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The Fig’s Rejection
“And the fig said to them, ‘Should I end my sweetness and my good fruit and shall I go to dominate the trees?’” (Judges 9:11)
The fig has rejected the request of the trees, making this the second denial that the people receive. And, once again, the implication is that the fig tree understands the cost of dominating the other trees — the way humans lead when they reject God’s authority and timing — the way Abimelek will lead… Good fruit disappears and is replaced by the bitterness of force.
It is also worth noting that once again, the kind of tree being appealed to is not a large, stately, and powerful tree, like a cedar, but the fig and the olive are smaller and more frail. They would not be able to “shake over” the other trees even if they wanted to. The suggestion can be made that the trees didn’t really want a true ruler who could compel them to do this or to do that. Instead they wanted a king that they could control like a puppet. Remember, it was not Abimelek who initiated the agenda to be made king, it was his mother by her choice of names (Abimelek means, “My father is king…” How people love to look at the world around them and be jealous of the things that the pagans have, but oh, how people do not wish to receive the consequences of such things.
And thus, there is a second denial. The people should have understood their folly by that point…but then again, how often we become so filled by our foolishness that the greater the wall God places against it, the more desperate we become to embrace the foolishness wholeheartedly. In the end, it is sin, no matter which way you look at it. And sin brings death.
The Fig Tree
“Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come, you reign over us.’” (Judges 9:10)
Do you see how the trees are trying to take the initiative over God? They first asked the one who would have been the rightful king and he turned down the job. Rather than turning back to God to bring them a king in His time, they start going to others—others who do not belong on the throne. And this is just what the people were doing. Gideon had turned down the kingship, so as soon as he died, they sought out another. And, oh what a mess they ended up with.
The fig tree is another staple fruit of Israel. In good years, it will bear fruit twice in a season — once early and once late. Its fruit is sweet and highly nutritious and their presence and imagery is a sign of abundance for the people. The promised land is a land described as a land of fig trees (Deuteronomy 8:8). Further, during times of peace, both in this world and in the new creation, the people are spoken of as being able to recline under their own fig trees (1 Kings 4:25, Micah 4:4).
Yet, peace does not come to us when we seek to run ahead of God. The people were not happy with the fact that other nations had human kings and they did not have one, though how much more wonderful it is to have God as king. Through Gideon’s rejection of kingship, God was telling the people to wait for the appropriate time. They found that entirely unacceptable and went to another.
How often it is in our lives that we try and run ahead of God rather than stopping and waiting for God’s timing? How often do we receive a “no” from God and we proceed anyhow? Friends, trying to run ahead of God is never profitable behavior. God will work in his own time. That time is perfect and proper and we need to learn to be patient, waiting upon the Lord to open doors when he is ready.
The Fig Tree (Judges 9:10)
“Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come, you reign over us.’” (Judges 9:10)
Do you see how the trees are trying to take the initiative over God? They first asked the one who would have been the rightful king and he turned down the job. Rather than turning back to God to bring them a king in His time, they start going to others—others who do not belong on the throne. And this is just what the people were doing. Gideon had turned down the kingship, so as soon as he died, they sought out another. And, oh what a mess they ended up with.
The fig tree is another staple fruit of Israel. In good years, it will bear fruit twice in a season—once early and once late. Its fruit is sweet and highly nutritious and their presence and imagery is a sign of abundance for the people. The promised land is a land described as a land of fig trees (Deuteronomy 8:8) and times of peace, both in this world and in the new creation, are described as a place where each person can rest under his own fig tree (1 Kings 4:25, Micah 4:4).
Yet, peace does not come to us when we seek to run ahead of God. The people were not happy with the fact that other nations had human kings and they did not have one, though how much more wonderful it is to have God as king. Through Gideon’s rejection of kingship, God was telling the people to wait for the appropriate time. They found that entirely unacceptable and went to another.
How often it is in our lives that we try and run ahead in our own time rather than stopping and waiting? How often do we receive a “no” from God and we proceed anyhow? Friends, trying to run ahead of God is never profitable behavior. God will work in his own time. That time is perfect and proper and we need to learn to be patient, waiting upon the Lord to open doors when he is ready.
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