Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 29-31, Jeremiah 43-44, Psalm 118

There once was a tree, a strong and beautiful cedar tree. Its branches cast their shade across the forest, and the top of the tree was high enough to stand strong among the clouds. Deep springs provided water for the tree, helping it to grow tall and luxuriant. Water also flowed around the tree, providing for all of the nearby trees. This tree was taller than all the other trees and its branches were longer and thicker than all the others.

THE TREE WAS TALL AND STRONG BECAUSE OF THE WATER AT ITS ROOTS.

Birds would build their nests in the branches of the tree and its protective shade gave the wild animals a place to give birth. The greatest nations of the world lived in the shadow of this grand and beautiful tree. Because its roots went deep into the abundant water supply, the tree remained strong and beautiful with wide-spreading branches.

“No other cedar in the garden of God
could rival it.
No cypress had branches to equal it;
no plane tree had boughs to compare.
No tree in the garden of God
came close to it in beauty.
Because I made this tree so beautiful,
and gave it such magnificent foliage,
it was the envy of all the other trees of Eden,
the garden of God.” – Ezekiel 31:8-9

THE TREE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND ITS LEAVES WERE MAGNIFICENT BECAUSE GOD MADE IT SO.

But the tree became proud of its beauty and it boasted of its strength. It set itself above all other trees and ignored the role of its water supply. So the God of Eden handed the tree over to a mighty nation, allowing it to be destroyed because of its wickedness. The foreign army cut the tree down and left it on the ground where it fell. Its branches were scattered across both mountains and valleys. Those who lived in the shadow of the lush branches went away and left the tree lying on the ground. And here is the lesson: Let no tree find pride in its own prosperity, even if it is higher than the clouds and watered from the depths. All trees are doomed to die, just like everything and everyone else on earth.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When Assyria went down to the grave, I made the deep springs mourn. I stopped its rivers and dried up its abundant water. I clothed Lebanon in black and caused the trees of the field to wilt. I made the nations shake with fear at the sound of its fall, for I sent it down to the grave with all the others who descend to the pit. And all the other proud trees of Eden, the most beautiful and the best of Lebanon, the ones whose roots went deep into the water, took comfort to find it there with them in the depths of the earth. Its allies, too, were all destroyed and had passed away. They had gone down to the grave—all those nations that had lived in its shade.” – Ezekiel 31:15-17

THE TREE WAS BROUGHT DOWN SO THAT IT COULD NO LONGER PROVIDE SAFETY TO OTHERS.

“O Egypt, to which of the trees of Eden will you compare your strength and glory? You, too, will be brought down to the depths with all these other nations. You will lie there among the outcasts who have died by the sword. This will be the fate of Pharaoh and all his hordes. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” – Ezekiel 31:18

The Lord sent a message to Judah through the prophet Jeremiah telling the people not to run to Egypt for safety. But the people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to Egypt anyhow. They thought they could escape the Lord’s punishment; they believed they could be rescued by earthly strength and beauty, but they could not.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you! I will take this remnant of Judah—those who were determined to come here and live in Egypt—and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease. Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so.” – Jeremiah 44:11-14

Heavenly Father, we ask you to forgive us of our rebellion. We have placed our confidence in others rather than in your authority and power. We live among a generation that has taken pride in our own abilities, and we have demanded the independence to make our own decisions. Forgive us for the arrogance with which we ignore your call to holiness. Bring us to our knees so that we can recognize that you are the source of everything good in our lives. Strengthen our roots and spread wide our branches so that we can be used to lead others to you. We submit to your purposes and your plan this morning. We ask that you make something beautiful out of our surrender and obedience. Amen.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. – Psalm 118:8

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:7-8