On the Way to Wonder

Isaiah 55:12

For you shall go out in joy,
    and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall burst into song,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

My friends and I chatted at dinner about yesterdays posting of happy trees.  Those who seek wisdom and find her will be like happy trees.  We pondered the image and then we all broke into the chorus, “We will go out with joy” and we all laughed.  We go out with joy and the trees will clap their hands.

         The song comes from Isaiah 55 where God laments that we chase after that which does not satisfy.  God will covenant with people who seek him even as he did with King David.  If we seek God, we will find him.  As rain comes and waters trees and accomplishes its purpose so God is faithful to those who seek him.  He promises that we who seek God’s wisdom will be like trees clapping.  

         The attached YouTube has Jewish dancer putting this Old Testament verse to music and dance.  Please enjoy and clap your hands!

Proverbs 3: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12, 18

1.  My child, do not forget my teaching,
    but let your heart keep my commandments;
² for length of days and years of life
    and abundant welfare they will give you.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

¹¹ My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
    or be weary of his reproof,
¹² for the Lord reproves the one he loves,
    as a father the son in whom he delights.

¹³ Happy are those who find wisdom,….
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
    those who hold her fast are called happy.

²¹ My child, do not let these escape from your sight:
    keep sound wisdom and prudence,
²² and they will be life for your soul
    and adornment for your neck.

David wrote much of the poetry of Psalms but his son Solomon, considered by many as the wisest man who ever lived, recorded his wisdom in the book of Proverbs.  Chapter three has some of the sayings we are encouraged to memorize and engrave on our memories.  Solomon admonishes his son to seek wisdom above all else for it brings true security (v.21-35), it brings wealth (v.13-18), and is like a tree we brings happiness.

         We don’t often equate happiness with trees.  I would be more prone to think of sunny days, birds singing, falling in love, winning the lottery for some, or birth of a child.  I have to think how might trees symbolize happiness.

         I would sit in my back yard with my afternoon cup of coffee and because we were near the Mississippi River, trees lined the horizon in so many shades of green.  I always marveled and remembered that God has a variety of ways to resolve the issues of the day.  When a tornado swept through our city and upturned 1000 trees in 6 minutes, the whole world I looked out on changed and I realized how much their presence spoke of shade, of protection, of life and beauty – all qualities wisdom adds to our lives.  Sidewalks were cracked with tree roots sticking up for quite a while.  Trees remind me to make sure my faith has roots and draws from the living water we find in wisdom.        Truly trees can speak to us of the wisdom of God that is worth striving after.  Lord, may your word dwell richly in our hearts reminding us to reach up to you, depend on you for strength and protection, and remind us to put down roots deeply in your word.  You give us life and keep us strong in storms.  May we be happy inn you.  Thank you.

Psalm 92: 12,13

The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ They are planted in the house of the Lord;
    they flourish in the courts of our God.

         When we read about Solomon building the great temple in Jerusalem and the many gifted artists decorating it, we often read about the palm tree being engraved on items and walls.  When we think about islands in the ocean we often picture palm trees lining the beaches.  When we think of Hollywood and Los Angeles, we might picture the palm trees that were supposedly imported with the Spanish and line the ocean front.  When we think of hurricanes blowing trees in their wake, we can picture the news broadcaster, yellow poncho flapping in the wind and with palm trees swaying in the background.  What do you think of when you picture palm trees?

         When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the week of his passion, people lay palm fronds on the ground before him and waved their affirmation.  They anticipated their eternal king would bring relief from Roman oppression.  The week ended at Calvary, the cross, and a victory over eternal death that they did not anticipate.

         David compared the palm tree to the righteous.  The tree grows strong and tall towards the sun, the source of energy.  King Solomon pictured a loving encounter to climbing a palm tree to enjoy its fruit.  I don’t know what memories you carry in relation to palm trees.  Our family vacationed on the Kenyan coast lined with palm trees with vendors selling coconuts.  Psalm 92 uses the word “flourish” to describe the life of a righteous person in the house of the Lord. 

         Let us rest in the word “flourish” this morning.  What words come to mind  as you think of your relationship in the house of the Lord?  Perhaps you need water or sunlight or manure or even love.  In the presence of the Lord is the best place to flourish.  Blessings.

Psalm 52:7-9

‘See the one who would not take
    refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
    and sought refuge in wealth!’

⁸ But I am like a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    for ever and ever.
⁹ I will thank you for ever,
    because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
    I will proclaim your name, for it is good.

