Trees in the
Bible
Trees were created by God on the third day:
Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
All vegetation, like all of the animals and mankind, was created completely developed, fully grown, and after its kind. There was no evolution involved in God’s creation.
Man was given dominion over all the earth:
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Man was to be the caretaker of God’s creation.
Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. God put man over His creation to manage it and to use it, but not to abuse it and destroy. The Bible says in Revelation 11:18 that God will “destroy them which destroy the earth”.
Trees, like the other plants, were created for man’s use:
Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Originally mankind were vegetarians, as before sin there was no death.
This morning we want to notice 7 trees in the Scriptures
1. Tree of the knowledge of good and evil:
Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
-Because our first parents, Adam and Eve, ate the fruit of this tree, they experienced the meaning of sin and death; both spiritual death and physical death. There was a time when they were spiritually alive without sin. They experienced the contrast between being perfectly sinless and holy, and being evil and sinful and wretched down to the depth of their souls. They learned what it was to be at peace with God and to have fellowship with their Maker, and then to be at enmity and rebellion against God, and to be under the curse and judgment of God. They learned what is was like to walk with God in the cool of the day, and then to be separated from God and to be cast out of His presence and never allowed to return again in this life.
Adam and Eve learned the knowledge of good and evil, but this knowledge was not good. This knowledge plunged the entire human race into sin and rebellion against God. Because they ate of the fruit of this tree, we are not born into this world at peace and fellowship with God, but as enemies of God, under the judgment and wrath of God.
2. The Tree of Life:
A literal tree in the Garden
of Eden that would give immortality:
Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to
grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and
evil.
Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: (Adam and Eve sinned and were forbidden to eat of the tree of life.)
Wisdom is said to be a tree
of life:
Proverbs 3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. (The wisdom of Christ; and practical godly wisdom for living.)
The fruit of the righteous
is a tree of life:
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. (The fruit of the Christian’s life is a tree of life to others who partake of it.)
A wholesome tongue is a tree
of life:
Proverbs 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. (Godly speech, seasoned with the grace of the gospel, is a tree of life.)
Christ
Himself is a tree of life:
John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light
of men.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Literal trees in the
celestial paradise of God:
Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The
olive tree and its fruit are symbolic of Christ:
-The olive tree was considered precious and valuable because of its many uses- Christ is
most precious and valuable, and especially useful in the salvation of His people.
-Its leaves are a symbol of God’s peace- True and lasting peace is only found in Christ,
Who is the prince of peace; Who made peace by the blood of His cross
-The wood was used in building the furnishings and the doors of the house of God
-Christ, beloved, is the door in to the house of God; He is the door into Heaven.
-The oil was used in many of the sacrifices and offerings- which pictured Christ
the only true sacrifice and offering for sin; Who was the Lamb of God.
-The olive oil was used for light in the house of God; Christ is the light of the world; He
gives light to every man that comes into the world; and spiritually He gives light
to those who sit in the darkness of sin and of Satan.
-The oil was used for anointing the priests and kings of Israel- Christ is God’s anointed;
He is the anointed and faithful high priest over the house of God, and He is the
King of Kings, not only of Israel, but of the whole earth.
-The oil was symbolic of the Holy Spirit- Christ received the Spirit without measure.
-The oil was also used for medicinal purposes- Christ is the great physician and healer of
men’s souls; by His stripes we are healed.
The
olive tree is also symbolic of God’s people; especially Israel:
Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Romans 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
-Like the olive tree God’s people are precious and valuable to Him- He bought them with
the precious blood of Jesus; and they valuable because their service in the Gospel.
-Like the olive leaves are a symbol of peace- God’s people are to be peacemakers, and
instruments and ambassadors of peace between a lost world and Christ.
-As olive wood was used in building the house of God, so are God’s people the materials
used in building His local New Testament Baptist Church.
-As the oil was used in the sacrifices and offerings- God’s people are to offer the
sacrifices of our bodies, and of praise and of thanksgiving to the Lord.
-As the oil was used for light in the house of God; God’s people are to be the light of the
world.
-As the oil was used for anointing the priests- God’s people are as a kingdom of priests
unto God, and have been anointed and consecrated to the service of God in His Church.
-As the oil was symbolic of the Holy Spirit- God’s people have seal of the Spirit, and the
permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
-As the olive oil was also used for medicinal purposes- God’s people are to be
administers of His healing graces to sin sick people in this
world.
Isaiah 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be
upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up;
and he shall be brought low:
13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
Amos 2:9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Like the oaks and the cedars, lost sinful men are tall their opinion of themselves, and proud in their strength, and cannot see their total dependence on God for the very beating of their hearts and the air that they breathe. At any moment God may cut them down and cast them into the eternal fire of His judgment.
The
almond tree is symbolic of grey hair and of old age:
Ecclesiastes 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: (Grey hair is a reminder that we are soon going to meat our Maker-are we ready?
This is a reminder that we are going to leave this old life one day and face Jesus Christ. The question is, are we ready to meet Him, or are we still proud and haughty like the oaks and the cedars, living in sin and rebellion against God?
Galatians 3:13
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
-Because of the work of Christ upon this tree, we have redemption from all our sins. This is the most precious tree of all. The tree of redemption, that old rugged and cursed instrument of death, became a tree of life to all who will believe that Jesus became a curse for them upon this tree.
-Have you come to see the beauty and blessedness of this tree? Do you see Jesus as your sacrifice for your sins upon the tree of Calvary? Do you see Him dying there on that cross, being buried in the tomb, and rising again the third day for you?
The
apple tree is symbolic Christ and His blessings upon His Church:
Song of Solomon 2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
The apple tree is a type of Jesus and His blessings upon His people; especially His local New Testament Church. Are you saved? If so, are you a member of one of the Lord’s true New Testament Churches? If not, I want you to know that there are sweet blessings and benefits in both this dispensation and in the age to come, for those who see their need to be a member of one of the Lord’s true New Testament Baptist Churches.
May the Lord bless this message to your soul is our prayer!