech to burn them, and fire will come from them to burn Abimelech.
This is not just Jotham venting his anger. This is a declaration of how God's world works. When a people and their leaders are joined by wickedness, God's judgment is often to simply let them have each other. He gives them over to their own lusts, and they become the instruments of their own destruction. The subsequent verses of this chapter show us exactly how this curse came to pass. Within three years, Abimelech and the men of Shechem were at each other's throats, and they utterly destroyed one another, just as Jotham had prophesied.
Conclusion: Take Refuge in the True King
Jotham's fable is a timeless lesson in political theology. Nations and peoples are constantly faced with the choice between the olive tree and the bramble. We are tempted to choose leaders who offer us the false shade of security and power, who make menacing promises, who are ambitious for the sake of ambition. We are tempted by the politics of the bramble.
But the way of wisdom is to desire leaders who are like the olive tree, the fig tree, and the vine. We should look for fruitfulness. We should look for men who are faithfully tending to their God-given duties, not men who are clawing their way to the top. A man who is faithful in little is the one who can be trusted with much. A man who loves power for its own sake is the most dangerous man in the world.
This entire sordid story points us to our need for a true and worthy King. The olive, fig, and vine give us a partial picture of Him. They were content with their God-given purpose of honoring God and blessing men. But there is one who was the perfect fulfillment of this, and who yet did not refuse the throne. The Lord Jesus Christ is the true Vine, the true source of all that gladdens God and man. He is the one whose fruit is life itself.
Unlike Abimelech, He did not grasp for power by murdering His brothers. He laid down His life for His brothers. Unlike the bramble, He does not offer a false shade that tears and bloodies. He offers true refuge. He is a rock and a fortress. His invitation is not a threat, but a gracious call: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). The reign of every bramble-king ends in fire and mutual destruction. But the reign of King Jesus is an everlasting kingdom of peace and righteousness. The choice before us is the same choice that was before Shechem. Will we anoint a bramble? Or will we bow to the true King?