Tree |
Rev.
Langerak is pastor of the Southeast Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids,
We might be tempted to disparage them after the leafy mess they make
each fall, but the tree is a wonder to behold. It is prominent in the history
of salvation. They are among the first living things created (Gen.
1:11-12).
Trees are the first living thing said to produce seed after its kind (Gen.
1:11). Scripture mentions over 20 such kind: fruit-bearers such as
almond, chestnut, and pomegranate (apple); evergreens such as cypress (gopher),
myrtle, and thyine; and deciduous such as oak, shittim (acacia), and willow. God obviously intended
individual characteristics of each species to represent different spiritual
realities in the kingdom. And I suppose this explains why Solomon studied and “spake of trees” (I
Kings 4:33). Covenant children are “olive plants in strength and beauty,
full of hope and promise sweet” (Psalter 360). The righteous flourish like the
palm, live long like the massive cedars (Ps.
92:12), and are cultivated as olives in God’s house (Ps.
52:8). The righteous are “like a tree planted by the rivers of water” (Ps.
1:3). The ungodly are not so. They are like the fruitless and
invasive
In general, trees represent God’s providential provision of the basic
necessities of life. They are a symbol of vitality, rest, strength, and
permanence. The tree provides shelter for man (Gen.
18:4) and beast (Ezek.
17:23). Firs and cedars provided homes for kings and God (I
Kings 7:1ff.). Deborah judged from under a palm (Jud.
4:5). Saul tarried under a pomegranate during battle (I
Sam. 14:2), and lived under a tree while David hid in a forest (I
Sam. 22:5). Saul and Jonathan were buried under a tree (I
Sam. 31:13), as was Deborah, Rebeka’s nurse (Gen.
35:8). Elijah prayed for death while under a juniper (I
Kings 19:4). Jesus called a disciple from under a fig (John
1:48). To see Christ, Zacchaeus climbed into
a sycamore (Luke
19:4). And during Solomon’s reign, every man dwelt safely under his
own fig tree (I
Kings 4:25), a figure of the prosperous life God’s people will enjoy in the
new creation (Zech.
3:10).
God intended the tree to provide life (Gen.
1:19).
This life-giving purpose explains the prominence of fruit-bearing trees in
Scripture. Fruit represents the good works the elect produce by the life of
Christ through the Holy Spirit. Good trees do not bring forth corrupt fruit,
nor corrupt trees good fruit (Luke
6:43). Unfruitful trees in God’s orchard are cursed (Mark 22:21), cut
down, and burned (Luke
13:7-9). Olives especially represent us because their fruit is “fatness
wherewith God and man are honored” (Jud.
9:9), and they must be loved to produce fruit, but beaten to release
it for the life of others (Deut.
24:20). The fruit of trees represents the fact that good works in turn
bring life to the people of God by grace. This is why “the fruit of the
righteous is a tree of life” (Prov. 11:30). A wholesome tongue is “a tree of life” (Prov. 15:4). Wisdom is “a tree of life” (Prov. 3:18). And certain hope “is a tree of life” (Prov. 13:12). Behold the tree and praise God.