This Nation
Zephaniah 2:1 Bunch yourselves together like straw, you undesirable nation.
The Bundle of Sticks (Fables of Aesop) An old farmer had three sons who quarreled among themselves from dawn till dusk. One day, the farmer fell gravely ill. Wishing to make peace among his sons before he died, he called them to his bedside and asked them to bring a thick bundle of sticks.
“Can you break these in two?” asked the farmer, handing the sticks to the oldest son.
“Of course!” the young man answered scornfully. But even though he tried until he was red in the face, he couldn’t break the bundle of sticks.
“Why, those sticks are no thicker than my finger,” mocked the second son.
“I could break those sticks like straw,” boasted the third. And they both tried with all their might, but neither could break the bundle of sticks in two.
Then the father drew three sticks from the bundle and handed one to each of his sons. “Can you break them now?” he asked. And they did so easily.
“Let the sticks teach you,” said the father to his sons, “how strong you are when you are allied together, and how easily you can be broken on your own.”
In unity there is strength