“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree;
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon”
~~Psalm 92:12~~
In my last blog, I followed a rabbit trail and shared a bit about my study of a palm tree. I mean if I’m told in Scripture that I will flourish like a palm, I better know something about a palm, right? (smile). Today I’m digging for the meaning of “they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon” by researching all I can find out about the cedars of Lebanon.
Ok. Here we go! How does the cedar of Lebanon grow?? The first thing I found out as I researched the cedars of Lebanon is that the cedar of Lebanon is currently on the list of threatened endangered species. This brings to mind the passage in Matthew 7:13-14 that says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” I think that true, authentic followers of Christ are really an endangered species in this degenerate world in which we live.
The cedar of Lebanon is native to Lebanon, a coastal region of Syria and Turkey where the climate has dry, warm summers and snowy, cold winters, where temperatures may drop to -20 degrees Fahrenheit or more. This goes back to the thought from yesterday that the grain of the wood comes from varying seasons which make it beautiful. God is so awesome!
Cones of the cedar of Lebanon aren’t formed until the tree is about 25-30 years old. The tree produces male and female cones. The male cones are formed on the lower branches and the females on the high ones. The female cones are the ones that contain the seeds. Kinda sounds like people, huh? God intended for the male to protect the female (gotta get past the male to get to the female), and the female is the one who contains the seeds for reproduction.
Another thing that I found was that cones grow on the upper side of the branches on a cedar of Lebanon, and they point upward. In most evergreen trees, the pine cones hang downward, so that when the cone opens to reveal its seeds, they can easily fall to the ground and germinate. But with the cone on the cedar of Lebanon pointing upward, when the cone opens, in order for the seeds to fall to the ground, they have to be blown to the ground by the wind.
Think about that with me. First of all, the cone grows upward. As believers, the direction of our growth needs to be upward, towards our God. Secondly, think about what it takes for the cedar to reproduce. The cedar cone needs to be pointing in the right direction (up), and the wind has to blow to scatter the cone’s seeds.
In the Scripture, wind is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. (“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4). “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
It’s only by the work of the Holy Spirit that we as believers can spread the seeds of God’s word and people accept Christ. HOW COOL IS THAT?!! Oh, there’s so much good stuff here!! How I love when God takes me on a field trip! Ok, movin’ on…
The cedar of Lebanon is a slow grower, growing only around 10 inches a year when young, under ideal situations. Once roots are established, it will grow about 15 inches a year. With age, a cedar of Lebanon can grow up to 130 feet high and 30-50 feet wide. Newly planted trees shouldn’t be fertilized until they’ve been in the ground at least 1 year. The second year in the ground, only give it half the recommended fertilizer. I’m gathering that this is how we should treat believers new to the faith. Don’t overload them with facts. Let them feed on the milk of the Word for a period of time, until their roots grow deeper and can handle more nourishment from the meat of the Word. I mean, you wouldn’t feed a newborn baby a steak, would ya?
Another consideration for young, small cedars of Lebanon is protection from wild animals and surroundings. This goes along with how the Scriptures teach about young believers in Romans 2:20 where we’re to teach them how to concentrate on “being” vs. “doing”. And in 1 Corinthians 3:1, we’re taught that babies in Christ, while they are alive in the Spirit, they are still babies because they still look/act like the world. In Hebrews 5:13, we’re taught that we aren’t to get stuck in the “milk” stage of our growth in Christ, we’re to “grow-up in our salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). But in order to grow and mature in the Lord, we need to protect ourselves from the “elements” of worldliness and the “wild animals”. (“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.–1 Peter 5:8).
Hebrew priests were ordered by Moses to use the bark of the Lebanon Cedar in circumcision. That’s pretty cool when you think that circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and the nation of Israel (Genesis 17:11). And for believers today, Romans 2 teaches that “circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code” (vs. 29). Believer’s hearts are circumcised when they accept Christ.
The bark of the cedar of Lebanon was also used to treat leprosy. Leprosy was a symbol of sin in the Bible, and we as believers are told to “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16). So we, as believers (“cedars of Lebanon“), can be useful tools in God’s hands to lead others to Himself, and also to aid in the treatment of sin (“leprosy”). Pretty cool, huh? 😀
The superb qualities of the cedar wood are beautiful color, hardness, exquisite fragrance, resistance to insects, humidity, and temperature. The bark of a cedar of Lebanon is dark gray and exudes a gum of balsam which, if the bark is scored, such a fragrance is emitted that to walk in a grove of cedars is an utmost delight. One of the qualities of cedar wood is its exquisite fragrance.
Over and over the Old Testament talks about the sacrifices and offerings that God required as being a “pleasing aroma as unto the Lord“. And in the New Testament, we know that Christ was the ultimate, once-and-for-all sacrifice that covered our sin debt, but we’re taught in Romans 12:1 that our lives are to be “living sacrifices” to God. Ok, stick with me here. 😀 This came to mind when I was pondering aroma and fragrance. 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 says, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life.”
So, what aroma does YOUR life emit? Are you a living sacrifice emitting a pleasing aroma as unto the Lord? Hmmmmm…food for thought? For sure…(along with a big OUCH!)
Another characteristic of cedar of Lebanon wood is that it is astonishingly decay resistant, and it is never eaten by insect larvae. As I sat here thinking about this statement, God brought a couple of things to my mind. Check this out. In Isaiah 51:8 in speaking about people that are not His, God says, “For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.” And in Mark 9:48 in reference to hell it says, “the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
So since we know that God has likened us to cedars of Lebanon, and cedars of Lebanon are never eaten by insect larvae (worms), we have once again been assured by God that being worm food is not our fate! YAY! So, what about the decay part? The wood of a cedar of Lebanon is never eaten by worms, but it doesn’t say it “never” decays, but that it’s decay “resistant”. Hmmm…what can I glean from that? (pondering…….) Something has to be in the wood to make it decay resistant.
I researched a bit more about cedar wood and here’s what I found. Within the cedar wood itself are “thujaplicins and phenolics“, which are toxic to a number of wood rotting fungi. Also, cedar wood when used in application, doesn’t shrink or swell because it contains natural oils within it that cause it to stay flat and straight, which also lessens the occurrence of cracking and splitting.
Ok, think about that! We are likened to a cedar of Lebanon, which contains natural OIL that lessens shrinking, swelling, cracking and splitting. In the Scriptures, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, priests were anointed with oil as a sign of God’s calling on their lives. Also, oil lamps (the only source of light in the Tabernacle) were tended and kept burning 24/7; the priest never took a break tending the lamps. And we are never to take a break from being the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), but we can only do this as we are continually supplied with oil (the Holy Spirit) and have our wicks trimmed (undergo training through trials).
So when “tended” the oil within us (The Holy Spirit as we submit to His control) can keep our lights shining brightly in the dark world. As we increasingly submit to the Holy Spirit’s control, the occurrences of “shrinking” back from what we know we should do, the “swelling” of pride in our lives, the “cracking” under the stresses of life, and the “splitting” of falling from the faith will increasingly lessen. And all of that because God has placed the “oil” of the Holy Spirit WITHIN us, just like He places the oil within the cedars of Lebanon! That’s pretty darn cool!!! 😀
Ok, that’s enough for today. I need to marinate in this for a bit. Have a great day!