Just to give you a quick overview of the book of Judges: It's nasty and violent. It covers an era when, according to the tightly woven narrative, there was no king over God's people, and everyone did what was right in their own sight. Chaos. It starts out marginally ok, and gets worse.
The story unfolds in a spiral pattern:
The people stop worshiping the one true God, and worship, instead, foreign gods, idols, the gods the neighbors are worshiping.
Then, God punishes them: they are invaded and slapped down in a decisive way.
But finally a "judge" arises-- think, not Judge Judy, but a combination of wise arbitrator, and
governor, and military leader.
They would be anointed by God.
They would lead the people in a battle against the invaders, and win, and order would be
restored.
Until the next time, when...
The people stop worshiping the one true God, and it would all begin again...
Except each time it gets a little worse.
The end of Judges is a bloodbath like few recorded in scripture.
In Judges 9, the people of Shechem decide to agree upon Abimelech as king, and Jotham--Abimelech's half-brother-- speaks to the people in objection.
He does so by telling this parable.
When Jotham was told about [Abimelech], he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He raised his voice and called out, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!
“Once the trees went out to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’
“But the olive tree replied to them, ‘Should I stop producing my oil,
which is how gods and humans are honored, so that I can go to sway over the trees?’
“So the trees said to the fig tree,
‘You come and be king over us!’
“The fig tree replied to them,
‘Should I stop producing my sweetness and my delicious fruit,
so that I can go to sway over the trees?’
“Then the trees said to the vine,
‘You come and be king over us!’
“But the vine replied to them,
‘Should I stop providing my wine that makes gods and humans happy,
so that I can go to sway over the trees?’
“Finally, all the trees said to the thornbush,
‘You come and be king over us!’
“And the thornbush replied to the trees,
‘If you’re acting faithfully in anointing me king over you,
come and take shelter in my shade;
but if not, let fire come out of the thornbush and burn up the cedars of Lebanon.’
~ Judges 9:7-15
Not everyone is qualified to be king.
They may be very good at other things. They may even be geniuses at some things.
But to be king-- or judge, or ANY KIND of leader-- requires a specific set of skills and temperament.
To chose the wrong one, to accept the wrong one, is to court a wildfire that will destroy everything.
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