Reflection: ‘Bad trees’

There are only two fables told in the Bible, both about wood. And because fables teach moral lessons, you can guess that these are about bad wood. Both fables are told in the days of the kings (when ‘everyone did what was right in their own eyes’). The storyteller of this one in the book of Judges is a good king (though his son was rotten to the core). And it’s no bedtime story. He’s on a mountain top shouting at the gathered citizens of two cities:

“One day the trees decided to anoint a king for themselves.” yells King Jotham.

[A-hem! Bad idea from the start. Surely we don’t need to articulate that!]

‘Hey, olive tree, be our king.’

‘Nah. Give over my 5-star oil, just to keep your bellies full?’

‘Hey, fig tree, come and be our king.’

’Give up my luscious fruit, just to give you lazybones shade?’

‘Hey, vine, you could be our king.’

’Give over my heady wine, just so you can be blind drunk?’

Finally, it was down to the thornbush.

‘Come and be our king.’ The trees begged.

(‘Hee, hee!’ he sneers under his breath.)

You really want me as your king?

Dar-lings, come and take refuge in my ”shade”.

…But… if you don’t…’ he spitefully spits

(and in a torrent of cruel words comes the damning lesson)

‘fire will consume not just you but everything you honour and hold dear.’

(my paraphrase of Judges 9:7-15)

Bad trees are a picture of judgement. Whether rotten from the inside-out or outside-in, they’ve become useless. Goodness-spoiled, they dishonour their creator.

Prayer:

So much dead wood in your beautiful but broken world, Father God. We’ve been warned. Now, give us discernment to recognise the rot before it consumes us. (Pause; consider; confess.)