The promotion spoken of here means to shake, wander, as Israel did in the wilderness, stagger, a fugitive, toss about, as with every wind of doctrine, (Ephesians 4:14), sift, as the enemy desires to sift you as wheat (Luke 22:31), unstable, as a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8); and finally, vagabond, as in the vagabond Jews (witch doctors) who thought they could toss the Name of Jesus around with authority and drive out evil spirits because they saw it worked for the apostles (Acts 19:13). The seven sons of Sceva are living proof that it will never happen.

“Should I leave my fatness wherewith by me they honour God and man...,” said the olive tree. Fatness means strength. The anointing oil came from the olive tree. The trade-off would be strength, power, and blessing for inevitable defeat. “O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14). “The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich.” (Proverbs 10:22). The only way to see this trade-off in advance is to know Who Jesus Christ is and who we are in Him.

Next, the trees or men approached the fig tree which too speaks of Christ and His Body and the fruitfulness of that union.  In accordance with I Kings 4:25, the reign of Christ results in every member of His Body living under his own fig tree.   Solomon wisely made a profound comparison in Proverbs 27:18.  He said, “Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored.”  Waiting on the Master, Jesus our Lord, is the same as keeping the fig tree. From Solomon’s words of wisdom we see the result of waiting on the Lord or keeping the fig tree is to eat the fruit or Promised Land food (Deuteronomy 8:8) and  receive  honor  through Christ.

Judges 9:10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, [and] reign over us.

9:11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

The fig tree was not willing to forsake its sweetness for temporal reasons. The false promotion is still the only alternative. Remembering this point is critical to the believer’s spiritual health and safety. Jesus was obedient unto death and did not compromise when the people wanted to prematurely make him king! John 6:15 reads, “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” This perception demonstrated by Christ is the same perception we need. To gain it, we must put on His Mind. In His Heart He knew one day many of those same people would cry, “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:15). “He that hath an ear let him hear.”

Judges 9:12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and] reign over us.

9:13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

Wine means cheer. Cheer means to rejoice. God said in His Word, “I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy.” (Isaiah 65:18). This wine speaks to the joy in the Holy Ghost. In Acts, Chapter Two, the “trees” who were not among the devout thought the people were drunk with new wine. Their distorted view of God’s spiritual power gives us further insight to the “trees” in Judges. They had no perception of God’s Plan and what It meant to mankind. Like many today, they throw spiritual terms around, such as “new wine,” without knowing the significance of what they are saying. This wine indicates communion with God and sharing in all that is His. It cheers both God and man. Should we leave the kingdom of heaven to be falsely promoted over men? God forbid. “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.” (I Chronicles 16:31).

Judges 9:14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, [and] reign over us.

9:15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, [then] come [and] put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

The “trees” finally found a taker, the bramble! They could not persuade that which spoke of Christ to compromise so they settled for a false system that had a form of godliness but denied the power thereof. Even today with its pomp, tricks, craftiness, lying wonders, media attention, and hype and huge crowds, it is not Christ but the bramble!

The bramble puts up a good front and puts on a grand show. It really thinks it can be anointed. It knows many will trust in it so why not seduce them into thinking the anointing of the “trees” is equivalent to the Anointing of God. God’s Anointing is His Christ! After all, the whole idea is to take the very place only Christ deserves. Further, the bramble’s shadow is not even large enough to protect anyone in the natural. It is definitely not a place of trust for believers since its deficit remains the same in the Spirit. The only One Whose Shadow we should trust in is found in Psalm 91, and He is the Almighty!

Judges 9:16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;

9:17 (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

9:18 And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he [is] your brother;)

Judges 9:5 tells us Jotham was left because he hid himself. (In John 8:58-59, Jesus hid himself when the Jews tried to stone Him for proclaiming, “Before Abraham was I am)!” Judges 9:18 above says all Jerubbaal or Gideon’s seventy sons were killed yet, at the same time, Jotham was left. Herein is a mystery that the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ had better grasp. Jesus Christ is alive and is speaking in the midst His Church and in the face of all that evil has tried to set up in this earth. Jotham is an awesome picture of our risen Lord as he too proclaimed this parable in the face of a death that had no power over him. That bramble system thinks Jesus was slain and completely done away with, but He is alive! Hallelujah, He is alive! “I am He that liveth, and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore, Amen...” (Revelation1:18).

