The purpose of Christ in saving God’s chosen people into a new age is that they may enjoy the riches of Christ in the new age. The ark rescued the whole household of Noah and brought them to the new earth. After this, the good land afforded Noah’s descendants, the descendants of Abraham, the enjoyment of all the riches of the new earth (Gen. 12:1, 5-8). This is a type of the riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8) as the enjoyment of God’s elect through His salvation.
The riches of the good land typify the all-inclusiveness of Christ. Christ, as the One who fills all in all (Eph. 1:23), is the all-inclusive One. In the Old Testament, besides the good land of Canaan there is no other type that depicts Christ as such an all-inclusive One.
Deuteronomy 8:7 says that the good land is “a land of waterbrooks, of springs and of fountains.” The fountain is the source; the spring is the emergence; and the waterbrook, the stream, is the flowing forth. The Lord Jesus said that out of the innermost being of those who believe into Him will flow rivers of living water. Hence, the fountains, the springs, and the waterbrooks (streams) typify the supply of the life of Christ as the living water within us, which makes us feel refreshed and watered and also flows out of us to water others. Furthermore, fountains, springs, and waterbrooks are all in the plural, indicating that Christ within us is like many fountains and many springs, from which many streams of water flow out to be our spiritual supply in many ways and many aspects.
In the good land there are eight kinds of rich foods, of which there are two kinds of grain, four kinds of trees, and milk and honey.
John 12:24 shows us that the Lord is the one grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died and was buried. Hence, the wheat represents the Christ who was incarnated to be a man and who fell into the ground to die and be buried. It typifies the Christ who was incarnated, the Christ who died, and the Christ who was buried.
Barley denotes Christ’s resurrection and typifies the resurrected Christ. In the land of Canaan barley is the first among the grains to ripen. In Leviticus 23 the Lord charged the Israelites that when the harvest time came, the firstfruits of the harvest had to be offered to God, and the firstfruits were clearly barley. First Corinthians 15:20 says, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” This clearly indicates that the firstfruits of the harvest typify Christ as the firstfruits of resurrection. Hence, barley typifies the resurrected Christ. The barley loaves with which the Lord fed the five thousand (John 6:9) typify Christ in His resurrection as the life supply to His believers.
In Judges 9:13 the vine said, “Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men...?” This depicts the Christ who sacrificed everything of Himself so that out of His sacrifice He produced the new wine to cheer God and men. Therefore, the vine typifies Christ as the One who cheers God and men.
The fig tree represents sweetness and good fruits. Judges 9:11 says, “But the fig tree said to them, Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit...?” Hence, the fig tree typifies the sweetness and satisfaction of Christ as our supply.
The pomegranate represents the abundance and beauty of life. When we see a ripe pomegranate and its seeds, we surely have the impression that pomegranates are full of life. If we enjoy and experience Christ as the wheat, the barley, the vine, and the pomegranate, the beauty of Christ and the abundance of His life will be manifested through us. This is the experience of Christ as the pomegranate.
The olive tree produces olive oil. Zechariah 4:12-14 says that there are two olive trees before the Lord, which are the two sons of oil. This is a type of Christ as the Son of oil, the One anointed with the Spirit of God. He is a man full of the Holy Spirit; He is the olive tree, the Son of oil. We are told in Judges 9:9 that olive oil is used for honoring God and men. This indicates that if we would serve the Lord and help others, we must do it by the Holy Spirit. We must be one who is filled with the Holy Spirit. If we enjoy Christ as the wheat, the barley, the vine, the fig tree, and the pomegranate, we will surely have the olive oil and will enjoy Him as the olive tree; that is, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and we will honor both God and men.