A few years ago I was living in a small town in the north Georgia mountains.
You may have heard of it. It’s the town of Helen Georgia. Right down the road
from where I was staying was a small store called Betty’s Country Store.
Now Betty’s was filled with all kinds of really interesting things that you could buy.
There were little country knickknacks and gadgets of all kinds. It was kind of like a
grocery store but it also had all kinds of little things you don’t usually find in a grocery store.
One thing that you could always find is a farmer’s almanac. I stopped into a little market this
past Saturday that had the farmer’s almanacs for sale, and it got me to thinking.
The Bible is the Christians farming almanac in a way. By that I mean it contains situations
about plowing planting and harvesting.
In Genesis the 2nd chapter and verse 8 God tenderly plants a garden and then in the book
of Revelation a harvest. (Revelation 14:15)
Ancient Israel was largely an agricultural society so naturally the scriptures are filled with
analogies and allegories such as sowing seeds, pruning vines and grafting. These basic farming
ideas all have spiritual parallels. Man tends the earth and plants the seed and the essence of life
comes from heaven – The sun and the rain.
When the Lord led the children of Israel out of Egypt He explained that the agriculture in the
mountainous land of Canaan was different from the Nile delta from which He saved them.
Read Deuteronomy 11:10-12
10 For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come,
where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden;
11 but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water
from the rain of heaven,
12 a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it,
from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.
In Egypt the farming was done by man’s work. Irrigation from the great Nile river gave them water,
but in the Promised Land, they would need to depend on God for the rain.
The same idea is given to us when we look at how God dealt with the people in the Old Testament
and then in the New Testament.
1 Corinthians 3:7-11
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to
his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation,
and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
We realize that the world is the field, and redeemed souls are the harvest. There seems to be more people
willing to be saved than workers in the field to reach them. (Read Matthew 9:37 this afternoon.)
Jesus doesn’t ask us to work without tools. We have a lot of material to choose from in His instruction book,
the Bible.
Psalm 126:6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with
rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.
Let me ask you, "Have you planted your fig tree yet?" What are you talking about Michael?
Among the ancient Hebrews, a primary symbol of peace and prosperity was that each family planted fig trees.
When the prophet Micah proclaimed a future era of peace for God’s people, he said they would not only hammer
their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, but also they would “all sit under their own vines
and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid.” Micah4:4
The prophet Zechariah spoke of a great day of redemption for Israel promising that on that day, says the Lord of hosts,
you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.” Zechariah 3:10
The ability to have your own fig tree implied a time of peace and stability having a source of sweetness and shade for the
neighbors to share in your blessings. The Bible has used the fig tree throughout time. Remember Adam and Eve in
Genesis 3:7 “They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.” Then in Matthew 24:32, the Lord speaks
of the last days.
We, like the fig tree must bear fruit and show fourth our security that we have in the Lord. We can strive for peace in a
time of strife and that would be sweet. When God’s people turned their trust to the world instead of trusting Him, they
failed to be fruitful
Joel 1:12 “the vine withers, the fig tree droops.” Jesus used the same idea when speaking of the barren fig tree in
Matthew 21.
Haggai spoke of a time when the fig tree had not born fruit, but saw hope in the laying of a foundation for the temple,
promising in God’s behalf that “from this day on and I will bless you.” Haggai 2:19
What are we doing to promote peace and understanding in our community?
Have you planted your fig tree yet? Hope, security, prosperity for a world that needs to not only see that we have
it, but that we want to share that good news with others.
Do you personally have peace and security in your life, that you can truly show others you have planted the
Word in your heart?
God is waiting for his harvest! Have a great day!
