Page 97 - Through New Eyes

Trees and Thorns 91

willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD
your God for seven days. . . . You shall dwell in booths [taber-
nacles] for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall dwell
in booths [tabernacles] (Leviticus 23:40, 42).

Of course, the Tabernacle itself was built of boards (acacia
wood this time) and pillars covered with gold, a symbol of God’s
glorified human host (Exodus 26:15-25, 32, 37; Galatians 2:9;
Revelation 3:12). The Divine Forester not only plants His
trees, but also planes them, fitting each into His house. It was
no accident that our Lord was a carpenter. He is both planter
and harvester-builder, both Alpha and Omega, both the
Creator of history and the Governor of destiny.
When Israel came out of Egypt, she encamped at Elim,
“where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date
palms” (Exodus 15: 27; Numbers 33:9). In my opinion, the
twelve springs here stand for the twelve tribes, and the seventy
palms for the seventy nations of the world (Genesis 10), who are
to be fed by Israel. It was Israel’s mission to give grace to the
world, a mission she generally failed to carry out.
Such spiritual water would grow new palms to replace the
old. The first city destroyed by Israel in Canaan was Jericho,
known as the City of Palm Trees (2 Chronicles 28:15; Judges
1:16; 3:13). Once the counterfeit City of Palm Trees was de-
stroyed, God began to grow His own. Fittingly, Deborah judged
Israel under a palm tree (Judges 4:5). When finally grown, the
true City of Palm Trees was the Temple, which was frescoed with
palms all around inside, representing God’s arboreal host (1 Kings
6:29; Ezekiel 41:18-20; Psalm 92:12-14; cf. Psalm 52:8).
If the palm predominated during the Mosaic era, the cedar
comes to the fore during the Davidic. The palm trees carved in
the Temple were carved out of cedar wood. Cedar predominated
in the Temple, as the second most holy wood (1 Kings 5-7). The
most holy wood was the olive, used for the most holy places, and
the least holy was the cypress, used for the outer areas. T We have
already taken note of Ezekiel 17, which prophecies concerning
the Davidic house in cedar terms. The Davidic covenant itself
can be associated with the cedar, while the Temple and Palace
complex is associated with cedar, olive, and cypress.