We have seen three items of the foods in the good land of Canaan: the wheat, the barley, and the vine. Let us notice again the order: first the wheat, then the barley, then the vine. The incarnated, limited, crucified, and buried Jesus comes into our experience first; then we touch the resurrected Christ. By the power of His resurrection we can live the life He lived on this earth. By the resurrected Christ, we can live the life of the incarnated and limited Jesus. Then we learn that the more we enjoy Christ, the more we must suffer. The more we experience Christ, the more we will be put into the winepress. We will be pressed that something may be produced to please God and others. Our experience testifies to all these things.
We now come to the fourth item—the fig trees. Judges 9:11 tells us that the fig tree represents sweetness and good fruit. It speaks of the sweetness and satisfaction of Christ as our supply. In the first item, the wheat, we could not see the sweetness and the satisfaction; neither could we in the barley. Even in the vine, the emphasis is not on the sweetness and satisfaction of Christ as our supply. We must come for this to the fourth item, the fig tree.
From our experience we realize that the more we enjoy Christ as the wheat, as the barley, and as the vine, the more we experience the sweetness and the satisfaction of Christ. The more we enjoy Christ as the resurrected One, the more we will be pressed, the more we will enjoy Him as the vine. But, praise the Lord, at that very moment we realize the sweetness and the satisfaction of Christ as our supply.
About thirty years ago in China, a young girl who lived in the northern province of Kiang-Su was sick. It was a time of famine, and she was in terrible poverty. In her sickness she was brought to the Lord, and in the face of strong opposition from her entire family she made swift progress in her spiritual growth. Just at that time her husband died, and pressure upon pressure came upon her. She was put into one winepress after the other. Concerning doctrine she knew very little, but she really experienced something in the spirit. She experienced Christ. Day by day she enjoyed Christ and testified that Christ was her very life. Her family was severely antagonistic. The more she attended the meetings, the more her mother-in-law beat her and persecuted her. She sang hymns of praise to the Lord, but the more she rejoiced, the more the wrath of her mother-in-law was stirred, and she was smitten all the more. The sister, however, was undaunted. Her mother-in-law’s beatings only caused her to praise her Lord more than ever. One day when she returned singing from the meeting, her mother-in-law was deeply irritated. “Whatever are you doing!” she exclaimed. “We are so poor, and yet you have the heart to sing something!” And upon that, she gave her a good beating. Going to her room and shutting the door, the young sister sang praises to the Lord and prayed with a loud voice. The mother-in-law could not help but hear her and came to the door to listen. “What in the world is the matter with her,” the mother thought. “Perhaps she is mad.” She listened carefully. Do you know what that young sister was praying? “O Lord, praise You, praise You, I am so happy! Forgive my mother-in-law! Save her, Lord, save her! Give her the light and give her the happiness I have! Bless her, Lord!” All these simple words of prayer greatly surprised the mother-in-law. She thought the young girl was probably cursing her, but instead of cursing, she was praying for her. The mother-in-law knocked on the door. Trembling with fear, the young sister thought that her mother-in-law was coming to beat her again. But instead the mother-in-law asked, “Daughter, how are you, how are you? I beat you! Why do you pray for me, asking your God to bless me and give me joy? What is the matter with you?” “O Mother,” the young sister replied, “Christ satisfies me! I am so satisfied. I am full of sweetness. You know, mother, the more you beat me, the more sweetness and satisfaction I have.” Immediately the mother-in-law came in and took her hand, saying, “Daughter, let us kneel down. Teach me how to pray. I want to take your Jesus as mine.”
Oh, the sweetness and satisfaction of the Lord as our supply! The more we are pressed, we may be sure, the more we will be satisfied. The pressure only causes us to realize His sweetness and His satisfaction. This is Christ as the fig tree.