“THE TREES: IN HEBREW SCRIPTURE”
Advent Midweek 2: 10 December Anno Domini 2015
Father Jay Watson SSP
“Can’t see the forest for the trees” goes a venerable proverb; but the truth is the opposite in The Kingdom of heaven. Those not in the Vine Dresser’s vineyard, or in keeping with the imagery—those not in the Forester of Faith’s wooded preserve—many times miss the trees completely by only seeing an undifferentiated forest of green. There is only ONE Tree, the Crucifix with Christ upon it that matters. All other trees simply point and bow to it—to Him. There are not many trees that point to “heaven” as the Jews, Mohammedans, and Hindus might posit, but only One—The Holy, Catholic Church’s Tree of Jesus. Jesus is the true Christmass tree.
The benefits of being saved are many though the main one is of course forgiveness. Forgiveness bestows life and salvation—which brings peace and contentment. The Lord delights in His own Trinitarian being/reality for love is always shared. The Lord delights in making a universe, a living-world overflowing with creative flourishes: types, colors, sizes, etc. He joys in a cornucopia of animals and minerals and yes vegetables: trees. Even more so in the Spiritual realm, the Author of Life in His book of life—Holy Scripture—paints His history full of trees and wooden substance!
So, when you put up your family Christmas tree be sure to put either an angel or a star on the top; which confesses that the tree points to Christ’s crèche, the tiny wooden manger which is His wooden cross, His altar of blood.
The words tree and trees appear in the Hebrew bible well over 200 times. For God, words mean things and this number signifies a true degree of import.
The Lord uses trees to visually preach the Law. From the tree of forbidden fruit to the trees which were used to affix law-breakers of all sorts, justice can be appended high on a tree for all God-made consciences to behold. Even as the number “5” kills in that it signifies the five books of Moses—the Torah/Law of the Commandments, so too the five pagan kings that Joshua defeated as he also, typifying Christ, lead the children of Israel to deliverance, were punished with death: “…and afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging upon the trees until evening…at the time of the going down of the sun…Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave…” [Jos. 10. 26-27]. And is there any more tragically poignant scene in Hebrew writ than when rebellious, father killing traitor, Absalom (typifying Eve’s rebellion, Adam’s perfidy, at another tree) met his end in a thick wooded grove…trying to hide from God by fleeing: “…and Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak…the mule…went away…Absalom hanged in an oak…Joab…took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom.” [2 Sam. 18]. This unrepentant sinner was cast into a pit in the ground. Sin kills. But sin itself was killed when not Absalom but Shalom, the Prince of Peace rode a donkey into the city. He was cast out to the forest of Golgotha and too was caught up between heaven and earth with His own head caught by thorns against the tree.
The glories of God’s grace were always hinted at in His marvelous trees. The trees of fruit in Eden were still abundant, though not in their hitherto perfection, throughout Canaan—the promised land. In both Judah and Israel the land was flush with fruit trees, fig trees, olive trees, and Mediterranean palms. From the 70 palms at Elim, signifying the one-day 70 deacons Christ would dispatch with Gospel, to Jericho the city of Palms where Jesus’ own shade of mercy would cover Bartimaeus, to Cyprus’ cedars used by David to stockpile lumber for Solomon’s Temple…every good tree pointed its peak to the face of the God/Man hanging down from The Calvary Tree: Gospel enfleshed.
Because Israel wanted to eat poisoned fruit the pure Fruit of the Godhead allowed Himself to be infected with all men’s poison—down to the bitter dregs. Because Judah (like His Uncle Esau) was willing to drink the porridge of prideful lies, Christ willingly drank death. All water was wormwood and gall from the fall so even as Moses threw in to the bitter waters of Marah a tree which The Lord showed him to make the water sweet [Ex 15.25], so too the water gushing out with Blood from The Christ’s Tree—The Christ’s riven heart—makes all sinners sweet and palpable and covered to the taste (the acceptance and reconciliation with) of The Trinity. Even as when you eat the Fruit of The Tree every Mass God does the same.
Under the Palm Tree of Jesus’ outstretched bloody palms you are grafted by Him into His wounds as branches to The Vine. As you heard read to you, proclaimed to you last Sunday, Populus Zion from the Prophet Micah, you heard the loving counsel and will of God: “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of The Lord shall be established…it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it…they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.” [Micah 4]
Comfort for Advent. Comfort for Thursday night and Friday morning and every day. This is THE Comfort when you hurt, weep, fall into depression, and seemingly lose. As the Bethlehem field was joyful that fateful eve, so too The Church, the true field of faith is in the words of David: “let the field be joyful, and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice…for He cometh…He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His Truth.” [Ps 96. 12-13] He judges from the Tree of The Cross.
Come quickly Lord Jesus
In the Name of The Father and of + The Son and of The Holy Ghost
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