“And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.' And the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I forsake my sweetness and my good fruit and go to wave to and fro over the trees?' ”
The fig tree's reply was the same. It fed men and gave them pleasure. Figs were one indication of the pleasantness of the promised land (Numbers 13:23; Deuteronomy 8:8). It must fulfil its function and could not contemplate wasting its time acting as king, ‘waving to and fro', lording it over the trees.