A Tree But More Than A Tree - Brian Taylor

 

​I enjoy looking at trees. Even as I type this, I can look out my office window and see these majestic giants, firmly rooted in their places. Such created things declare to me so much of the beauty and glory of God. During the spring, a tree speaks to me of new life and even resurrection, as they once again come to life after the deadness of winter. At first, you see only a small bud, but even it serves as a guarantee that death is over and life is coming. Eventually, they shed their winter deadness and robe themselves with lush green garments, as Spring turns to Summer. Oh, how important these titans of the field then become, as they serve man in his escape from the simmering heat of a hot July day. What would summer be without a cold glass of lemonade, sipped in one’s favorite lounge chair, under the shade of that old friendly tree? 

​Likely, the reason I am so taken up with trees is due to my favorite time of year, Fall. Trees do agree with me, as it is then that they display their full brilliance. They take off their workaday green and don their royal garb, as they welcome the best of all seasons. As if to provide Fall with a red-carpet treatment, they eventually cast their leaves to the ground, now bereft of its greenery. Glory now past, strength now spent, they join me as we together begin our winter-long hibernation, waiting for the return of life and better days; waiting for resurrection.

​I don’t believe I am alone in my love of trees, as different authors of Scripture employ them as images for a variety of reasons. They can speak of the haughtiness of man, which the Lord cuts down in his anger:

“For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;

against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan” (Isaiah 2:12–13)

Yet, a prophet can employ the same image to speak of the Lord’s kindness toward his people in his redemption and restoration of them: 

“Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.”” (Ezekiel 17:22–24)

Perhaps, though, the best known use reflects the blessings of the Lord upon the believer who faithfully follows his Lord: 

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:1–3)

My favorite, though, comes from the prophet Micah, as he provides a glimpse into the eternal Kingdom of our God, when finally and fully manifest upon this earth: 

“He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;

but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.” (Micah 4:3–4)

So the next time you look upon one of these majestic giants of the field, may it serve to guide you in your thoughts. May it serve to warn you against a haughty and arrogant spirit, that trusts not in the Lord and his salvation. May it serve, likewise, to remind you of the Lord’s great redemption accomplished in Christ, who, by his death and resurrection, has provided forgiveness for our sins and restoration to the favor of our God. May it likewise stir you to faithful service and growth in sanctification, knowing the Lord does prosper his people in their ways. And, certainly, may it encourage our hearts that a great and glorious day will come, where every man will sit under his own fig tree in peace and utter contentment.