The grain of God’s goodness and grace is made known by many trees throughout the Bible.
Along the path of one of my favorite nearby hiking trails, there’s a magnificent Douglas fir nicknamed “the Mountaineer Tree.” The interpreter’s sign next to this old-growth giant estimates that it’s been standing watch in that place for well over five hundred years. Think of the magnitude of the lifespan of this tree. Around the time Martin Luther was posting his ninety-five theses on the wooden church door of Wittenberg, the Mountaineer Tree was a sapling stretching its crown up from the forest floor in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. Think of the history enclosed within its branches and the length of years its limbs have looked upon. Imagine all the stories this fir could unfold.
Quite often, as in stories like The Lord of the Rings, the trees, known as the Ents of Fangorn Forrest, do talk, carry on conversations, and even tell stories. As Treebeard the Ent says to the hobbits, Pippin and Merry, the language of the trees is… “a lovely language, but it takes a very long time to say anything in it, because we do not say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, p. 68).
If the trees in forests and fairy tales each have a story to tell, what about the trees of Scripture? Do they have a story to tell as well? Jesus sure thought so:
From the fig tree, learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matt. 24:32-35).
When you hike through God’s holy word, it turns out the fig tree isn’t alone. There’s a whole grove of trees whose limbs and branches bear witness to God’s work of salvation. And like those seemingly endless rings on an old-growth tree, the grain of God’s goodness and grace is made known by many trees throughout the Bible.
They help to tell the true story of the Creator who became a creature to save all creation.
The heartwood of Scripture is the story of this God who wondrously created life in the beginning and then, in his Incarnation, even more wondrously restored and reconciled us to the Father by going to die for us on the tree of the cross. As John Muir once said, “Between every two pine trees is a doorway leading to a new way of life.” Between the trees of the Bible is a doorway that leads to new life in Jesus.
So, let’s take a little stroll through the woods and do a little theology by dendrology to learn a lesson about God’s faithfulness and salvation from some of the most famous trees in the Bible.
The heartwood of Scripture is the story of this God who wondrously created life in the beginning and then, in his Incarnation, even more wondrously restored and reconciled us to the Father by going to die for us on the tree of the cross.
In Genesis, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil tells us the tragic and sorrowful story of sinful desire, doubt that took root in Adam and Eve’s heart, and death that spread thorns and thistles, corrupting creatures and creation alike. But the Tree of Life foretells a better ending for God’s creatures and creation. Just as Adam and Eve took fig leaves from the trees of Eden to cover their guilt and shame, a child born of a woman would take on our humanity inside the womb of a new Eve to bear our guilt and shame all the way to the cursed tree.
In Genesis 6, the Gopher Wood trees tell us the story of Adam’s corruption, now permeating all creatures so profoundly that every thought of man’s heart was only evil continually. But the Gopher Wood also tells us that despite man’s continual sin, his corruption was no match for God’s continual grace and goodness. After finding favor with Noah, God tells him to take some of that Gopher Wood and build an ark to ride as a salvation navy upon the waters of the flood to his rescue and restoration.
Later in Genesis 18, the Oaks of Mamre tell us of the Lord’s visit, favor, and promise to Abraham. A Seed would sprout from Abraham’s family tree, one who would bring healing to all nations. This promised Seed let himself be plucked and sifted as wheat in his passion, was buried in the earth for three days, and rose again as the firstfruits of the Resurrection to declare all who believe in him righteous by his dying and rising.
We come across more trees in the Exodus. Here, the trees of the Acacia wood tell us the story of timber cut down, formed, and fashioned into structural support and furnishings for the tabernacle. The Acacia wood had the honor of standing within the holy of holies. A place no one could go, save the High Priest once a year during the day of atonement. This day foreshadowed the day our Great High Priest made atonement for us: not on the wood and bronze of the tabernacle and ark of the covenant, but on the wood of the cross.
The Psalms, too, stand like a grove of trees, swaying in the wind moved by the breath of God’s Spirit. When the Scriptures foretell the promise of the Lord’s coming, all creation, even the canopy of trees, cannot help but sing God’s praises.
“Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.” (Ps. 96:12-13)
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars! (Ps. 148:8-9)
Years later, a little further down the trail of Scripture’s trees, God the Creator became the God-Man to save creation. The Forester of Genesis became incarnate to save us. And Jesus, the Righteous Branch of Isaiah, looked up into the branches of a sycamore tree. “Zaccheus, hurry on down, for I must come to your house today…Today salvation has come to this house…for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:1-10).
Not surprisingly, the closer we get to the climactic tree of Good Friday, the more the trees of Scripture have to say. The palm trees chatter and clap their branches to the rhythm of the crowds, “Hosannas.” The olive trees in Gethsemane weep their branches towards their Creator as our Lord weeps and prays in agony. The wood of an unknown tree is sacrificed to make ready for the greatest sacrifice of all to adorn its limbs.
Of all the trees of Scripture, the one that stands upon Calvary’s hill stands tallest of all. All the trees of Scripture extend their branches and point the way to our Incarnate Creator hanging on a tree to give his life to save us and all creation.
“Come to the woods, for here is rest,” said John Muir. This is the story the tree of Jesus’ crucifixion tells us: the story of him who rested his limbs on the branches of the cross, to graft you into him so that he might give you eternal rest under the leaves of the tree of life. Whenever you come across a tree in Scripture, spend a moment or two, gaze at its beauty and wonder, but don’t stop there. Follow where its roots and branches lead you to the greatest tree of all. Come to the wood of the cross, for there is rest in Jesus, who died there for you.
