Leviticus 19:23-25 gives instructions about the planting of fruit trees in the Promised Land. During the first three years a tree would be considered "uncircumcised"---not yet dedicated to God--and any buds that developed would be broken off. The fourth year's production would be the "firstfruits" from that tree and would be donated to the tabernacle or temple. The planter would begin to enjoy the fruit in the fifth year.
Behind these instructions seems to the be principle that God is the owner of everything and the provider of all our food. Commentators also observe that the instructions make horticultural sense. The tree will be a better producer in the long run if it its buds are broken off during the first three years.
In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on February 26, 2022, Rob Wilson noted a connection between Lev 19:23-25 and Jesus' parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6-9. In both Leviticus and the parable, a five-year time frame is envisioned. The implication seems to be that disciples of Jesus, like trees in the Promised Land, should be producing fruit within five years.
Another important biblical fruit tree is the tree of life, which was briefly available in the Garden of Eden and will be available again in a future new Eden. In the letter to the church at Ephesus in Rev 2:7, God promises, "To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." The Greek word for "tree" here is xylon, a word elsewhere used for the cross (Acts 5:30; 10:39). Here we get a hint that the cross is a tree of life (HT: William Grissom).
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