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From whence came this knowledge of the superlative value of trees but from the Lord
Himself?
The wisdom of Solomon is proverbial, and it is written that his wisdom excelled that
of all the children of the east country and of Egypt, and of what did Solomon speak?
"And he spake three thousand proverbs, and his sons were a thousand and five, and he
spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth
out of the wall" (I Kings 4: 29-34).
The book of Psalms opens with the blessedness of the man that walketh not in the
counsel of the ungodly, and says "He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water"
(Psa. 1: 3). Jeremiah uses the same figure to describe the man whose hope is in the Lord
(Jer. 17: 8).
Much has been said by adverse critics of the Bible concerning the barbarity of the
wars that are described in its pages, but moderns could learn with profit the humanitarian
law of Deut. 20: 19:
"When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou
shalt not destroy the trees thereof . . . . . thou shalt not cut them down to employ them in
the siege (for the tree of the field is man's life)" (Deut. 20: 19).
Here again the recognition of the extreme value of trees in the law of Moses
anticipates modern science by centuries. The purpose of the ages may be said to hang
upon three trees:
The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Tree upon which Christ was crucified.
The Tree of Life.
The curse came in with reference to the first, and it is written `no more curse' when
the last is made accessible. The middle one, the cross, is where Saviour was made a
curse for us, as it is written "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3: 13).
The book of Proverbs uses the figure of the "Tree of life" four times, and indeed
speaks of a tree in no other way. There are two other occurrences of the Hebrews ets but
these are translated `wood' in relation to a fire.
Wisdom. "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom . . . . . she is a tree of life to them that
lay hold upon her" (Prov. 3: 13-18).
Righteousness. "The righteous shall flourish as a branch (for `leaf'). The fruit of the
righteous is a tree of life" (Prov. 11: 28-30).
Desire. "When the desire cometh, it is a tree of life" (Prov. 13: 12).
Heading. "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life" (margin: The healing of the tongue)
(Prov. 15: 4). "The tongue, as a healing thing" (Miller's translation).