I heard recently that peace has been defined as "every man under his own fig tree with God." I think this was based on this...John 1:47-51 "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Micah 4:4, "Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken."
Certain resources I looked at said it was a Hebrew idiom...that "under the fig tree" meant peace. That would mean that if you were sitting under a tree you weren't behind safe walls to defend yourself...giving the idea of peace times.
Zech 3:10, "In that day (another idiom for when the Messiah comes) each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,' declares the LORD Almighty."
Maybe when Jesus told Nathanael that he had seen him under the fig tree before Philip called him, he was not only showing his omniscients (all knowing God characteristic) but also clearly sharing to someone as devout as Nathanael that he was the Messiah!
Okay, maybe you read stuff and get those nuances right off the bat...but for this chiccy...well, it's just awesome...in the true use of that word...AWESOME GOD!
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