One day, some trees went to find a king to rule over them. They asked an olive tree to be their king, but the olive tree was too busy making olive oil for gods and humans to enjoy. So then they asked a fig tree to be their king, but the fig tree was too busy making delicious figs. Next, they asked a grape vine to be their king, but the vine was too busy making wine for gods and humans to enjoy.
Then they asked a thornbush to be their king, but the thornbush was unreasonable. It was too short to provide much shade, but it threatened to burn the trees down if they didn’t stand in its shade.
The end.
The moral of the story
Plants don’t make good kings.
Interpretation
Abimelek won’t make a good king; he will burn you down.