Trees Show Our Changing Relationship to God
You looking for fresh material for a group or individual Bible study? Then why not consider something that is actually textually based, programmatic of the entire Bible, shows the inherent unity of Scripture, sharpens your Inductive Bible Study[1] skills, and best of all, leads you to Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1-3, especially when viewed in the Hebrew Bible, is like an acorn: inside its shell are found all the main ideas contained in Scripture. The rest of Scripture develops those central themes and ideas.
Here’s an example, one that you could use as material for your next Bible study. Throughout the story of Genesis 1-3, trees play a central role in portraying the ever-changing relationship between God and Adam and Eve, our first parents. Find a tree in the story and you’ll find a link to that relationship.[2] The reason for the link connecting trees and people is easy to observe: people are portrayed as fruit trees. Day 3-–fruit bearing, seed carrying trees--and Day 6—fruit-bearing, seed carrying humans--are parallel to one another.
For example, the large number of fruit trees in Genesis 1 is evidence of God’s liberal provision for the man and the woman. A tree in the center of Eden is called ‘the Tree of Life,” the source of eternal life, God’s life, freely available for the humans. Fruit from that tree had to be eaten to maintain life. But there was another tree, a forbidden one, that impacted their relationship to God: the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. Adam and Eve had to trust God’s word that He alone knew (see the connection to the word “knowledge”?) what was good for them—beneficial for them as humans, and also what was bad for them. In other words, faith in God’s word and obedience to it was the essential requirement. The role of trees was central and pivotal.
It was at that particular tree that our relationship to God changed for the worse. Then, in the aftermath of their failure, the man and the woman hid from God’s voice in the trees—ironically, signs of God’s goodness and generosity. Finally, in response to their failure of faith, their attempt to become God, deciding on their own what was good for them, they were barred from access to the tree of life.
But the key role that trees play does not end in Genesis 1-3. Observe a tree in the context and you’ll discover a change in the relationship between God and people. We are informed, for example, that Noah’s Ark was to be built with Gopher Trees.[3] So, trees became the means of salvation for Noah and his family.[4] Trees depict the changing relationship between God and people.
Jump to the NT for a moment. Can you think of some of the trees and related words that are mentioned? For example, have you encountered vines, fruit, various types of fruit, seed, soil, harvest, leaves, fruit bearing trees, wood, speck, roots, objects made of wood (i.e., the cross of Jesus), types of trees (palms, figs, olives, sycamore)? And, of course, both Paul[5] and Peter use the word tree when referring to the cross of Jesus, a new tree of life and death.
He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree… 1 Peter 2:24
Trees play a central role in Scripture of portraying our changing relationship to God. It all began in the Garden. It’s all about the trees.
So, for your next study, why not consider something that is natural to Scripture, shows the inspired unity of the story of the Bible, helps you connect the many dots, sharpens your observation skills, and points you to a crucified Jesus. And, last but not least, after death, Jesus came up out of the ground--just like a fruit tree. The story of the Bible is the story of trees. Trees are central and pivotal in portraying our changing relationship with God.
Thank you for reading.
[1] Inductive Bible Study follows the natural way that Scripture is composed, frees one up from the crutches of using a Q/A format, and allows the context of the passage to guide one’s understanding. Learn the three steps: Observation, Interpretation, and Application. Throw away those crutches.
[2] The same is true for mountains or high/elevated places and bodies of water, such as rivers, streams, lakes, rain, fountains, or floods. On occasion, you’ll find all three elements in the same story.
[3] English Bibles hide the Hebrew word for gopher tree and translate it as “wood.” But it is the same Hebrew term used in Genesis 1-3 for tree.
[4] In the story of Noah, we have three main themes present: water, mountains, and trees.
[5] Fruit bearing is Paul’s most common analogy to describe the marks of a genuine believer.