7 Foods That Prove God Keeps His Promises

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God was delighted to tell the Israelites what was waiting for them in the Promised Land: Water, natural resources, and seven species of plants that produce delicious food:

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. (Deuteronomy 8:7-10)

Wheat and Barley

Wheat and barley sustain life and are used in many parables. Wheat is spoken of by Yeshua several times, particularly in the context of threshing and sifting the wheat from the chaff. Barley is used as a practical demonstration in stories of victory in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, such as in the stories of Ruth, Elisha, and feeding the 5,000. They produce bread, which is used as a metaphor for life, sustenance, and fellowship.

Vines

Vines represent joy, for the most part, and are a deeply symbolic part of most Jewish holidays, including Shabbat. Every Friday night, blessings are made over bread and wine, thanking God, creator of the fruit of the vine, and the One who brings forth bread from the earth. Of course, wine also represents the blood of the New Covenant. It was when Yeshua was celebrating Passover with His disciples, blessing a ceremonial cup of wine according to the Jewish tradition, that he said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)

Figs

Figs are a symbol of prosperity, well-being, and security. To sit under the plentiful shade of your own fig tree is the epitome of safety, peace, and well-being in many biblical passages. Like vines, these plants don’t grow overnight, and it takes time to culture and nurture them—their maturity indicates that the gardener has been continuously and steadfastly there, tending to their growth over the years. For Israel, exile and wandering have been a byword for punishment, and so sitting under your own vine and fig tree is a sign of blessing and security. The fig tree in the Bible is also symbolic of Israel itself—it often symbolized the health of the nation, both spiritually and physically.

Pomegranates

Pomegranates are an unusual fruit in that there is no flesh – only seeds, speaking of the blessings and commandments of God. They are not for our own selfish, fleshly desires, but for blessing others because once flesh is gone, it has gone forever, but when a seed dies, it produces a whole load of new life. They remind us that we are living for the benefit and blessing of others. Pomegranates are sown to the hem of the robe of the high priest in Exodus 28 and are equated with fruitfulness, blessing, and prosperity as the twelve spies bring back enormous grapes with some figs and pomegranates from their reconnaissance work (Numbers 13:23), showing the Land to be bursting with promise, just as God said. We also see that pomegranates were used to decorate Solomon’s temple, declaring God’s goodness and blessing to his covenant people. Battered and bruised though they may be, the people of Israel have carried great seeds of blessing to the world in the very words of God to us, and the most holy seed of all – Yeshua the Messiah, seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, King of all the world.

Olives

Olive branch symbolism appears throughout the Bible, starting with the dove bringing an olive branch to Noah, a sign that it was safe to venture out of the ark and that God’s wrath was spent. However, some of the most key passages about olive trees concern the nation of Israel… and the church. In a vision, the prophet Zechariah sees a heavenly menorah, symbolizing the light of the world, flanked by two olive trees that gave oil to keep the lamp burning bright. In Romans chapter 11, Paul expounds on the idea of a cultivated olive tree with a wild olive branch grafted into it, as a metaphor for Jews and Gentiles in the Messiah. We are one, we draw from one root, yet one is wild and the other is native. The Apostle Paul has a lot of wonderful things to say on the matter, but both the Jewish olive branches and the wild Gentile ones have been forgiven and entered the covenant of peace with God through Yeshua.

Date Honey

The “honey” spoken of in Deuteronomy 8 comes from date palms. Palm trees are also full of prophetic symbolism pertinent to Israel. Palm leaves were used to celebrate at the Feast of Tabernacles mentioned in Leviticus and Nehemiah, as decoration in both Solomon’s temple and the third temple in Ezekiel’s vision. The woman in Song of Songs is twice likened to a palm tree, and it is used to describe the righteous in Psalm 92. Palm leaves are waved in victory and praise as Yeshua entered Jerusalem, and also in the book of Revelation. Broadly, palm trees represent victory, uprightness, and righteousness, and featured strongly in early Christian art to symbolize spiritual triumph and heaven.

All of these seven species, the wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates, appear each year at Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, as Jewish people give thanks to God for His generosity and goodness. And remarkably, all seven of the species are still cultivated and thriving in Israel today, thousands of years after God promised Israel what was waiting for them in the Promised Land. In an astonishingly successful experiment, an ancient palm seed from 2000 years ago was found and planted, and not only has it grown into a tree, but it is actually producing fruit!

Similarly, grape seeds found by archaeologist dating back to the time of the early church have been found in a cave in the Negev desert and successfully regrown.¹ Now, two years after planting, the grapes are ready to be harvested.

The fact that these seven species are still thriving in Israel is something of a parable for us: When God makes a covenant, He keeps it.

He really did bring Israel into the Land, there really were the seven species waiting for them, and they are all still there today. God’s promises are trustworthy and true.

https://allisraelnews.com/ancient-wine-flows-again-as-1000-year-old-grape-seeds-revive-in-israels-negev
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Mikhail Azarov
Originally published by One for Israel. Used with permission.

Established in 1990, ONE FOR ISRAEL began as a Bible college and has since expanded to a multi-faceted ministry with the express goal of reaching Israelis with the Good News of Yeshua, training and equipping the Body of Messiah in Israel, and blessing our community with Yeshua’s love. www.oneforisrael.org.

This article originally appeared on Christianity.com. For more faith-building resources, visit Christianity.com.