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Katididaustralia 66F
49 posts
7/3/2015 6:48 am
The Figurative Use Of Trees In The Bible


In the garden of Eden, God employed two trees for symbolic purposes: "the tree of life" and "the tree of the knowledge of good and bad." Failure to respect God's decree concerning the latter brought man's fall.
Genesis 2:9, 16+17 Thus Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food and also the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad - Jehovah God also gave this command to the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction but as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will certainly die.
Genesis 3:1-24 Read

The significance of "the tree of the knowledge of good and bad" and of the restriction placed on its fruit has often been incorrectly viewed as relating to the sexual act between the first human pair. This view is contradicted by God's plain command to them as male and female to "be fruitful and become many and fill the earth."
Genesis 1:28 Further, God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many, fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving on the earth.

Rather, by standing for "the knowledge of good and bad" and by God's pronouncement decreeing it to be out-of-bounds for the human pair, the tree became a symbol of God's right to determine or set the standards for man as to what is "good"(approved by God) and what is "bad" (condemned by God). It thus constituted a test of man's respect for his Creator's position and his willingness to remain within the area of freedom decreed by God, an area that was by no means cramped and that allowed for the greatest enjoyment of human life. Therefore, to violate the boundaries of the prohibited area by eating of "the tree of the knowledge of good and bad" would be an invasion of or a revolt against God's domain and authority.

Trees were also used to symbolize individuals, rulers and kingdoms, as in the prophecy likening the fall of Pharaoh and his crowd to the cutting down of a lofty cedar.
Ezekiel 31 Read

As well as in Daniel's prophecy regarding the mighty tree representing dominion "in the kingdom of mankind."
Daniel 4:10-26 Read

The righteous man is likened to a tree planted by streams of water whose foliage is luxuriant and whose fruit continues to grow even in drought.
Psalm 1:3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
A tree that produces fruit in its season, The foliage of which does not wither. And everything he does will succeed.

Jeremiah 17:8 He will become like a tree planted by the waters,
That sends out its roots to the stream. He will not notice when heat comes, But his leaves will always flourish. And in the year of drought he will not be anxious, Nor will he quit producing fruit.


The promise that the days of God's restored people will be like those of a tree is made more meaningful by the fact that some trees of Palestine live for centuries, even up to a thousand years or more.
Isaiah 65:22 They will not build for someone else to inhabit, nor will they plant for others to eat. For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, And the work of their hands my chosen ones will enjoy to the full.

In Ezekiel's vision a stream flowing from the visionary temple was lined with fruitful trees of healing foliage, and a similar vision is presented in the book of Revelation.
Ezekiel 47: 7, 12 When I returned, I saw that on the bank of the stream were very many trees on both sides. -  “All sorts of trees for food will grow on both banks of the stream. Their leaves will not wither; nor will their fruitage fail. Each month they will bear new fruit, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruitage will serve as food and their leaves for healing
Revelation 22:2, 14 Down the middle of its main street. On both sides of the river were trees of life producing 12 crops of fruit, yielding their fruit each month. And the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations.

The expression "tree of life" is used with regard to true wisdom, the fruitage of the righteous, the realization of a thing desired and calmness of the tongue; it is also associated with the crown of life.
Proverbs 3:18 It is a tree of life to those who take hold of it, And those who keep firm hold of it will be called happy
Proverbs 11:30 The fruitage of the righteous one is a tree of life, And the one who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 13:12Expectation postponed makes the heart sick, But a desire realized is a tree of life.
Proverbs 15:4 A calm tongue is a tree of life, But twisted speech causes despair.
Revelation 2: 7,10 Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations: To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ - Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison so that you may be fully put to the test, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Trees are mentioned in association with the fruitful, peaceful and joyful conditions resulting from Jehovah's kingship and the restoration of His people.
1Chronicles 16:33 At the same time let the trees of the forest shout joyfully before Jehovah, For he is coming to judge the earth.
Psalm 96:12 Let the fields and everything in them rejoice. At the same time let all the trees of the forest shout joyfully
Psalm 148: 7, 9 Praise Jehovah from the earth, - You mountains and all you hills, You fruit trees and all you cedars
Isaiah 55:12For you will go out with rejoicing, And in peace you will be brought back. The mountains and the hills will become cheerful before you with a joyful cry, And the trees of the field will all clap their hands
Ezekiel 34:27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the soil will give its produce, and they will dwell securely on the land. And they will have to know that I am Jehovah when I break their yoke bars and rescue them from those who enslaved them.
Ezekiel 36:30 I will make the fruitage of the tree and the produce of the field abound, so that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations

Jesus used trees in some of his illustrations stressing the need for fruitfulness in true righteousness as John the Baptizer had done before him.
Matthew 3:10 The ax is already lying at the root of the trees. Every tree, then, that does not produce fine fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire
Matthew 7:15-20 “Be on the watch for the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men

Since fruit trees were taxed in Palestine in that time, an unproductive tree (as good as dead) was an undesirable burden to the owner and, hence, a tree to be chopped down and destroyed.
Luke 13:6-9 Then he went on to tell this illustration: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none.Then he said to the vinedresser, ‘Here it is three years that I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, but have found none. Cut it down! Why should it keep the ground useless?’ In reply he said to him, ‘Master, leave it alone for one more year until I dig around it and put on manure. If it produces fruit in the future, well and good; but if not, then cut it down.’”

At Jude 12 immoral persons who infiltrated the Christian congregation are likened to fruitless trees in autumn time that have died twice. Their being described as 'twice dead' may be an emphatic way of expressing that they are completely dead. Or, it could signify that they are dead from two viewpoints. They are (1) barren or fruitless and (2) literally dead, possessing no vitality.
Jude 12 These are the rocks hidden below water at your love feasts while they feast with you, shepherds who feed themselves without fear; waterless clouds carried here and there by the wind; fruitless trees in late autumn, having died twice and having been uprooted;

The Hebrew word for tree is also used with regard to the stake or post on which a body was hung.
Genesis 40:19 Three days from now, Pharaoh will behead you and will hang you on a stake, and the birds will eat your flesh from you

Deuteronomy 21:22+23 “If a man commits a sin deserving the sentence of death and he has been put to death and you have hung him on a stake, his dead body should not remain all night on the stake. Instead, you should be sure to bury him on that day, because the one hung up is something accursed of God, and you should not defile your land that Jehovah your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Joshua 8:29 He hung the king of A′i on a stake until the evening, and as the sun was about to set, Joshua gave the order to take his dead body down from the stake. Then they pitched it at the entrance of the city gate and raised up a great pile of stones over him, which is there to this day.
Esther 2:23 So the matter was investigated and eventually confirmed, and both men were hanged on a stake; and this was all recorded in the book of the history of the times in the presence of the king.

In applying Deuteronomy 21:23, the apostle Paul used the Greek word Xylon (wood).
Galatians 3:13 Christ purchased us, releasing us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: “Accursed is every man hung upon a stake.

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As always I hope that this article aids in your understanding of Scriptures.

Yours,
Katidid.