THE
SYMBOLISM OF FIGS IN THE BIBLE
God gives good gifts. When he gave Israel to
the Jewish people, it was not just any old piece of land…
God says in Deuteronomy 8, “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.”
There are seven species of food mentioned
here, which would be abundant in the land promised to his people, and it is
this time of year, leading up to the Jewish holidays, when many of them are
ripe and ready to be eaten.
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 which crops up
again and again in the scriptures, because God does nothing without purpose.
The blessing of figs
This morning, the man who checks bags for
bombs on our metro system was eating juicy figs and gave one to me with a
smile. There is something that just feels rich and decadent about figs. The
amazing deep colours, the distinctive shape and glorious gentle smell.
It is no wonder that this feature of God’s
creation crops up repeatedly in the Bible in rich, symbolic ways.
First of all, we see the figs in the garden
of Eden – covering up the shame of Adam and Eve. In fact, it’s the only tree
specified that we know for sure was in the garden.
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 is the epitome of safety, peace and
wellbeing in many Biblical passages.
These plants don’t grow overnight, and it
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 has been a
byword for punishment and so sitting under your own vine and fig tree is a sign
of blessing and security.
The fig tree as a metaphor for Israel
The fig tree is also symbolic of Israel
itself – It often symbolized the
Later, the Bible tells us of the glorious
time when “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)
Later still, following the minor prophets we
can see warnings to the nation of how God would bring destruction and failure
of crops as part of his judgment against them, specifying empty fig trees that
were stripped bare and fruitless. (Joel,
Habakkuk and Haggai)
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.
In the New Testament we can also see Yeshua
using the symbolic fig tree – firstly in the calling of Nathanael who was “sitting
under a fig tree” like a “true Israelite” (John 1:48-50).
Later he curses the fruitless fig tree,
representing unfruitfulness (Mark 11:12-21), and then uses the fig as a metaphor of how
we should
This end-times warning system with the fig
analogy is picked up again in Revelation 6:13.
So from Genesis to Revelation, the fig
features strongly in scriptural symbolism. There are many more interesting
references not mentioned here which are also worth exploring in Judges, Song of
Songs and parables of Yeshua.
Figs flourishing in Israel today
Today Israel is full of fig trees – huge,
well developed, shady and mature. They produce two harvests of fruit a year,
the early crop around Passover time in the spring, even before the leaves have
unfurled.
And the biggest, best, most juicy fruits are
coming into their own right now, in September, as we draw close to the Jewish
holidays of Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot (Feast of Trumpets, Day of
Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles respectively).
It is possible to consider that the
flourishing of figs today in Israel is a Messianic sign in itself – the people
are back in the land, the fig trees are abundant and plentiful, and the nation
is now waiting for restoration to come.
We know that the restoration will be a
spiritual revival, and all his people greeting their Messiah Yeshua, saying “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord”, or “Welcome Yeshua, our
Messiah!”
Come, Lord Jesus, and find us ready!
Related Posts:
Rosh Hashanah – Welcome 5777!
Aliyah and the “Three Biblical Oaths”: Is Now
the Time for Jews to Return to Israel?
Fulfillment of the Dead Sea Prophecy Has Begun
https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/figs-in-the-bible/
