EVERGREEN!

  ‘Tamarisk Trees’ by VBecker is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

I’ll never look at an evergreen tree the same again!  Don’t you love them?  Should have figured out their symbolism myself from the word ‘ever’ which means ‘at all times’ or ‘always’.  They stay green all year and are symbolic of all things eternal.  I happened to read that Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba!  

A tamarisk tree is an evergreen that grows in the middle east.  He planted it as a permanent reminder to himself and all generations to come of the ‘everlasting covenant’ that the eternal, ‘God Almighty’ made with Him.  Genesis 21.

‘When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.  As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations.  No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.  I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.  I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” Genesis 21:4-7.

So, ‘Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Eternal God’. Genesis 21:33. 

This is a big deal!!!!
Yes, it was planted to celebrate and remember the goodness of God and His promised covenant, but also and maybe even more importantly, he planted it to benefit future generations.  After all, the Tamarisk is a very slow growing tree, only an inch a year.  So, Abraham would probably never enjoy its shade.  But, a tamarisk is also called a ‘salt cedar’.  It excretes salt particles on its branches.  Water vapor adheres to these salt particles, so when the sun (scorching desert sun) rises in the morning the evaporating water creates an ‘outdoor air conditioning unit’ under its branches!  Not only that, but the tree also produces a substance that some call the biblical ‘mana’ because it is sweet to eat!

In addition, this mana and the tree’s bark are listed as a cure for a very long list of diseases including circulatory and hepatic diseases, diarrhea, rheumatism and Parkinson’s.  It’s also good for treating tumors, anemia, gingivitis, mouth problems, and even THE FLU.  (The list goes on and on).  No wonder he planted the Tamarisk!!!  

What are you planting for future generations?

As Chris Shultz wrote in ‘The Well Blog’ regarding Genesis 21:33, ‘Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba’.  He said, “This one verse has changed the way I parent, do my marriage and look at my life. I want to be planting tamarisk trees in the lives of others. With my kids, with my wife with the people God has placed in my path. To invest in them regardless of whether I see what it produces in them, to proclaim the gospel no matter what the outcome, to train them up even if I never experience the fruit. I want my gravestone to read, “Here lies Chris Schultz. He planted a tamarisk tree in Fresno.”

One verse.  Profitable for every area of life”.