Word of Salvation – Vol. 27 No. 29 – May 1982

 

The Book Of Trees

 

Sermon by Rev. P. G. van Dam on John 3:14,15

Scripture Readings during the sermon:

            Gen. 2:15-17 and 3:1-11; Numbers 21:4-9; Revelation 22:1,2

Psalter Hymnal: 307:1,2; 55:2,1,5; 408:1,3; 402

 

In a way it is correct to call Scripture the book of trees.  Let us see why and how this is true, by referring to some of the places in Scripture which speak of trees.

In so doing we would first of all have to turn to Genesis 2:15-17 and chapter 3:1-11, 22-24.  Indeed, we must turn to these two places first, or else we would not really understand how Scripture speaks of trees in other places.

This brings to mind an important consideration, also for evangelism work, that in turning to Scripture we should really always start where Scripture itself starts.  That is to say we start with the explanation of what God did in the beginning, with His good creation, and then we continue with what man did, of which we read in Genesis 3.  Only then can we begin to see the relation of man to his God in the correct perspective.  Only then will we begin to see the true purpose of the coming and of the cross of Jesus Christ.

In other words, we should never try to make the Word of God attractive.  Instead, we should preach the Word beginning where the Word itself begins: with the reality of the facts concerning the relationship between God and man

Returning to our two readings from Genesis 2 and 3, we remember how in chapter 2 we read of two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Of these two trees the second one appears to be receiving most of the attention.

But if it does, it is not because God Himself had indicated that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was more important than the tree of life.  Apparently, it received most of the attention because Eve and Adam made it the more important tree.  Be it, upon the instigation of the serpent.

Through the serpent Satan had made that tree of the knowledge of good and evil more attractive to Eve and Adam than the tree of life which is not even mentioned in the conversation between the serpent and Eve and Adam.  Satan himself had made the fruit of that tree “desirable for gaining wisdom” to them (Gen.3:6b).

Now, why did the eating of the fruit of that tree get Eve and Adam into trouble with God?  We know the answer to that question: because in eating of that fruit they had disobeyed God’s specific command of which we read in chap 2:17.  In other words: with God the crucial point was obedience.  In Adam’s and Eve’s difficult position, after they had eaten of the fruit, the issue with God was in His question: “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (3:11b).

But in his always subtle ways Satan had led Eve and Adam away from that point of obedience, and had succeeded in making something else more important instead: the gaining of knowledge and wisdom through which man would become like God.

That conflict has been with man and with the church ever since.  Often it is more interesting, more appealing – if not more tempting – to study and to gain knowledge than to obey God.  The fruit of the tree of knowledge often is more desirable than the fruit of the tree of life…!

Of course, this does not mean that we need not study at all.  A Christianity, a church, which has no knowledge of how come man thinks and speaks and does the way he does today, and which does not work at the answers to the problems of society today, makes a laughing stock of itself.

We must study and know what goes on and why, provided (a) we remember that man’s hope is not in his study and knowledge, and (b) that in his own heart and mind such study and knowledge do not come first and thus make him useless for the work in and for the Kingdom of God, let alone make him sit in judgment upon God’s Word.

For many, also for our young people, the study of the human sciences is appealing.  But the Freudian-based studies in sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc., at state colleges and universities do not offer a great deal of help to the work for the Kingdom of God.  Much more often does it appear to be true that such studies draw young people away from the Word of God; to be precise: from obedience to God.

In that case, we would merely see a repetition of the conversation between Satan and man, recorded in Genesis 3.  The desire to gain knowledge comes first, before the desire to obey God.  The desire to be like God.

If such studies and motivations come first then, indeed, we will have the way cut off to the tree of life (3.2).

Whatever the trends of the world are (and Satan still uses the same reasoning which he used so successfully in Gen.3), we would do well to learn from the opening chapters of the Word of God that for God the first criterium is obedience.  They also explain why: because He is our Creator.

And the second criterium for having a good standing with God is the one which we will remember later: that of bearing fruit.

Obedience and bearing fruit: those two and those two only!

Let us now turn to Numbers 21:4-9.

Again we read of a tree, be it a very simple tree for it is not more than a pole.

On its journey from Egypt through the desert to the Promised Land Israel had once more spoken “against God and against Moses (His servant)” (vs.5).  Thus it had called the anger of the Lord upon itself, as a result of which the Lord had “sent poisonous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died” (vs.6).

In its suffering on account of this punishment by the Lord the people repented, for we read their words: “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you (Moses)” (vs.7).  Indeed, these are words of true repentance: “We have sinned against the Lord”.  Nothing less will do for true repentance!

In response to the repentance of the people the Lord has Moses “make a snake and put it on a pole”, and, says He, “anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (vs.8).

Of course, it would be rather short-sighted to think that the hope of Israel was in that bronze snake on that pole.  Their hope was not at all in that bronze snake but in doing what the Lord told them to do: to look at that snake.  In other words (again!): in their obedience to Him there is life.

Now, this account of the tree with the bronze snake is not unimportant.  Neither is it just fancy to draw the line from that tree of Numbers 21 to the tree on Calvary.  For Jesus Christ Himself draws that line!

                                    * * * * * *

Let us now turn to John 3:14 and 15.  There we read the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He says: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life.”

These words teach us that the bronze snake of Numbers 21 was a ‘type’ of the Lord crucified.  It was ‘pointer’ to the Lord hanging on the cross, and to the Christ Who – like that snake – was lifted up on a tree.

In other words, we could think here of photographic technology which in a film will let one scene slowly fade away and gradually and more clearly all the time let another scene or picture take its place.  In that way we could think of the picture of the snake slowly being replaced by the picture of Christ.

