Dn. Raphael The person who delights in the Word of God (vs 1) and mediates on it (vs 2) is compared to a tree (vs 3).
King David, the author of this Psalm, describes this tree.
This isn’t some wild tree growing too close to a building or on the shady side of a rocky mountain. It’s planted by the Master Gardener near streams of water.
I think this water is living water, the kind Jesus spoke of when he spoke with the Samaritan woman. This kind of water enables a deep, solid root system penetrating deep into the earth. When fierce winds blow this tree remains standing. Life sometimes has fierce turbulence, doesn’t it?
This tree produces fruit.
And what a variety of fruit, like cocktail trees. Have you heard of them? There are different types. I used to have naval oranges, lemons, and grapefruit all growing on the same tree. Someone grafted them all to the same trunk. There are cocktail trees for varieties of apples, and “fuzzy fruits” like apricots with peaches.
The fruits Christians grow are many. Let’s see… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). I think there are many more fruits as well, like hospitality, forgiveness, and souls saved through evangelism and discipleship.
These fruits aren’t only grown for ourselves, they are for anyone to feast on: family, neighbors, and strangers.
This tree has green leaves, a sure sign of health.
I have a garden in my back yard. I am far from a master gardener, but I try. In Phoenix, our growing season is the winter months. It’s too hot in the summer for anything except okra, sunflowers and certain melons and squash.
I am not an okra fan and I am not a sunflower seed person. I’ve tried melons and squash in the summer. My leaves either dry up or turn yellow. No matter how much TLC I give them, they are not healthy enough to make it through summers in my back yard. I don’t think it’s my fault, those plants should have tried harder… hahaha.
But as trees planted and cared for by the Lord Himself, we are healthy because our delight is in God’s Word and our meditation on it. These two things are our water and fertilizer… our nourishment.
Joseph, son of Jacob, is a good example of a “healthy tree.”
This is the guy who had ten very jealous brothers. They trapped him intending to kill him. A caravan was passing by on their way to Egypt so instead they sold him to them as a slave.
After he got to Egypt he did well for himself until he was accused of sexual misconduct with the wife of Potiphar, captain of Pharoah’s guard. It wasn’t true, but nobody believed him, so he languished in prison for several years. Finally, he was brought out of prison and became Pharoah’s right hand man.
During a drought his brothers came to Egypt for food. When they discovered that their little brother was running Egypt they expected revenge and feared for their lives. But Joseph had completely forgiven them. He said, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.”
Life’s not always smooth sailing. There will be suffering amidst its ups and downs. Whatever challenges you experience, God means for good. Healthy trees—people who allow God to plant, water, and fertilize them—will always endure and come out successful! And so I say, “Be the tree!”