“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,” Psalm 92:12

 Have you ever wondered why David the Psalmist compared the righteous to “palm trees?”  If you look up information on the palm tree, you will arrive at some interesting facts.

The palm tree of the Bible is the date palm.  It never grows wild, and has to be carefully tended when young.  It is different from other trees in that it grows from within.  Its growing, living tissue is in the column in the center of the trunk.  The bark can be removed, scarred and cut, but still the palm tree grows up towards the sky.  The bark is only the support and protection of the inner life of the palm tree.  The quantity and quality of its fruit are determined by the success of the growth of its inner life!

Do you see the comparison to the righteous?  Our success in our Christian life is determined by our growth within.  Our “outer man” is like the bark of the palm tree.  We can be mistreated and scarred by various circumstances, but if our inner self is healthy, nothing can retard our spiritual growth.  Isn’t that great?!

Then we learn that the palm tree has over 200 uses.  Imagine that!  Its sweet dates provide a wide range of essential nutrients and a good source of  potassium.  Even the flowers are edible.  Palm sap is collected and boiled to form palm syrup and sugar.  Its leaves are used to make brooms, mats, baskets and fans.  Leaf sheaths are used to make rope, cloth and large hats.  Its foliage is always green because its roots extend far and deep into the earth, taking advantage of hidden moisture, living water.

What a comparison!  We, who call ourselves children of the King of kings, should be willing to be used in many different ways.  The palm tree is used for food and also for the lowly mat.  Nor does it wilt when water is withheld for a season, for its roots go deep.

Here’s another bit of information – The palm tree bears its best fruit in old age!  The fruit is the sweetest when the palm is eighty years old!  Isn’t that amazing?  When an apple tree gets old, the apples get smaller and smaller and soon are almost worthless.  Not so with the palm tree.  The older it gets the better and sweeter the fruit, symbolizing beauty and fruitfulness.  The reason for the growth of believers is they are “planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; He is my Rock,’ Psalm 92:13-15.  When we live in daily fellowship with the Lord, we draw our strength from Him.  Age does not harm our fruit-bearing ability, we can remain ever fruitful because the Lord is our Rock!  The unrighteous are compared to grass that withers and fades.  “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”  Isaiah 40:8.

Are you a person like the palm tree with many uses, or like grass and flowers that quickly fade away?

Your friend, Jean