Trees in the Bible

We put up our Christmas tree a few days ago, which is still one of my favorite traditions (getting on the ladder to hang outside lights, not so much). After thinking about chestnuts roasting on an open fire I got to thinking about trees, and ultimately about trees in the Bible. Did you know there is a theme that runs throughout the pages of Scripture?

From the earliest pages we see Adam and Eve get into trouble because of a tree. They had free reign to eat from any of the multitudes of fruit-bearing trees, but there was a single exception: the tree of knowledge of good and evil was off limits. Once they listened to the serpent and disobeyed God they were evicted from the garden that served as their home. Because they ate of the forbidden tree, they were barred from eating of the tree of life. The tree of life gave them immortality, and if they ate that in their sinful state, there would have been no hope of being forgiven and resurrected to a better life in eternity.

Adam and Eve’s sin meant that something had to be done to destroy the curse. Jesus reversed the curse when He hung on a tree at Calvary. As Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” Paul was able to say, “It is written” because he was quoting Deuteronomy 21:23. Jesus, who never sinned, became a curse by bearing our sin in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24) so that we can be forgiven of the sin nature we were born into.

It all comes full circle when we realize we will eat from the tree of life in heaven; Revelation 22:2 tells us the tree of life will be present in the New Jerusalem, and each month it will produce a new fruit that will bring healing to the nations. We missed the opportunity to eat from the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, but if we have been forgiven by our Savior on the tree, then one day we will get to eat from the tree of life in the New Jerusalem.

When you look at your Christmas tree this year, let it be a reminder to you of the tree of life from which we will one day eat, and know it is only possible because of the tree that Jesus once hung upon.