Unless the throne is filled with God the King, it will be filled with a failing usurper. Leadership matters. Gideon was God’s chosen deliverer for Israel. If he was so weak and faithless, what will a self-appointed (but still God ordained) leader do?

I. A Forgetful Generation (Judg 8:33-35). Israel became fully Canaanized under Gideon and ease became a disease rotting the new generation. They forgot Gideon like they forgot God (Judg 2:1-3, 10-13, 16-17, 19; 3:7; 4:1), a purposed act of ungratefully ignoring him and all he’d done.
Forgetting God always leads to consequences. Consequences bring believers to humble repentance, but the unsaved harden themselves. Pharaoh is a great example of a man who “forgot” or turned a blind eye to God. He began with a sin-hardened heart, but as he hardened it more (Ex 7:14, 23; 8.15" class="scriptRef">8:15, 32; 9:7, 34-35; 13:15), God added to the hardness in order to judge him (Ex 4:21; 7:3; 10:1; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17; Rom 9:17-18).
Israel turned to Baal-Berith, which means Baal of the covenant (Judg 8:33). They syncretized traditional Canaanite paganism with the revelation of the covenant-making God of Scripture, creating their own religion.

II. A Fiendish King (Judg 9:1-6). John Calvin wrote, When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers. God gave Israel the ruler they deserved and desired (Dan 4:17). Leaders matter! Gideon’s bastard Canaanite son Abimelech was ambitious. He returned to his hometown and convinced his family he’d be a better king than Gideon’s 70 legitimate sons. From Baal’s temple, they gave Abimelech 70 shekels of silver to murder Gideon’s sons. A slave’s value was 20 to 50 shekels (Lev 27:1-7); Gideon’s 70 sons were worthless.
Abimelech and his hired gang publicly executed all but one of Gideon’s sons; the youngest, Jotham, hid himself. Yet no one in Israel was outraged by the violence. Instead of rejection, he was treated royally. Israel had forgotten.

III. A Fateful Fable (Judg 9:7-21). Gideon’s lone remaining son went to Mt Gerizim, which means God is truthful. Gerizim stands 2 miles from Mt Ebal. Gerizim was symbolic of God’s blessing; Ebal of His curse (Deut 11:26-32; 27:1-13; Jos 8:30-35; 24:8). In the valley between the two mountains, Joshua read the Law of Moses reminding Israel they stood between blessing and cursing, depending on their obedience. In that valley of decision, Israel remembered God’s covenant and dedicated themselves to obeying Him.
From the top of Mt Blessing, Jotham told a fable to the men of Shechem. A fable is a parable in which animals or plants speak and act like people in order to make a single, great spiritual truth.
In the fable, the finest trees didn’t aspire to political office, but were content in ease, so the bramble filled the vacuum. When good men do nothing, evil flourishes. The bramble was part of God’s curse upon the earth (Gen 3:18), producing nothing but pain and suffering. It gave nothing of value, not even shade, but only empty promises which would end up hurting everyone. Abimelech was the bramble king!
The best leaders don’t aspire to lead but are happy as servants; those who most actively pursue leadership are often the worst candidates (Ps 138:6; Prov 29:23; Mt 23:11-12). There is nothing wrong with ambition as long as it is tempered with humility and a desire to obey God. We don’t need to promote ourselves; God promotes in His own way (Lk 22:24-27). This is true in life, in politics, in business, and in the church.
Jesus was unlike Abimelech. He came humbly as a Servant-King (Mt 21:1-11; Mk 10:45; Jn 13:1-17; Phil 2:5-8); He promoted His Father and not Himself (Jn 5:19-23, 31; 8:50-54; Heb 5:5); and He gave up all to save others rather than Himself (Mt 18:11; Lk 19:10; Jn 10:11-13, 17-18; Gal 1:4).