Saturday Morning 7-23-2011

Psalms 92: 12-14
12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,

Facts from Wikipedia:

Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms, and palms are also widely used in landscaping for their exotic appearance, making them one of the most economically important plants. In many historical cultures, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, and fertility. Today, palms remain a popular symbol for the tropics and vacations.

As well as being morphologically diverse, palms also inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts.

The Lebanon Cedar is an evergreen coniferous tree growing up to 40 m (130 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in diameter.

The Cedar of Lebanon was important to various ancient civilizations. The trees were used by the Phoenicians for building commercial and military ships, as well as houses, palaces, and temples. The ancient Egyptians used its resin in mummification, and its sawdust has been found in the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs. The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh designates the cedar groves of Lebanon as the dwelling of the gods to which Gilgamesh, the hero, ventured. Hebrew priests were ordered by Moses to use the bark of the Lebanon Cedar in circumcision and the treatment of leprosy. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah used the Lebanon Cedar as a metaphor for the pride of the world. According to the Talmud, Jews once burned Lebanese cedar wood on the Mount of Olives to celebrate the new year. Foreign rulers from both near and far would order the wood for religious and civil constructs, the most famous of which are King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem and David's and Solomon's Palaces. Because of its significance the word Cedar is mentioned 75 times in (Cedar 51 times, Cedars 24 times) the Bible, and played a pivotal role in the cementing of the Phoenician-Hebrew relationship. Beyond that, it was also used by Romans, Greeks, Persians, Assyrians and Babylonians.

Wow! To be planted in the house of the Lord; covered by the canopy of the Most High. I want to flourish like the palm tree and to be strong and tall like the Cedar of Lebanon. Mainly I want to be useful in the Lord’s house.

The fact that the palm tree can inhabit nearly every type of habitat shows me that God wants to send us into every culture and flourish in righteousness. We see the Lebanon cedar as a peacemaker bringing cultures together.

God is just so amazing in His creation.

To me the House of the Lord is all His creation, on earth and in heaven. Also the Courts of the Lord is anywhere His manifested presence is at. His manifested presence is where His joy is felt, the unexplainable is accompanied by His peace and where we are being changed into His likeness.

Now I really like the promise in the above verse; “They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,” My God will use me in my old age for His glory.