The Redemptive Role of Trees in the Bible
Trees play a major redemptive role in Scripture, both in Old and New Testaments. And unpredictably, trees are not passive, but play an active role in unifying the entire Biblical narrative. At many of the major turning points in redemptive history, you will find either a mountain or a tree and sometimes both! I’ll share one example of this dual role in a moment.
Additionally, you will find words seminally related to trees such as leaf, fruit,[1] branch,[2] vine, woods, forest, stump, thorns, or bush.[3] Frequently, though, this unifying theme is not readily apparent in the English version of your Bible. (I’ll provide one example in a moment.)
You will also find many species of trees mentioned such as olive trees, cedar trees, fruit bearing trees, fig trees, pomegranate trees, or palm trees. And, of course, trees play a major role in each temple, from the very first temple--the Garden in the eastern part of Eden (the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad), as well as the Tabernacle and Solomonic Temple. And in the New Testament, the various authors refer to Jesus’ cross as a tree:
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus from the dead whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree. Acts 5:30[4]
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it has been written: cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. Galatians 3:13
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree… 1 Peter 2:24
But sometimes the trees get lost in the English translation and we can lose track of the tree theme. One example, with direct links to Jesus’ cross, is found in Genesis 22, the story of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac as a burnt offering on a mountain. When the group approached the location where the sacrifice was to take place, Abraham and his son Isaac separated themselves from them and traveled together to the spot. Observe how the Genesis author picks up the narrative at that juncture:
Abraham took the tree[5] for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. Genesis 22:6
The English translation renders the Hebrew word “tree” as “wood” (from a tree), but, in fact, it is the literal word for a tree. Isaac, the son of Abraham, carried a tree on his back on the way to be sacrificed. Remind you of someone else carrying a tree on his back?
Carrying his own cross, Jesus went out to the place of the skull… John 19:18
See the connection between Jesus and Isaac? Here is one of hundreds of stories from the Hebrew Bible that foreshadow Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. A tree and a mountain play a redemptive role in the story. Just as Isaac, the beloved son,[6] carried a tree on his back on the way to be sacrificed on a mountain, so also Jesus, the beloved son, carried a tree on his back on the way to be sacrificed on a hill.[7] The sacrifice of Isaac foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus. Both beloved sons carried trees on their back. No coincidence.
Have you ever realized that human beings are depicted as trees and that Jesus Himself identified Himself as a tree?[8] There is so much more in Scripture that has not being considered by Bible students on the subject of trees. In fact, trees are mentioned more times in the Bible than any other living thing. Trees play a major unifying role in Scripture. Trees begin[9] the story and also end the story.[10]
Thank you for reading.
[1] Fruit is Paul’s most frequently used and key analogy to describe the work of Jesus or the Spirit in those who claim to be believers in Christ.
[2] Or, The Branch.
[3] The burning bush is an example; a bush is simply a small tree.
[4] See also Acts 10:39; 13:29; 16:24
[5] Virtually every English translation renders the Hebrew word “tree” as “the wood”. But in fact, the word is the Hebrew word for tree, the exact same word used in Genesis 2:9, 16-17 for the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
[6] See Genesis 22:1-2
[7] The place of the skull was a hill shaped like a skull or head.
[8] Jesus said: I am the vine and you are the branches. John 15:5
[9] Genesis 1-3.
[10] Revelation 22:19