Judges 9 - The Anti-Judge

Judges 9 is quite the chapter!  Until this point, we've seen a succession of good judges rule over the Israelites, each one divinely appointed, each one putting first the protection of the Israelites from outside forces and the restoration of the true faith among a people prone to idolatry.  The last judge, Gideon, was one of the most loved, to the point that the people wanted to make him a king, against the wishes of God.  This fine line between judge and king must have been a constant area of temptation for the Israelites.  For as soon as Gideon dies, we see his son Abimelech enter the scene, become a king, and cause chaos to ensue.  Right away we note differences between Abimelech's rise to power and that of the other judges.  Nowhere does it say Abimelech was divinely called to be a judge (much less a king).  He is Gideon's son, so we see the beginnings of a hereditary leadership emerge, which almost always comes with problems.  And there is no virtue apparent in Abimelech.  One of his first actions is to kill all his brothers (except Joatham, who escapes).  We can see this is the move of a tyrant who is seeking to eliminate competition and secure his own grip on power.  An interesting point gets brought up in verse 2: "is [it] better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerobaal, should rule over you, or that one man should rule over you?" (Judges 9:2).  The question is left rhetorical, and Abimelech of course expects that the obvious answer is that one man ruling is better than many.  But is it?  Throughout Judges 9 there seems to be a subtle reflection on the issue of kingship, of proper government.  What if that one ruler were a wicked ruler?  Would it not then be better to have power diffused among many -- some will be good, some bad, but at least the bad won't be concentrated in one place, in one man.  Then there is Joatham's parable: a brilliant commentary on the nature of power and those that seek it.  To summarize, the trees are seeking a king; they ask first the olive tree, who declines, then the fig tree, who turns it down, and then the grape vine, who also declines the offer.  Finally the trees offer the kingship to the bramble, a thorny, weedy plant meant to represent the ambitious man, who gladly accepts the kingship and the chance to rule over all the trees.  The olive, fig, and grape, of course, represent virtuous, good men, with good fruits, who do not seek power and glory, who are not interested in being king.  Yet, ironically, they are the men we most need as kings.  It is the bramble, though, who gravitate towards power and wealth and domination.  Abimelech is very much a bramble of a man, as are most leaders even today.  And so we have a parable of lasting significance here in the middle of the Book of Judges.  Judges 9 ends with Abimelech's ignoble death, which is brought on by the hands of a woman and completed by a suicide assisted by his armor-bearer.  And so justice is served for the man who defied God and sought to be king and lord it over his brethren.  It is a lesson for us all to beware the ambitious man!