When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
There are tremendous lessons in this fable. The general worthlessness of kings appears in this.  "This contempt for the monarchy reflects a very early date for Judges.  In this fable, the briar, which is good for nothing else, has the leisure to become king, but it cannot provide shelter for the trees, and is more likely to catch fire and involve them all in its ruin."[10]