Kings and the Image of Self-Sufficiency

The image of “every man under his own vine and under his own fig tree” is one of my favorite biblical symbols. The vine and the fig tree are means of sustenance and objects of ownership and work. They are embodiments of peace, prosperity, and liberty. The man who works his vines and fruit trees is the free man, the man of peace, the prosperous man. He is the Image of Self-Sufficiency.

Holy Scripture uses this image explicitly in four passages. First, in 1 Kings 4:25:

And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

Here it’s used to describe the glory of Solomon’s rule. The King established peace and order, allowing the people to cultivate their private property and produce the fruits of their labor.

Second and third, in 2 Kings 18:31 and Isaiah 36:16 (the texts are identical):

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern.

In these places Sennacherib is attempting to discourage the Judeans so that they will break faith with King Hezekiah and come under Sennacherib’s rule. The implicit idea is that only one king or the other can ensure that each man have his own vine and fig tree, with all that means. Where Sennacherib blasphemes the LORD, Hezekiah goes to His Temple and mediates on behalf of the kingdom. Because of Hezekiah’s mediation, the kingdom is saved from Sennacherib and enjoys an era of peace and truth under King Hezekiah. (Cf. 2 Kings 20:1, Isa 39:8) The acts of the king secured that peace and order.

Fourth, in Micah 4:4:

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

This oracles tells of the rule of the Messianic King, who is so alike to God that the Image and the Imaged are practically indistinguishable in Micah 4. The passage is a variation on the theme of 1 Kings 4 in more ways than I’m noting here, but for the sake of brevity and focus note that, again, the glory of the King is shown in his establishing peace, safety, and order so that the people can have vines and fig trees of their own. Their property is guarded and their fruitfulness promoted. They can, under righteous rule, be self-sufficient in the sense of producing their own goods and food and owning their own land and tools.

It’s a common idea that self-sufficiency and freedom can’t really be reconciled to kingship, authority, and rule, but the Scriptures make a very different assumption. Far from being irreconcilable things, liberty and self-sufficiency are the glory of good rule and authority. They flow from the rule of the godly king just as the oil flows down from Aaron’s beard. The men of a kingdom will image their king. The king is the Image of God. The LORD is the only absolutely self-sufficient One. Liberty and self-sufficiency come only by the Acts of a godly king, a righteous Authority. Let the nations remember this.

Men, Word(s), Law, and Swords I

Order is foundational for Liberty. Without a Just Order, Liberty is impossible. Vice and license – lawlessness in the biblical sense – undermine and destroy Order, so they cannot be a part of true Liberty. Rather, true Liberty is freedom to do virtuous things. Order and then Liberty require, then, a law. Law constitutes the Order, which then makes a theater in which Liberty may be enjoyed. The rule of law must be established for Order’s sake, since true Law is stable, does not show partiality, does not shift and change of a sudden. It makes for a structured world, a solid ground on which to stand. The Law must stand over and above the desires of Men. The passions of Men must be ruled by the Law, not the Law ruled by the passions of Men. That said, the Law needs an executor, a living image in the created world, a person or persons to be its arms and legs.

Hence, God created Adam and his sons.

I aim to flesh out this idea: Men (i.e. the male sex) are living images of God as the Law-giver and Law-enforcer, images of Law itself. Men are Law-made-flesh. They divide, gather, form, and name – all ways of establishing boundaries, hierarchy, and structure, which is what Law does. I’ve written some about this before, mostly as a summary of Alastair Roberts. I’ll be using those thoughts as a starting point for the next post, so go check them out.