Judges 9:10-11
King James Version
10 And the trees said to the fig tree,
Come thou, and reign over us.
11 But the fig tree said unto them,
Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit,
and go to be promoted over the trees?
Perhaps, you like Fig Newtons.
I do, even as a child.
Then lately, an aunt gave a version with "dates".
The outer layer was not as moist, but still tasted great.
Anyway, Fig Newtons were my first introduction to "figs".
This is how "fig" is described:
"The fig is the edible fruit of Ficus carica, a species of small shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia."
-- Wikipedia
It says the fig is a "shrub".
But the Bible calls it a "tree".
So, "tree" it is for me then.
But if you're curious, here's a link differentiating both.
Now, let's turn to Scripture.
First mention of trees as "food":
Genesis 1:11-13
King James Version
11 And God said,
Let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb yielding seed,
and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose seed is in itself, upon the earth:
and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass,
and herb yielding seed after his kind,
and the tree yielding fruit,
whose seed was in itself, after his kind:
and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning
were the third day.
On the SIXTH day:
Genesis 1:29
King James Version
29 And God said,
Behold,
I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth,
and every tree,
in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;
to you it shall be for meat.
First mention of "fig".
The context:
Genesis 3:6
King James Version
6 And when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food,
and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,
and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he did eat.
The result:
Genesis 3:7
King James Version
7 And the eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons.
For this post, we shall talk about figs as "food".
Scripture says:
1 Samuel 30:9-12
King James Version
9 So David went,
he and the six hundred men that were with him,
and came to the brook Besor*,
where those that were left behind stayed.
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men:
for two hundred abode behind,
which were so faint
that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the field,
and brought him to David, and gave him bread,
and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs,
and two clusters of raisins:
and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him:
for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water,
three days and three nights.
Now, I'm getting hungry, but more stories:
Jeremiah 24:1-2
King James Version
24 The Lord shewed me,
and, behold, two baskets of figs
were set before the temple of the Lord,
after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
had carried away captive Jeconiah
the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
and the princes of Judah,
with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem,
and had brought them to Babylon.
2 One basket had very good figs,
even like the figs that are first ripe:
and the other basket had very naughty figs,
which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
Jeremiah 24:3
King James Version
3 Then said the Lord unto me,
What seest thou, Jeremiah?
And I said, Figs;
the good figs, very good;
and the evil, very evil,
that cannot be eaten,
they are so evil.
Jeremiah 24:4-7
King James Version
4 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel;
Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them
that are carried away captive of Judah,
whom I have sent out of this place
into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good,
and I will bring them again to this land:
and I will build them, and not pull them down;
and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
7 And I will give them an heart to know me,
that I am the Lord:
and they shall be my people,
and I will be their God:
for they shall return unto me
with their whole heart.
Jeremiah 24:8-10
King James Version
8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten,
they are so evil;
surely thus saith the Lord,
So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah,
and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem,
that remain in this land,
and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
9 And I will deliver them to be removed
into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt,
to be a reproach and a proverb,
a taunt and a curse,
in all places whither I shall drive them.
10 And I will send the sword,
the famine, and the pestilence, among them,
till they be consumed from off the land
that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
Mark 11:11-14
King James Version
11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem,
and into the temple:
and when he had looked round about
upon all things, and now the eventide was come,
he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
12 And on the morrow,
when they were come from Bethany,
he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves,
he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon:
and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves;
for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it,
No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.
And his disciples heard it.
Luke 13:6-9
King James Version
6 He spake also this parable;
A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard;
and he came and sought fruit thereon,
and found none.
7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard,
Behold, these three years I come
seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none:
cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
8 And he answering said unto him,
Lord, let it alone this year also,
till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9 And if it bear fruit, well:
and if not, then after that
thou shalt cut it down.
We did say trees are "significant", and "symbolic".
All the verses above are worthy of review.
So we can really understand what GOD means.
We need SPIRIT to help us interpret the verses.
Only as true born again, can we really understand.
And when your heart is childlike, you understand best.
Now, it's time to turn to the next post.
And know more about the fig tree, and prophecies.
*Besor:
"Probably the Wadyes Sheriah, south of Gaza."
Related material:
Image: Clipart Library
