On Power

Judges 9:1-2, 7-14

"Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan. "Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and bone."...When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.' "But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?' "Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.' "But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?' "Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.' "But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?' "Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.' "The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'"

The parable of Jotham is a very interesting one! There is much to gather from it and so maybe I will just share some very interesting loose considerations instead of putting forth a certain interpretation. He uses various standard biblical symbols rich in interpretative value — the Olive (Abrahamic/Abraham), the Fig (Israelite/Jacob), the Vine (Christian/Jesus), the thornbush (worldly power/Jesus's crown of thorns: Ziziphus spina-christi), and the Cedars of Lebanon. (Note that Gideon also means 'one who brings trees down', so it is interesting that Jotham uses trees). It's a story about Israel's historical political evolution, and indeed, the book of Judges/Kings is. The book of Judges is agreed upon to have been written by Samuel looking back to a time when "Israel had no king". In a way, also, much like that crucial moment in Samuel's day, Abimelech made the people of Shechem choose between "the 70 sons of Gideon" — many individual rulers (decentralized political institutions) against "one" ("Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." —Acton). Here we are presented with the foundations of political theory which is until now and throughout history, has been hotly debated, interpreted and reinterpreted. The book of Judges itself is a robust source of political discourse. The Bible/Word is such an awesome book, and indeed is our eternal contemporary - always relevant.

Judges 8:23

"And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you."

Finally, the Jewish, and more importantly, the Christian concept of power is a very revolutionary one, as exemplified in much of what Jesus said. There are more important things than temporal victories; the eternal souls of the people (we contend with) are certainly more important than the socio-political wins we can attain. That is not to say that we should not engage in the political arena, much of it informs our everyday life, but only to remind us not to miss the main point of God's sending Jesus into the world.

John 18:36

"Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

~21.09.2013