Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
August 18, 2021
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Judges 9:6-15
Gideon defeated the Midianites. Upon his death, one of his sons Abimelech, undertakes to make himself king. Israel would then be like the neighboring peoples. God would no longer be their king. It would mean that they had rejected God.
Jotham, the youngest of Gideon’s sons, speaks against kingship. He tells a fable in which the trees are debating who should be king. Each of the trees rejects the offer because it has better things to do. Only the thorn tree–who has nothing to offer but trouble–is willing to be king. The point is that having a king other than God is counterproductive.
The Israelites set up a king anyway and the results proved to be catastrophic. Following God’s will is always best.
