Trees of the Field

Good morning! Oh my, as I was passing through Ezekiel's garden path, I saw a verse that held my attention and blessed me.  That was verse 24 of Chapter 17. But then I read the commentary beside the verse and went back and reread verses 22 and 23. Now, with those three verses, I can produce a complete thought for you.

Two Metaphorical Applications

Ezekiel 17:22 -  Thus says the Lord God, “I shall also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar  and set it out; I shall pluck from the top most of its young twigs a tender one, and I shall plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
Verse 23 “On the high mountain of Israel I should plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And the birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches.

• Israel


• United States

Israel

In the verses above, we see that Israel is being dealt with because of their unfaithfulness to GOD. The LORD is saying that HE will not utterly destroy the entire nation, but will choose the choicest portion and replant it afresh, all because of HIS love for Israel and the promises made to their forefathers.

The choicest portion is the remnant through JESUS was to come and by which all of the nations of the world have the opportunity to be blessed.

United States

Now we come to verse 24 which says:

"And all the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord I bring down the high tree exalt the low tree dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it."

This is where the United States and other nations come into the picture. We are among the "trees of the field," which include the high tree, the low tree, and the dry tree.

As a nation, we have been blessed; there is no mistaking that fact. We have a democracy that the world envies and watches. And it came about through the cedar, Israel. We were grafted in as sons and daughters.

Why Us

Do you ever wonder, "Why us?" I sometimes do, and when I do, I go back to that poem that is inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty by Emma Lazarus:

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus
November 2, 1883 (Do you think it was just coincidence that Emma Lazarus happened to be a Jew? I think not.)

 

To the Nation of Israel
I never said this before
But I wanted you to know
That I am thankful for you
Because you are the tree
That I was grafted through.©

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To the World

My thoughts are not my own

I am just a vessel through which

My FATHER's thoughts are sown

As we go about this business of living

In this earthbound zone

Until such time as our earthbound

Days are gone

And our skills go back to the SOURCE

From which we received them on loan.©

********

 

Be safe.

 

Walking by faith,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

 

Note: My thoughts often take me in directions that I had not intended ere I start a piece, but that's GOD...