Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
—Psalm 36:10
“And [your offspring] shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
—Genesis 15:16
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
—Isaiah 42:6-7
In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
—Matthew 21:18-19
The aftermath of knowing the Lord is fruitful life. The aftermath of fruitlessness is extinction.
I suspect that there is a subtle point about grace in the Lord's covenant statement to Abram. In addition to the obvious ones that we have heard preached and taught many times, I mean.
The Lord had already rescued Abram from the possible aftermath of his lie in Egypt. Instead of retaliating with violence or imprisonment, Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and sent them away with all their property intact. Abram showed grace and generosity in giving Lot the choice of pasture. When that went wrong, Abram rescued the victims, refusing reward from the king of Sodom. And then the Lord renewed His promise to Abram. Patience, forgiveness, and grace are woven all through those events.
But the message in Abram's vision contains a curious remark—“the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Reading that with the book of Jonah in mind—among many other passages that speak of the Lord's desire to extend grace even to those who oppose Him—raises a question: did the Lord give the Amorites time to mend their ways? That's certainly why He sent Jonah to Nineveh.
And there is a tragic and faint echo in Matthew's account of the fruitless fig tree. The parables of the vine that produced bad grapes and the tree that needed cultivating, among others, make it clear that the Lord desires the right kind of fruit and is capable of patience. But He doesn't turn a blind eye to protracted, stubborn rebellion.
In quick succession, Matthew describes the cleansing of the temple, the objection of the priests and scribes to the joyful welcome by the people, the challenge the priests and elders raised against the authority of Jesus, the parable of a son who promised to obey but did not, and the parable of the rebellious and murderous tenants.
And in the middle, we read of a fig tree that failed to yield fruit.
It had used up its opportunities and so was withered by a word from the Son, who came to give fruitful life.
Fruit and Aftermath
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
—Psalm 36:10
“And [your offspring] shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
—Genesis 15:16
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
—Isaiah 42:6-7
In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
—Matthew 21:18-19
The aftermath of knowing the Lord is fruitful life. The aftermath of fruitlessness is extinction.
I suspect that there is a subtle point about grace in the Lord's covenant statement to Abram. In addition to the obvious ones that we have heard preached and taught many times, I mean.
The Lord had already rescued Abram from the possible aftermath of his lie in Egypt. Instead of retaliating with violence or imprisonment, Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and sent them away with all their property intact. Abram showed grace and generosity in giving Lot the choice of pasture. When that went wrong, Abram rescued the victims, refusing reward from the king of Sodom. And then the Lord renewed His promise to Abram. Patience, forgiveness, and grace are woven all through those events.
But the message in Abram's vision contains a curious remark—“the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Reading that with the book of Jonah in mind—among many other passages that speak of the Lord's desire to extend grace even to those who oppose Him—raises a question: did the Lord give the Amorites time to mend their ways? That's certainly why He sent Jonah to Nineveh.
And there is a tragic and faint echo in Matthew's account of the fruitless fig tree. The parables of the vine that produced bad grapes and the tree that needed cultivating, among others, make it clear that the Lord desires the right kind of fruit and is capable of patience. But He doesn't turn a blind eye to protracted, stubborn rebellion.
In quick succession, Matthew describes the cleansing of the temple, the objection of the priests and scribes to the joyful welcome by the people, the challenge the priests and elders raised against the authority of Jesus, the parable of a son who promised to obey but did not, and the parable of the rebellious and murderous tenants.
And in the middle, we read of a fig tree that failed to yield fruit.
It had used up its opportunities and so was withered by a word from the Son, who came to give fruitful life.