Again we run into our friend the olive tree.  The dove returns to Noah’s ark with an olive branch that says to Noah it is safe to unload the animals from the ark because the waters of the flood have receded.  The olive branch is associated with the Olympics and Greeks.  But what about today?  I turned to the Internet and found an article about “9 Amazing Facts about the Olive Tree.”

         Olive trees are dated to have lived as much as 2000 years: longevity.

         Olive trees start bearing at 5 years and are known to still be bearing at 1,600 years old: prolific.

         Olive trees can survive fire and cold because of their root system: they seem to be indestructible.

         Olive trees survive droughts and do not need to be watered.

         Olive trees give huge yields and perhaps 865 million trees are in the world today.

         Olive trees are thought to have been around for 6,000 years: ancient.      

         Olive oil and branches are used in sacred ceremonies like the Olympics and symbolize abundance, glory and peace: sacred.

         Olives are healthy fruit with antioxidants, fiber and good fat: healthy.

A green olive tree in the house of the Lord is the person who finds refuge in God rather than riches.  Which aspect of the olive tree would you like to see God develop in your life?  Let us join David in thanking and praising God for how he has worked in our lives.

Psalm 1:1-4

¹ Happy are those
    who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
    or sit in the seat of scoffers;
² but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law they meditate day and night.
³ They are like trees
    planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
    and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

The book of Psalms, of poetry, opens with a psalm that describes the difference between the blessed or happy and the wicked.  People blessed are like trees planted by waters.  They are signs of life.   They yield leaves and fruit in season and thrive.  They are patient and wait for the right time.  Leaves might mean that they process the sap flowing through them productively for growth.  Leaves reach out to the sun to absorb energy to convert usefully and catch rain as it falls.  Wise people avoid the advice of the wicked nor keep company with scoffers.  Could it mean that wise people avoid the quick, easy way that promises success with little effort – advice of the wicked?  I think of scoffers as people who doubt and make fun of another.  A scoffer is judgmental of others and not accurate in their evaluation of themselves. 

     Interestingly, trees do not choose who sits under them but they do drink water and life.  Trees are useful for not only shade but also for fruit available to all people and their wood can be used by all to build.  Trees don’t have favorites.  If we think of the trees in Lord of the Rings, they are slow to grow and change – constancy and integrity.  Trees have many qualities that speak of life as we use our imagination.

         Does any of this touch your imagination today?  If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you like to be – a tall cedar pointing to the sky, a fruit tree feeding others, or perhaps a flower bush that makes life beautiful for others?   Pray over the qualities the tree of your life you would like to share.  Blessings.

Job 14:7

‘For there is hope for a tree,
    if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
    and that its shoots will not cease.

For many the book of Job is very comforting.  Job, who may have lived at the time of Abraham, was a model of the blessed person with wife, children, enormous flocks and fields.  But the book opens with Evil challenging God that Job only loves God because of the blessings he experiences from God.  God gives Evil permission to test Job and remove all the blessings.  Job’s friends come and dialogue with Job that he must have done something wrong to merit his problems in life but Job responds that he has not done evil.  He desires an audience with God to plead his case.  Job clings to his faith even when all factors in life seem to be against him.

         The image Job uses here at this point in the conversation is of a tree that is cut down but when it rains the stump puts forth new shoots.  In the same way, life can cut us down and make us despair but faith believes in the God who is always present and working for the good of the person.  We may not understand and we may be in great pain but faith continues to believe.  Faith hopes.   We cling to the resurrection in the face of death.

         So what is your image of hope?  Perhaps it may not be a tree.  I must admit I loved living in areas where there are four distinct seasons.  The barren trees always seem so lifeless but then spring comes and leaves appear and suddenly the horizon is green.  Birth always speaks of hope.  What speaks to you of hope today?

         H is for……

         O is for…..

         P is for…..

         E is for…..

Focus on the source of that hope, the God who gives growth and new life.  Blessings.

based on Isaiah 41:30

As I think of some of the tree stories we covered this week, the theme of waiting on the Lord in the midst of struggle or exhaustion or before battle seems to come up.  It reminded me of the choral from the 60s, “They that Wait Upon the Lord.”  In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell refuses to run the Olympic qualifying race on a Sunday but is instead seen in a church preaching on Isaiah 41:30.  I love the song and hope you enjoy it to as you wait for God to work things out in your life.

Nehemiah 8:14-16

Oct. 9-16, 2022

 ¹⁴ “And they found it written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the people of Israel should live in booths during the festival of the seventh month, 

¹⁵ and that they should publish and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem as follows,

‘Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.’