From Genesis 3 we know that the snake, the serpent, symbolizes sin.  And now we see that change in which the serpent is replaced by the Christ.  How true a change this is!  For just to get the picture of the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross clearly before us, is it not true that Christ came to become – to be made – sin for us?

For this is what we read in 2Cor.5:21 “God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God!”

He became our curse.  In Galatians 3:13 we have these words: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law (of our curse in having failed to obey the law) by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’.”  He Himself had become the very accursedness of our sins.

The serpent symbolized sin itself.  But now Christ has come to be sin for us.  In fact taking the place of the serpent and bearing in full the guilt which the serpent had caused.

But the serpent also symbolized the power of sin, the power to bring death through sin and the power to let man die on account of sin to which he had led man.

But Christ came to die for the guilt of the sins of His people.  In this He would thwart Satan’s purposes to make man die on account of his sins.  For Christ came to take the guilt of the sins of His people away.  So death would no longer be punishment for them anymore.  And thus Satan’s purposes were defeated.  Christ came in order that on His cross He would at one and the same time pay for the guilt of all our sins and undo Satan’s power to have us condemned to death.  In other words Christ came to crucify Satan.

In the New Testament times we have a clearer meaning of what the snake of Numbers 21 meant.  It was the symbol of sin, and as such it pictured Christ Who would become sin for them.  And Who would gain forgiveness of sin for them.  In the second place the snake of the pole symbolized Satan crucified by Christ in His sacrifice.

The snake of Numbers 21 – the snake on the cross points to the forgiveness the people of the Lord have of their sins, and to the victory Christ gained for them on the cross.  The power of Satan is gone; no longer will he be able to bring us to death through sin!

And thus may we confess that Christ has made the tree of our curse the tree of life for us.

But, yes, from Numbers 21 we remember that that is true only in the way of obedience.  Only if we look upon the Christ on the cross.  Only, if we truly confess Him to be our Saviour and bow before Him in repentance of having sinned against God.

And that is the same condition, for those who have not studied so much and for the learned; for the not-so-wise and for the wise.  For God’s wisdom is in the cross of Christ as the only way to life.

                        * * * * * *

Now, the tree of life on Calvary makes us turn to the tree of life mentioned in the Book of the Revelation to John chapter 22:1,2, which we will read at this time.

In these two verses we read of the tree(s) of life standing on either side of the “river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

That water is the water of life; that is to say: it is the grace of God in Jesus Christ on account of His sacrifice for our sins, who is the Lamb of God.  It is the water of which Isaiah already wrote: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters….!” (Isa.55.1).  It is the water from the ‘wells of salvation” (Isa.12.3).

And in Revelation 22 we read of the river of the water of life; that river teaches that that water flows in great, never-ending abundance.  Indeed, there is no limit, no end, to the grace of God for His people, the people for whom Christ died.

That assurance is also given in the fact that the tree(s) on either side of that river and fed by that river bear “twelve crops of fruit, yielding its (their) fruit every month” (vs.2).

Twelve is the symbolic figure in Scripture of completeness, fullness, abundance.  “Every month” means: without fail, without let-up, always.  Twelve; it makes us also think of the twelve tribes which made up the totality of God’s people in the Old Testament.

“The tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month”: the Lord in His grace will always remember all and each one of His people, for the sake of the Lamb!

                        * * * * * *

Yet, if we are to do justice to the teaching of the ‘tree of life’ in Revelation 22 we shall have to understand that the tree of life has a second meaning too, in the Book of the Revelation to John.

The “throne of God” (of Rev.22:1) is the New Jerusalem mentioned in chap. 21:2,3.  But John sees this new Jerusalem “coming down from heaven”, we read in chap. 2:  2 and 10.  And this is not only future, for we read: “Now the dwelling of God is with men…!” (chap 21:3).  That dwelling of God is His church, for we continue to read (in vs. 3)” and He will live with them.  They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God”.

And, indeed, we do believe that God is in our midst when we meet together as His people for worship and for fellowship with Him.

“The river of the water of life – flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city” is the abundance of grace the city – His people – receives all the time.  In the first place, through the proclamation of the gospel, through which He feeds them.

With that understanding of Rev.22:2 and 3, in the light of what we read in chapter 21, we must understand the “tree(s) of life” to be His people.  Who are continually and always fed by His grace for Christ’s sake, the Lamb.

But, then, Scripture teaches us here also that we do not receive that abundance of grace merely for our own sake and our own benefit!  For we read at the end of vs.2 (chap 22): “And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations”.  That the nations, all people..!, may find and receive healing from their sins and guilt and death through the proclamation of the sacrifice of the Lamb.  That they, too, may look at Him and live!

Yes, that is the reality of the truth concerning the church.  The Church – and we all and each one of us – a tree of life!  But for this we must bear fruit!  To be precise: “Twelve crops of fruit, yielding the fruit every month”!

Indeed, we must produce that much, and we must produce it always!

But there need not be any worry whether the grace of the Lord would give us the food and the strength we need to bear that much fruit!

For does not Psalm 1 teach us that he who remains with the will and the word of the Lord “is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers!” (Ps.1:3).  But note, how the emphasis is on bearing fruit.  We remembered earlier that there are two criteria we must meet if we are to have a good standing with God.  The one was obedience, the other to bear fruit.  Indeed: fruit…!

For a tree however rich in foliage, if it bears no fruit, the Lord will cut it down.  As He did with the fig tree when He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves (Mat.21:18,19).  We may be the ‘perfect’ church member, never missing a church service, yet if we do not yield fruit, the Lord has no use for us.

Amen.