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believe thou this?” (John 11:25-26). Like Jotham and his brothers numbered seventy, so seventy were sent by Jesus in Luke, Chapter Ten. The same returned with joy saying, “Lord, even the devils are subject to us through thy name.” Even so shall the sons of God rejoice! Not only because of His Power in us, but because our names are written in heaven! Jesus rejoiced in spirit at the report of these seventy. Pause and reflect on it. Jesus and the seventy rejoicing! Yes, this wine cheers both God and man!

Jotham, or Jehovah is perfection, proved there is no doing away with God’s Seed or His original Plan. As noted, the bramble system believes they killed the Lord and have removed all that looks like him out of the way. Yet, Perfection is ruling and reigning in the Power of the Spirit today and forevermore. Those walking after the flesh are deluded moment by moment. It is time to arise and live in the Spirit.

The writer of Hebrews encouraged believers to go beyond the principles of the doctrine of Christ. The words are written to the Jews of the Spirit who already know there is a ministry of better things in place and in control. The urgent message now is “Let us go on unto perfection.” (Hebrews 6:1). People still camp around doctrines. The doctrines of Christ are not Christ Himself. Now is the time for Christ Himself to be seen in His Church. When will we allow the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus to catapult us into all that is His? When will we eat the fruit that is only found in the Promised Land? The vines, fig trees and olive oil are in the Promised Land! (Deuteronomy 8:8). The bramble will never have such provision for the people of God.

Judges 9:19 If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, [then] rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:

9:20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.

9:21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

Jotham escaped to Beer which means well. A well is a place of refreshing. The water of the well speaks of the water only Jesus can give. After drinking this water, we will never thirst. Even better, the well is now in us a leaping fountain. (John 4). The water cleanses and heals as it flows. The water is the Word. The same Word that became flesh and was limited to one Entity is now available to every believer. The Holy Spirit is here to reveal Him to us and in us. “Who knows a man save the spirit of man which is in him?” (1 Corinthians 2:11).

While we are walking in the spirit and dwelling at Beer or in the Spirit of the Word, Abimelech is faced with impending destruction. (Judges 9:51). Take note that the bramble’s destruction is seen by the spirit in Hebrews 6:8 following our admonition to go on unto perfection in Verse One of the same. The bramble’s end is to be burned!

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

6:4 For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.

6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers [is] rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing; whose end [is] to be burned.

Abimelech’s destruction came when he thought he had successfully taken Thebez. Make no mistake about it beloved, the bramble will not be satisfied until he sits in you, the temple of God, as though he is God. (I Corinthinians 3:16 and II Thessalonians 2:4). Thebez, however, means brightness. The bramble was totally destroyed at a place which means brightness! The brightness that Thebez speaks to is wondrously depicted to eyes that can see by the Spirit in II Thessolonians 2:8. It reads, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” The brightness of His coming is the brightness of His unveiling. The more our eyes are opened to the Person and Redemptive Work of Christ by His Spirit, the more of the bramble’s utter destruction we can see! Stay at Beer because it is bringing you unto perfection. The power of the Cross is working while we are dwelling at Beer.

Finally, we are not really afraid of Abimelech because perfect love casteth out fear. (I John 4:18). The fear described in Judges 9:21 above is simply a respect for the fact that departure from Beer, the place which speaks of God’s Word or His Son, will cause us to make provision for the flesh and give power to Abimelech, the bramble. As long as we abide in His Word at Beer, The Revelation of Jesus Christ and His illuminating glory is consuming the bramble!

Referring back to the first Scripture in the reading at the beginning of this booklet, let us purpose in our hearts to obey it, and live! John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If we believe God and purpose to abide in Christ, He will help us. Our assurance is found in First John 4:23-24 which reads, “And this is the commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandment dwelleth in him and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

May God grant the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of His Son to each reader.

All definitions were taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance except where otherwise indicated.