What Are All The Mentions Of Trees, Fruits, and Plants In The Bible About Anyway?
There are A LOT of Trees in the Bible
Have you ever noticed that the Bible mentions trees regularly? It seems to be a recurring theme throughout the Bible. In fact, the word “tree” is mentioned 257 times throughout the whole Bible. 213 of those times are in the Old Testament alone! With the exception of God and people, trees are the most mentioned living creature in the Bible.
Trees Mentioned in the Bible
But Let Us Not Forget About Fruit
The word fruit pops up a total of 198 times throughout the Bible!
Fruits Mentioned in the Bible
So, What Significance Do Trees and Plants and Fruit Hold?
Every major character in the Bible has an association with a tree or a plant. Every major Biblical event has an association with a tree or plant. The Bible starts with a tree and ends with a tree.
God Provides: Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1: 11-12)
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:29-30)
Noah Knew the Flood had Ended: When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. (Genesis 8:11)
Abraham Sitting: The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. (Genesis 18:1)
Moses Talks to God: There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:2-4)
Joseph is a Vine: Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. (Genesis 49:22)
Zacchaeus and the Sycamore: So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. (Luke 19:4)
The Blind Man: He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” (Mark 8:24)
Job Wishes he was a Tree: At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. (Job 14:7-9)
The Disciples Gathered on the Mount of Olives: Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. (Luke 22:39)
Paul Suggested Christians are Branches Grafted into Trees: If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. (Romans 11:16-20)
After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! (Romans 11:24)
Micah Refers to the Second Coming of Christ: Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. (Micah 4:4)
Jesus Tells the Parable of the Mustard Seed: He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)
Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” (Luke 13:18-19)
Pay your Tithing: Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. (Proverbs 3:9)
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree: Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. (Mark 11:13-14)
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” (Mark 11:20-21)
Following Him will Lead to Blessings: The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (Deuteronomy 28:4)
Heed the Warning of Not Following Him: The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (Deuteronomy 28: 18)
….. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. (Deuteronomy 18:30)
Mary Magdalene Confuses Jesus for a Gardner: He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” (John 20:15)
Eden Becomes Restored: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22: 1-2)
Jesus is referred to as a tree: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2)
Jesus Tells the Parable of the Fig Tree: 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)
Remain in Christ and LOVE: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:1-17)
Jesus wants us to help others: “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (John 4:34-38)
The Righteous will Flourish: The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him (Psalms 92:12-15)
Ancestors of the Israelites: When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved. (Hosea 9:10)
Stay True to your Values: The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored. (Proverbs 27:18)
God Knows What Path we are Taking: Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33)
You Must Repent for your Wrongdoing: Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:8-10)
Jesus Died for us on a Tree: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” (Galatians 3:13)
The Faithful get to Eat from the Tree of Life: Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)
Even Though Some Mentions are Literal, Most Mentions are Metaphors
What does the myriad of metaphors about trees, fruit, and plants represent?
Well, for one, many references are about God providing the nourishment and strength we need in order to be with Him again. But there are so many meanings wrapped up in this. They are:
- Christ
- Our Faith
- Our Choices
- Our Tithes
- Our Relationship with Christ
- Blessings and Curses
- Redemption
- Abundance
- The Holy Spirit
- The Creation of Man
- The Fall of Man
The Takeaway?
We need to root ourselves in the words and actions of the Lord. We must Follow him without ceasing. If we do so, He will bless us and we will partake in the fruit of the Tree of Life.
-Torrance Church of Christ