Proverbs 27:18

Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof,....

IN Solomon's day, every man sat under his own vine and fig tree and there was peace throughout the whole country. Then, God's Law about dividing out the land among the people, so that every man had his own plot, was rightly observed and each one had a fig tree of his own, to which he gave his personal attention. And, in due time, having waited upon the fig tree and kept it, he ate the fruit thereof.

IF a man in Palestine carefully watched his fig tree and kept it in proper condition, he was sure to be abundantly rewarded in due season, for it would yield him a large quantity of fruit of which he would enjoy the luscious taste. So, according to Solomon, good servants obtained honor as the fruit of diligent service. In those early days, when there were far better relations between servants and masters than, unhappily, there are nowadays, if a servant carefully waited upon his master he was sure to be honored for his faithfulness. The Bible is full of such cases. Eleazar, the servant and steward of Abraham, met with much honor at his master's hands. Deborah was a faithful nurse and what sorrow there was for her at Allonbachuth, or the oak of weeping. Elisha poured water upon the hands of his master Elijah and became, himself, a Prophet, endowed with a double portion of his master's spirit. In the New Testament we read of the centurion who so honored his servant that in his sickness he sent to the Lord Jesus, earnestly entreating Him to come and heal him. There were exceptions, of course. There were faithful servants who met with ungenerous treatment. But what rule is there without an exception? The rule was that he who was faithful to his master received honor. I could wish it to be more general for there to be intimate friendly relationships between men and their servants. I would gladly see a restoration of family loyalty between heads of households and their dependents. In these times, servants, and persons in the employ of others, are looked upon as hands to be worked rather than as souls to be cared for. It may be that servants have degenerated, but it may also be the truth that masters have degenerated, too. I believe that every Abraham will be likely to find an Eleazar and every Rebekah a Deborah. Good masters make good servants.

IN Solomon's day, every man sat under his own vine and fig tree and there was peace throughout the whole country. Then, God's Law about dividing out the land among the people, so that every man had his own plot, was rightly observed and each one had a fig tree of his own, to which he gave his personal attention. And, in due time, having waited upon the fig tree and kept it, he ate the fruit thereof. Solomon says, in another place, "In all labor there is profit," and it is well when men feel that it is so, for then they will be inclined to labor. A man would not long keep a fruitless fig tree. If he was quite sure that no fruit would be the result of his toil, he would leave the tree to itself, or else he would say, "Cut it down; why cumbers it the ground?" There were some men, in Solomon's day, who, for divers reasons, became servants to others—as there still are and always must be—and they looked for some return from their service. And the wise man here tells them that just as, "Whoever keeps the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof," so, "he that waits on his master shall be honored." It is a commonplace truth that those who are faithful servants ought to be honored. I wish, in these times, that matter was more often thought of and that men did honor those who are faithful to them. There are some people who permit others to minister to their comfort, but it never occurs to them to provide for the comfort of their servants. They will allow a man to spend most of his life in increasing their business and yet, when he is getting old, he is discharged and left to perish by starvation so far as they are concerned.

IF a man in Palestine carefully watched his fig tree and kept it in proper condition, he was sure to be abundantly rewarded in due season, for it would yield him a large quantity of fruit of which he would enjoy the luscious taste. So, according to Solomon, good servants obtained honor as the fruit of diligent service. In those early days, when there were far better relations between servants and masters than, unhappily, there are nowadays, if a servant carefully waited upon his master he was sure to be honored for his faithfulness.