Figs and Fig Trees
“The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land… a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey”. Deuteronomy 8:7
God gives good gifts. When he gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people, it was not just any old piece of land… but a fruitful place.
There are seven species of food mentioned in the verse, which would be abundant in the land promised to his people. There is so much richness in what God has created and placed in this land for his people – not just in their good taste and nutrition, but in their meaning too. And the fig is a fruit that crops up again and again in the scriptures.
There is something that seems rich and decadent about figs.
The deep colours, the distinctive shape and gentle scent.
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From Genesis to Revelation, the fig features strongly in scriptural symbolism
Garden of Eden Tree
Genesis 2 tells us that God planted Eden with many trees including the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil. After these two, we can be certain that the fig was present because following recognition of their shame and
nudity, Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their embarrassment.
Fig leaves were not an acceptable covering for sin before a righteous and Holy God; so God provided covering from animal skin. (v. 20). Therefore something had to die. A substitute had to shed blood in their place; and it was with the skin of the substitute that they were clothed.
Isn't it interesting that it was with the leaves of a fig tree that they sought to make themselves appear acceptable to God? You might say that "fig leaves" were symbolic of the first act of "man-made religion"
The fig takes time to culture and nurture them – their maturity indicates that the gardener has been continuously and steadfastly there, tending to their growth over the years.
For Israel, exile and wandering may be thought of as punishment and so sitting under your own vine and fig tree is a sign of blessing and security in your own place.
Throughout the scriptures, the plant becomes a symbol of prosperity, wellbeing, and security. Along with the vine, to sit under the plentiful shade of your own fig tree symbolises safety, peace and wellbeing in many Biblical passages.
“Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his
vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all
the days of Solomon.” 1 Kings 4:25
In some of the prophets (Joel, Habakkuk, Haggai) we
can see warnings to the nation of how God would bring destruction and failure of crops as part of his judgement against them, specifying empty fig trees that were stripped bare and fruitless.
It’s almost as if the fig was something of a barometer of
the health of the nation – taken away as punishment,
and flourishing in times of restoration
This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern,
In 2 Kings 17, the Assyrian commander offered every deserter from the army of Jerusalem “his own vine and fig tree.” It can be seen then that the fig tree indicates prosperity. Having one’s own fig tree is a sign of personal wealth and well-being.
“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat, each one, from his vine and each from his fig tree, and drink, each one, the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees producing oil, and of honey, so that you will live and not die.
2 Kings 18: 31-32
Interestingly, as we read on, the new land being offered did not include figs!
This was not the way to live, as vassals to a pagan king. The wealth of having YHWH as their God, and His generous promise of your own vine and fig tree and cistern, was far more precious than Sennacharib’s bribary promise.
"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered,
"I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel." Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that."
John 1:48-50
Jesus uses the symbolic fig tree – in the calling of Nathanael
The fig tree had much meaning for the Israelite.
Israel is full of fig trees – huge, well developed, shady and mature. They produce two harvests of fruit a year, the early crop around Easter / Passover time in the spring, even before the leaves have unfurled, and the biggest, best, most juicy fruits come in September, close to the Jewish holidays of Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles.
If a fig tree is a symbol of prosperity and personal wealth, a barren fig tree is then its antithesis.
Jesus’ cursing of the barren fig tree that subsequently withered has been read as an affirmation of Jesus’ divinity, which is expressed in his having dominion and authority over nature.
However, another reading that follows this symbolism relates it to the kind of wealth. If prosperity is related to the abundance of fruits from the fig tree, spiritual prosperity is related to a person`s “good fruit,” ie the good actions of the faithful. Just as Adam and Eve used the fig trees to cover their nudity as they felt shame and embarrassment, when we don’t give any kind of spiritual fruit we are in fact left with nothing but “leaves”, an outward appearance that tries to cover the fact that we are not producing anything for God or our neighbour.
Jesus and the Fig tree
Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
Matthew 21:19
Let us look at this Gospel passage in context...
Jesus entered Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, riding on a donkey on what has become known as Palm Sunday
He goes into the Temple precincts and turns out the money lenders, after which he retraces his steps to Bethany for the night. Incidently, "Bethany" can mean "House of Figs" Perhaps he was staying with his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. The following morning he headed back to Jerusalem and he was hungry! - What! - Had Martha not prepared breakfast? He saw the Fig tree full of leaves. It was Passover time, so he would be looking for the early crop of figs. Not finding any, he cursed the tree that began to wither immediately according to Matthew.
Jesus wasn`t having a bad day, but was issuing a prophetic image. When questioned, Jesus speaks about having faith to do what seems impossible.
Jesus saw the leaves. A fig tree produces the fruit before the leaves. When a fig tree produced leaves
the figs were ready to eat. So there
should have been fruit on the tree
but there was none.
Matthew tells us that, when He came to the tree, "He found nothing on it but leaves" (v. 19). It had all the promise of fruitfulness—all the appearance of bearing something He desired. But on closer examination, it had only
the outward appearance of 'fruitfulness' . . . and bore none of the fruit.
The result of rejecting God means that the potential to flourish would wilt and die.
'I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them
will be taken from them.'"
Jeremiah 8:13
Jesus came to His temple, wanting to find genuine fruits of faith from His people. Instead, He was greeted with unbelief, opposition, and the abuse of His Father's house. There was "religion", all over the place. There were lots of offerings being made, Scriptures recited, and lots of animals purchased for sacrifice. The people were being so careful about "religion" that they made sure that the coins of pagan nations was exchanged into money that would be acceptable to use in the temple. It was very, very religious. But all of the religion was nothing more than the outward promise of fruitfulness and nothing more. There was no real spiritual “fruit”. It was all "fig leaves"; but no "figs".
In Mark`s account the fig tree incident illustrated warnings.
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
Mark 13:28
It was later, as they are looking out over Jerusalem and the temple from the Mount of Olives, that Jesus told them they needed to learn the parable of the fig tree. The lesson they needed to learn was that when a fig tree puts out its leaves you know that summer is near. The problem with the fig tree they saw with leaves was that the leaves should have signified that the fruit was ready. Sadly there was no fruit. What does not produce fruit is eventually cut down and thrown into the fire.
We can see that this represented Jerusalem at that time. It looked to be faithful to God with its Temple worship and following God’s commands, but as Jesus attempted to show: their heart was far from God. Like the fig tree with leaves and no fruit, they were a nation that might look faithful but there was no nourishment or spiritual fruit and something false in their outward show and power.
Second Chances
Luke has a different parable example of figs that fits well here. If there is recognition that our religion lacks faith
and fruit, perhaps we need a second chance ...
Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down!
Why should it use up the soil?' "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll
dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'" Luke 13:6-9
The tree deserved a second chance. With a little care and cultivation things
were bound to improve. The Gardener wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
The parable was followed by Jesus healing a woman on the Sabbath who had been sick for 18 years.
She was like the fig tree but Jesus cleared out the weeds and nourished her soul (fertilized the soil). Every day, Sabbath
or not, we should be clearing out the weeds and nourishing our fellow humans. If that is what Jesus did, we ought to do it too.
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When James noticed the wickedness that was coming out of the mouths of those who professed Jesus as their Messiah, he noted the hypocrisy:
My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither
can a salt spring produce fresh water.
James 3:12
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. v.13
Go and bare fruit...
Even if the fig tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit on the vines, if the yield of the olive fails, and the fields produce no food, even if the flock disappears from the fold, and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will triumph in YHWH, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18
But the wisdom that comes from heaven
is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy
and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap
a harvest of righteousness. v17-18