Around 445 BC under the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Nehemiah, his cup bearer won royal approval to return to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls.  He governed for 12 years and then returned to Susa.  He later returned to Jerusalem and found the people had fallen into evil ways.  Nehemiah purified the temple and enforced observances from the law of Moses.  Leviticus 23:33-34 instructs the children of Israel to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles or Booths annually.  That festival will start October 9 this year.  Each year they were to celebrate the harvest and the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness by cutting branches and trees and building shelters in their yards to live in for a week.  It is also called Sukkot.

         Most of us do not cut down trees and live rustically every year but we do need to take seriously God’s desire that we set aside time to celebrate.  We don’t designate a week but our government designates Thanksgiving when we have a holiday to go to our house of worship and thank God for his blessings.  We have been through a couple years with the pandemic, with fear of recession, with political haggling and it might do us well to spend a few minutes counting our blessing.  One way to do that might be to make an acrostic out of the word THANKS.  T is for…, H is for …., and so on.  We are a blessed people even when we think we are in the wilderness. Let us not forget it!

1 Kings 19:4

King David’s son Solomon became king next and took Israel to its height as a political power.  But Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled the two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin, and Jeroboam led the ten northern tribes that eventually became Samaria.  There are a list of kings and their actions but a religious figure, the prophet Elijah, is the focus of the Biblical report.  Ahab in king in Israel married Jezebel who worshipped the Baals and roused Jehovah’s anger.  God used the prophet Elijah to confront the prophets of Baal.  There was a power encounter on Mt Carmel between 400 prophets of Baal and Elijah.  The god who could burn a sacrificed cow in answer to prayer would be the true God.  Elijah doused his sacrifice with 12 barrels of water and fire fell from the sky.  Elijah was exhausted.  Jezebel threatened to kill him and he ran into the wilderness.  Sometimes after the spiritual highs come the valleys of despair.

         “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came    and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might         die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better   than my ancestors.’ (v.3,4)”

         In the wilderness, alone, exhausted, and discouraged, Elijah found a solitary broom tree and sat down and prayed to die.  He had come to the end of his rope.  We call it “burn out.”  God did not abandon him, though. 

         Elijah slept and woke to an angel.  An angel came and told him to eat, drink and rest.  Elijah looked and there was bread and a jug of water at his head.  He ate, drank and slept again.  The rest and food sustained him for forty more days of travel into the wilderness to Mt. Sinai where he met with God.

         Sometimes we need “self-care.”  After highs come lows and I suspect that is normal.  God did not abandon Elijah in his weakness when he felt so alone but helped him find restoration.  It is important that we know how to pace ourselves and know what is our “broom tree” when we feel isolated and drained.  God cared enough to send an angel.  He cares about us in our exhaustion.  May we enjoy a brief time of rest and restoration as we totally focus on God now.

2 Samuel 18

         I cannot skip this story of a tree in King David’s life.  Saul, the first king of Israel, and his three sons died in battle.  A struggle for leadership ensued as the head of Saul’s army chose another of Saul’s son to be king but two of the twelve tribes of Israel turned to David to be their king.  The two sides struggled and eventually David was declared king of all twelve tribes.  David, though, had rivalry among his sons for who would succeed David.  Absalom, one of his sons attempted a coup against his father and the two sides engaged in battle.  David commanded his generals to go gently with Absalom in the hearing of the troops.  But it was not the battle but a tree that foiled the coup. 
         “The forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword. (v.8)” As Absalom rode his donkey under “the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree.  He was left hanging in mid-air, while the mule he was riding kept on going (v 9).”  Images of the talking trees in Lord of the Rings come to mind as I read those verses. How easy it is for the best laid plans of men to go astray by something we take for granted like a tree.  As we pursue a goal, we become entangled in an issue that T-bones us because we had not anticipated that complication.  You might recognize the scenario.  Savings for retirement disappear in the stock market due to whatever.  A cancer diagnosis cuts travel short.  A slip on ice complicates life.  A letter arrives with unwanted news.  Life happens.

         The course of history was changed by that tree that grabbed Absalom.  We do not know what kind of king Absalom would have made and if the two parts of the twelve tribes would have split.  But the story says to me that God has answers to dilemmas we get ourselves into that we cannot anticipate.  We despair that God is listening to our prayers. We cannot anticipate that God has an oak tree ready to deal with our Absalom.

         This Sunday our text is going to talk about ten lepers who cry to Jesus, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”  They did not cry out for a specific solution to their problem but cried for mercy.  Mercy is compassion and forgiveness.  Let’s spend some time today praying about some of the problems facing us that seem insurmountable.  Perhaps the best prayer we can utter is, “Jesus, have mercy!”  He’s listening.  Look for his response.  Who knows what oak trees are there that will impact the direction of our lives!