Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles  

7 Fruits of Israel: Pomegranates 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

 

Deuteronomy 8: 7-8 "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and date honey.” 

 

These seven fruits make up the Bikkurim, the first fruits offered in thanksgiving to the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem during the Appointed Times of the Lord: Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot) and Tabernacles (Sukkoth). 

 

Pomegranates ripen in Israel in time to be offered during the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkoth. Pomegranates are a symbol of righteousness. Many Jews believe that the fruit contains 613 seeds representing the 613 commandments of the Torah. The number of seeds per pomegranate varies, but the thought remains that righteousness comes when we walk in the paths of the Lord in every area of our lives. God has given us, in His Word, instructions for walking out those paths. 

 

On Rosh Hashanah, Jews eat this fruit one seed at a time to emphasize that the pathway through life is one step, one day at a time.  

 

Pomegranates are first mentioned in the Bible when the 12 spies bring them back into the Israelite camp as evidence of the fruitfulness of the land. (Numbers 13:23) “Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs.” 

 

Pomegranates, according to Exodus 28:31-35 were part of the design for the priestly garments. “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear. And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue , purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around. And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, that he may not die.” 

 

As with many traditions, a Hebrew blessing is spoken over the pomegranate: “May it be Your will, God and the God of our ancestors, that we be filled with blessings as the pomegranate is filled with seeds.”  

 

The blessing affirms that as the pomegranate is a symbol of righteousness. Blessings come from living righteously.  

 

In the Song of Solomon, the bride's temples are compared to a piece of the pomegranate. Song of Solomon 4: 3. “Your lips are like a strand of scarlet, and your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like a piece of pomegranate.” 

 

In other words, the beauty of the bride is in her righteousness. 

 

The bride in the Song of Solomon is a picture of the Church. For Christians the pomegranate has become a symbol of resurrection and life everlasting. The pomegranate with its many seeds symbolizes the Church united in righteousness. 

 

Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for His disciples, not just for the disciples in His earthly days but for all of us: John 17:14-23: "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  

And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”  

 

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” 

 

In the pomegranate, we see the many individuals operating as one in righteousness and truth. 

 

A Christian blessing over the pomegranate: Oh, Lord our God, through the power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, may Your people be united in the righteousness given to us by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ so the world will see You in our lives. 

In thanksgiving, we give all honor, praise and glory to You. Amen. 

Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles 

 7 Fruits of Israel: Figs 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe  

Deuteronomy 8: 7-8 "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and date honey.”  

The fig tree is a symbol of God’s people. First, it is a symbol of Israel and because we Christians are grafted in (Romans 11), the message applies to us as well. 

The fig tree ripens three or four times a year. Therefore, it becomes a symbol of persistence.

Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

In Luke 13, Jesus told a parable concerning the fig tree. Luke 13: 6. “He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. "Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, `Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, `Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  `And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.' '' 

This parable of a barren fig tree illustrates a God’s patience, mercy and encouragement in enabling us to bear spiritual truth. He is patient and grants us time to change, to repent and bear fruit. If we are not fruit bearers, we are doing nothing to advance the Kingdom. 

Many are confused by Jesus' action in Matthew 21:18-19: “Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again.'' And immediately the fig tree withered away.” The incident illustrates what James shared in James 2:17: “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  

 God has spoken the same truth through the prophet Jeremiah. Though the message was specifically given to Israel before the Babylonian captivity, it resonates with us today. Jeremiah 24:1-10: “The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad.''  Then the Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?'' And I said, "Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.''  

“Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: `Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans.  `For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. `Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.  `And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad' surely thus says the Lord `so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.  `I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. `And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.' “ 

This is a time for honest self-reflection. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:31 “1.  For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.” Each of us must ask the question, in which basket am I?” 

Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles  

7 Fruits of Israel:  Grapes 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Deuteronomy 8: 7-8 "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and date honey.” 

In the Bible, grapes are mentioned more than any other fruit. When the 12 spies returned to Moses after scouting out the land the Lord had promised to the Israelites, they brought with back a single cluster of grapes which they carried on a pole between them. (Numbers 13:23). 

The abundance of the grapes in Israel symbolize the abundant life we can have in a covenant relationship with Father God through Jesus Christ. (John 10:10)  

Psalm 23: 4-5 “ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.”  In that overflow, we find the joy of the Lord which is the second fruit of the Spirit, coming after love. (Galatians 5)

John 15:1-5: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”  

Luke 22: 20.  “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” The wine pictures the shed blood of our Redeemer.

Because of Jesus, the juice of the grape is symbolic of the abundance of God’s mercy and redemption, which, when we are in covenant with Him, bring joy into our lives. The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) 

(Side note: It was during the renewed celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles that the Lord spoke those words through Nehemiah.)

Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles

 7 Fruits of Israel: Barley 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Deuteronomy 8: 7-8 "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and date honey.” 

These seven fruits make up the Bikkurim, the first fruits offered in thanksgiving to the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem during the Appointed Times of the Lord: Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot) and Tabernacles (Sukkoth).  

The first of the Bikkurim was offered on the First Fruit of the Passover season. This Feast of First Fruits came 3 days into the Feast of Unleavened Bread which followed the day of Passover.  Jesus died on Passover and rose on the Feast of First Fruits. 1Corinthians 15: 20. “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”   

The offering at that time included the first fruits of the barley harvest. Barley is one of the first cultivated crops. It was widely used as animal fodder and was also considered as food for poor people. It came to symbolize God’s provision in the severity and harshness of life. It pictures the severity and harshness of the life and death of Jesus Christ who “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:7-9).

Barley is a picture of Jesus humbling Himself to provide for our salvation and deliverance from the severity and harshness of judgment. We receive victory when we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and allow Him to lift us up. (James 4:10) 

Read the stories of Gideon and Ruth to see the victory that comes when we humble ourselves in obedience to the Lord.