Such was the occasion of the parable : we proceed to explain,
II. The import —
Two leading truths are contained in it;
1. That worthless men affect the honours which the wise and good decline —
[The character of the wise and good is fitly represented by those valuable trees, the olive, the fig, and the vine. The olive-tree was useful for the honouring of God in the sacrifices, and man in his attainment of royal or priestly honours : the fig-tree was productive of most delicious fruit : and the vine, by its generous juices, cheered the heart of man, at the same time that it afforded acceptable libations unto God. What more beautiful images could have been found, whereby to por- tray the character of a man who lives only to honour God, and to benefit his fellow-creatures ? Such a man was Gideon ; who, sensible of the snares and difficulties of royalty, was
d ver. o, 18. VOL. III. E
desirous rather to do good in the station in which God had placed him, than, by an elevation to a higher sphere, to encum- ber himself with anxious and unproductive cares".
On the other hand, the bramble fitly represented a worth- less person, who, grasping at power, is ready to obtain it by any means ; and, whilst he is extravagant in his demands of confidence, is cruel and oppressive to all who are not subser- vient to his will. Such exactly was Abimelech: he promised great things to Shechem, whilst he gave them, in the first moment of his advancement, an evidence of his atrocity, and a sure pledge of his future tyranny.
What was primarily intended to mark the characters of Gideon and Abimelech, is applicable to man in every age. The wise and good are unambitious. If clearly called of God to any office, they undertake it, as Gideon did, for the Lord's sake : but they do not seek advancement for themselves : they do not affect situations of dignity and power: they cultivate an humble and contented mind ; and study rather to be good than great. Not so the noisy demagogue, who depreciates and defames others, only the more effectually to exalt himself.]
2. That they who unduly affect honour, and they who unjustly confer it, will prove sources of misery to each other —
[This was intimated in the parable, but more fully ex- plained in the subsequent application of it. Jotham appealed to the consciences of the men of Shechem, whether they had acted as they ought to have done towards Gideon and his family: if they could say they had, he wished them every benefit from Abimelech's administration, which they them- selves could desire: but, if not, then he warned them that they would prove a curse to each other ^.
And this also is a general truth, that usurpers seldom fail of being a curse to the people whom they govern, and that those who aided them in their visurpation rarely continue faithful to them in a day of adversity. Were an instance wanted to confirm this truth, we need only look at all the powers of Europe who have been successively cajoled and injured by the great oppressor of the continent ; who, having waded to his throne through seas of blood, stops not at any measures that may consolidate or extend his ill-gotten autho- rity. And what returns he will receive from those who have contributed to his exaltation, time will shew: but, as he is even now regarded by them as a plague to the earth, it will
" The marginal reading is, " To go up and down for other trees ;" which is strongly expressive of this idea, f ver. IG— 20.