Of all the trees that were in the Garden of Eden, the only tree mentioned by name that we have today is the fig tree. Adam and Eve attempted to cover the fact that now they were naked before God (Hebrews 4:1313Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13)) by sewing fig leaves together. The fig tree is mentioned more than sixty-six times in twenty-eight different books of the Bible. Often it is used as the subject of a parable or illustration to teach a spiritual truth. In the days of Isaiah the prophet, a lump of figs was laid on Hezekiah’s boil and he recovered from his sickness. Abigail brought, among other things, two hundred cakes of figs to David.
Before Philip called Nathanael, the Lord saw him under the fig tree. When the Lord was hungry, he wanted some fruit from the fig tree but found only leaves. The Lord cursed that fig tree and it began to dry up from the roots and withered away.
What a checkered history the fig has had! Let’s follow a few references to it in our Bibles.
1. In Jotham’s parable, when the trees said to the fig tree, “Come thou, and reign over us,” what did the fig tree say? Judges 9:___
2. When the Lord asked Jeremiah what he saw in the two baskets, what did he say? Jeremiah 24:___
3. What do we learn from the fig tree when its branch is yet tender and it begins to put forth leaves? Matthew 24:___
4. Even though the fig tree would not blossom, what would the prophet rejoice and joy in? Habakkuk 3:___
5. In a coming day of blessing, when there is no more war, where shall every man sit? Micah 4:___