Page 98 - Through New Eyes

92 THROUGH NEW EYES

With the destruction of the Temple, the Kingdom moved
into a period of outward humility, but inward glory (see Chapter
16). The myrtle tree receives notice during the post-exilic period.
God had prophesied renewal in terms of the myrtle (Isaiah
55:13), and Nehemiah added it to the list of trees used for the
Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:15). Zechariah saw Israel as a
myrtle grove (Zechariah 1:8-11), and it is doubtless no accident
that Queen Esther’s original Hebrew name was Myrtle
(Hadassah; Esther 2:7).
In the New Covenant we have another shift. Jesus repeated
the parable of the cedar tree from Ezekiel 17, but transferred it to
the mustard, a tree without any Old Testament associations
(Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19). This must
have offended His first audience, for they would have taken it as
a deliberate assault on their hopes for a revived Davidic monar-
chy. Jesus was announcing that His Kingdom would be of a
different sort, as different as the humble mustard from the
mighty cedar. We have mentioned already Jesus’ shift from
cedar to olive, the most holy wood. Thus, mustard and olive
seem to be preeminently associated with the New Covenant.
Of course, none of these images is exclusive. Throughout we
find references to vine and fig tree, as well as to many others.
(See Diagram 7.2.)

Diagram 7.2
Kingdom Wood

period Arboreal Imagery
Eden Trees of Life and of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil
Noah “Gopher” wood for the Ark
Abraham Terebinth or Oak trees
Wilderness Acacia for the Tabernacle
Settlement Palms
David Cedar
Temple Olive, Cedar, Cypress
Kingdom Fig
Restoration Myrtle
New Covenant Mustard, Olive