The Allegory in Judges 9:7-15

In Judges 9:7-15, there is a beautiful tree allegory. It is a story told by Jotham, Gideon's son. Gideon had 70 children, 69 who were killed by Abimelech after Gideon died. Abimelech was a son of Gideon by a concubine in Shechem. Abimelech wanted to be king.  In the previous chapter we read that Gideon had declined to become a king insisting that God was their ruler. Jotham was the lone survivor of Abimelech's malicious devilish ambition.

7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. 

8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. 9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.
11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? 

12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.
13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.
15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Judges 9:7-15

Each plant is a comparison (by implication and representation) and illustrates God's blessing on his people. The olive tree was a valued tree in that area. It had many uses such as oil for lamps, cooking, medical uses, food and cosmetic.  The wood was used in furniture.  It was a symbol of peace and plenty to the Hebrews.

The fig tree was the most fruitful tree. It's fruit was sweet. It was a symbol of fruitfulness.  Jesus Christ used the fig tree in Mark 11:112,13,20,21 to teach.

The third reference is to the vine which produced grapes. It was also considered a valuable plant. Jesus Christ is the true vine in John 15:1. God is the farmer. The vine represents spiritual blessings.

All three of these plants turned down the request to rule over the other trees because they were more useful functioning as they were meant to function. They delighted in serving in their own unique ways.

The fourth plant, the bramble was a dangerous plant due to thorns and its ability to burn. It wasn't very useful but readily delighted in the opportunity to be over the other trees. It was low to the ground so the promise of being able to trust in its shadow was vain.

Leaders like Abimelech are dangerous, thorny and cruel. They always grow over boundaries they have no right to mess with. They are not ministering and not to be trusted.

Proverbs 25:19: Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

Jesus Christ was a wonderful example of a 'Lord'. He was and is a representative of God's love. It is through his life people can utilize their usefulness to others to the fullest. He is the true vine and the one who is alive today and he building God's church.

Exercise of Authority

Eugene Peterson (The Message) in his introduction of II Corinthians says:"Because leadership is necessarily an exercise of authority, it easily shifts into an exercise of power. But the minute it does that, it begins to inflict damage on both the leader and the led. Paul, studying Jesus, had learned a kind of leadership in which he managed to stay out of the way so that the others could deal with God without having to go through him. All who are called to exercise leadership in whatever capacity—parent or coach, pastor or president, teacher or manager—can be grateful to Paul for this letter, and to the Corinthians for provoking it."

He is basically referring to the transition from I Corinthians, where the apostle Paul confronts many unbiblical practices in the Corinthian church, to II Corinthians where he talks about his own authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ. There may have been some criticism levied him as a result of the directness of I Corinthians.  Maybe a little of "Who are you to be the boss of me?" Paul wasn't trying to exert some kind of power over them in teaching them the Word, but he did have the authority from God to teach.  There is a great deal of difference between having the authority to teach and exerting power over someone. There are great lessons of leadership in II Corinthians. Paul had the lessons of the leadership of Jesus Christ, a servant, an under rower, grace giver (II Timothy 2:1-2), a frontrunner in the true sense of the Word. The power of God that both showed was power that built up, encouraged, comforted, and empowered to do the same for others. I am looking forward to delving into II Corinthians from this point of view.

Here's a start:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort (link); Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (comfort or consolation is used many times in II Corinthians)

Authentic Leadership

Great leaders do not grow on trees nor are they a dime a dozen. In the purist sense, true leaders are actually a rarity even though much is written on the subject. God through his Son Jesus Christ has blessed man with the potential to be the best of the best through the utilization of holy spirit. One such man was the Apostle Paul and in Acts 14:8-17 there is  great record of how he reached out:

8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly (atenizo - see link) at him, saw (oida) that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” NIV 2011

It just doesn’t get any better or simpler than that! And that's just a drop in the bucket of all Paul did and accomplished!

Leaders

Leaders inspire people that is why they are called leaders. It is as simple as that.  No fancy titles, no lofty elitism, stiff respect or futile fawning. Leadership is a quality not a title. It is a living breathing component or characteristic of people who are led by something greater than themselves. In the Bible the greatest leaders were those who loved God and believed Him, people like Joseph, Debra, Nehemiah, Mordecai, and ultimately Jesus Christ.

The word ‘inspiration’ comes from a word meaning 'to breathe in'. When we breathe oxygen into our bodies, it is sent to our cells and when combined with food produces energy which is vital to the activity of the body. Oxygen is an essential ingredient required to keep the body fired up. So is inspiration to the mind.

Inspiration is quite different from authority. Inspiration provides the essential component for action. It stimulates action. Authority is positional and it is the right to control, command or  determine what’s what. Paul was an example of a man who had authority. He was:

 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; (Phil 3:5)

He was a member of the Sanhedrin. He had position upon position. When he came to the realization that it was not what his heart was about, he gave all up and became the true leader of the first century church. God was able to work in him to set down the heart of the mystery as a result of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. The Word of God in the seven church epistles is inspiring to every individual who sees himself in them and wants to help others see all they could be in Christ. He became a man of inspiration and still is today.

In Acts 15 we see a great example of Paul’s leadership characteristics. He just doesn’t back away from standing up for the church that God had established in the grace administration. He boldly communicated his heart in the conflict about circumcision. He communicated with James, the Jerusalem saints and Peter and held the line on what was dragging the newly formed church down in their thinking and in their exercising of positional authority rather than the heart of the mystery.

Jesus Christ’s life was an inspiration. He trained the twelve, he sent them out, he sent out the seventy. He taught and led, and sent. His first Words to Peter and Andrew were “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Following and leading go hand in hand and are mutually dependent on each other as they interchange according to the circumstances. All of us are leaders in some form or another, be it as, friends moms, dads, husbands, wives, or workers in any capacity of life.

I love the quote John Quincy Adams quote,  “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
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