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They Always Promise Cool Shade… They Always Bring Scorching Heat
“Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’” (Judges 9:14)
This is good stuff because it basically nails it with respect to leadership historically. We’re often told our political chaos comes down to polarization, poor messaging, or the wrong experts in power.
But Scripture doesn’t settle for surface explanations… it goes straight to the bone. Judges 9 doesn’t just describe bad leadership… It exposes a deeper problem. It exposes people who choose their rulers poorly because they’ve already rejected the rule of God. And once you see that pattern, it becomes hard to ignore. This isn’t just their story. It’s ours.
A Crown Built on Blood
The story opens not with a campaign, but with a massacre. After Gideon’s death, his son Abimelech doesn’t seek legitimacy… he simply eliminates the competition.
Seventy brothers are slaughtered in one shot, clearing his path to power in a single, brutal act. Yet the greater shock isn’t the violence itself, but the response to it. The men of Shechem don’t recoil… they support him. They fund his rise, endorse his claim, and crown him king.
In other words, while Abimelech wields the sword, the people hand him the throne.
One problem. A brother escapes… Jotham. And as the coronation unfolds below, he climbs Mount Gerizim and delivers a warning, not with weapons, but with a parable. It’s a story meant to linger. A story meant to expose. (Reminds me of Hamlet.)
The Parable of the Trees
Jotham begins simply: the trees go out to anoint a king. At first, they approach the olive tree and ask it to reign. But the olive refuses, asking why it should abandon its oil… something that honors both God and man… just to rule. Then they turn to the fig tree, and then the vine. Each one declines. Each one is fruitful, rooted in purpose, and unwilling to trade real productivity for political power.
That’s the key detail. The most qualified candidates aren’t interested.
So the trees keep searching. And eventually, they settle.
On the bramble.
A low, thorny shrub with no fruit, no real usefulness, and no ability to provide what it promises. Yet unlike the others, the bramble eagerly accepts the offer to rule. And in doing so, it reveals something about both itself… and the people who chose it.
The Promise of a Thornbush
The bramble offers two things, and together they form the entire logic of tyrannical rule. First, it invites the trees to trust in its “shadow.” But that’s a pretty hollow promise. A bramble doesn’t provide shade… it scratches, entangles, and tears. Protection like this is an illusion.
Then comes the second part. A threat.
“If not… let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”
That’s the real offer. Submit—or suffer. Trust me—or burn.
Protection… backed by coercion.
Bottom Line: When a people rejects God’s rule, it doesn’t get neutrality. It gets bramble men… with badges, big budgets, and very sharp teeth.
Statism: The Faith Beneath the System
Judges repeatedly tells us, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” That statement is often misunderstood as a call for stronger human leadership. But the deeper issue is theological, not political. Israel didn’t lack a king… they rejected the one they had.
That’s where statism enters the picture. It isn’t merely about the size of government; it’s about where people place their trust. When a society begins to look to the state for ultimate security, meaning, and authority, it has already begun treating it as a functional god.
Meanwhile, God declares in Deuteronomy, “I kill, and I make alive… neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.” That is absolute sovereignty, exercised with perfect justice. But human governments often echo those same claims while rejecting His standards. They assert authority over life, redefine moral boundaries, and expand their reach into every corner of life… all without submitting to Christ.
That’s not just overreach.
That’s rivalry.
Why the Worst Men Step Forward
The olive, fig, and vine all refuse to rule for the same reason… they are already occupied with meaningful, productive work. They are building, cultivating, and sustaining life. To abandon that for political power would be a downgrade, not an advancement.
That pattern hasn’t changed. The men most suited to govern are usually too busy fulfilling their callings to chase authority. Meanwhile, the least qualified are often the most eager. The bramble produces nothing, so it seeks to control everything.
And that’s the danger.
When power becomes attractive to those with nothing else to offer, it stops being a tool… and becomes an end in itself.
“Trust Us… Or Else”
Modern political language may be more refined, but the underlying message remains the same. First comes the promise: safety, stability, and provision. Economic promises. Medical security. National defense. All offered in exchange for a little more control, a little more compliance, a little more dependence.
Then comes the pressure. Resist, and consequences follow… regulatory action, financial penalties, exclusion, investigation.
Different language.
Same structure.
As George Orwell observed, power often ceases to be a means and becomes an end. It expands not because it serves, but because it feeds itself. And once that shift happens, it no longer protects the people… it manages them.
Bottom Line: The bramble state doesn’t build families, farms, or churches. It feeds on them… while calling it protection.
What the Fruit Reveals
Jesus gave a clear standard: “You will know them by their fruits.” That test cuts through rhetoric and exposes reality. Grapes and figs require time, care, and cultivation. Thorns grow quickly in neglected ground, but they don’t nourish… they wound.
So what are we seeing?
Are families strengthened? Are communities more self-reliant? Are churches freer to live out their calling? Is honest work rewarded?
Or are we seeing confusion, dependence, and increasing control? Are institutions expanding while individuals shrink?
Because the fruit tells the story.
And the fruit of bramble rule is always the same.
Bottom Line: A flag over a system doesn’t sanctify it. Fruits… not slogans… reveal who’s really ruling.
When People Choose Thorns
Jotham’s warning isn’t aimed at Abimelech alone. It falls squarely on the people who supported him. They wanted strength more than righteousness. They preferred control over covenant faithfulness.
That same temptation exists today. Every time we hand off responsibilities that belong to families, churches, and local communities, we repeat the pattern. We ask distant systems to solve problems they were never meant to handle.
And then we’re surprised, even outraged by the outcome.
We begged for shade.
We got thorns.
The Way Back Begins Here
The solution isn’t simply better leadership, improved policies, or even a new political party. It’s deeper than that. It requires repentance… a turning away from misplaced trust and a return to rightful authority.
Christ is King.
Not symbolically. Not ceremonially. Actually.
And that reality reshapes everything. It calls people back to building what is real and lasting… strong families, faithful churches, productive work, and local responsibility. These things don’t grab headlines, but they produce fruit. And fruit is what lasts.
The King Who Wore Thorns
The story doesn’t end with bramble men. It ends with a different kind of King… one who wore a crown of thorns, not to dominate, but to redeem. Where Abimelech takes life to secure power, Christ gives His life to restore it.
That contrast matters.
Because it means we are not trapped in the cycle. We are not condemned to keep choosing the bramble. There is another Kingdom, another standard, another way.
And it doesn’t devour its people.
A Warning That Still Echoes
Jotham’s voice still carries. Across time. Across nations. Into the present moment.
The warning is simple.
Stop choosing thorns.
Stop trusting shadows.
Return to the only King who does not consume His people.
Because in the end, every bramble burns.
But Christ’s kingdom… endures.
