Today, reports of over 73,000 different species of trees exist. Trees are the largest plants. Trees help man breathe. Without trees, the air would not be as clean as trees filter bad chemicals. Trees are useful resources for building. One site said over 5,000 products are made from trees. God’s creating words populated an abundance of trees on the third day and because of this, man is benefited; however, have you ever thought about certain trees that have benefited the spiritual side of man?
The words “tree” and “trees” occur 358 times in the Bible. God’s first garden included many trees, but two specific ones have stood out: “the tree of life…and the tree of knowledge of food and evil” (Genesis 2:9). Later, another tree is said to have stood as the central part of the Christian religion, becoming a symbol of salvation and hope for the world. Let us briefly examine these three trees.
The Tree of Life. God has created many trees, but this one is His best one. The tree of life first mentioned in Genesis 2:9, was able to provide men with eternal life (Genesis 3:22). God made it for Adam and Eve so that they could live forever; however, they ruined it with a choice to sin (Genesis 3:1-6). This tree was one that God had prohibited sinners from partaking of because of its pure roots (Genesis 3:23-24). Bob Winton said that after man sinned, it was symbolically moved to heaven (Revelation 2:7). Only those who “do his commandments…have right to the tree of life” (Revelation 22:14). Ultimately, this tree represents life with God. Everyone who is in fellowship with God has life and this life is in His Son (1 John 5:11-12).
The Tree of Death. There was another tree specified in God’s Garden: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but this one was off limits. God said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eastest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). It wasn’t that this tree was diseased or poisonous but it stood as a test. While Adam knew the difference between good and evil already, he had not experienced the difference [1]—this tree opened the door to such a quest (Genesis 3:22). While it would not have killed him instantly, partaking of this tree killed him spiritually and began to kill him physically (cf. Romans 5:12). This tree represents the free will of man and the dangerousness of sin. Figuratively, this tree is still alive and well today. Many make the fruit from off this tree their diet! Although the opportunity to sin is ever so close to us (sometimes in our own gardens) we do not have to partake of its fruit. We would do well to heed God’s warning concerning the fruit of sin (1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:22). Who knew that plucking just one fruit off Satan’s tree would be so disastrous.
The Tree of Salvation. This last tree killed a Man, but it leads all others to salvation. It was not in a garden, nor was it even in the ground. Instead, it was formed into a cross that held up the Savior of the world (John 12:32-33). Many trees were made in those days to hold up many men, but this tree held up Someone different. It held up “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19). By it, Jesus was made a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). This tree was stained with the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 1:5) and by it our sins were taken away (1 Peter 2:24). It forever stands as a symbol of the price Jesus paid for the world (Acts 20:28; 1 John 2:2). Thankfully, Jesus died on this tree, so that we, who ate of the second tree, can have access to the first tree!
What tree will you partake of?
Endnotes
[1]Bob Winton.
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