We had a windy day recently. I was standing by my sliding glass door looking out at my back yard. Years ago we planted cedar trees against our back fence. We live beside an irrigation canal and people often ride bikes and ATVs along its banks. The trees provide privacy and give us some relief from the dust.
These are the types of trees that have one trunk at the base and then usually divide into four parts that grow straight up separately. There are six of them, now grown tall. As I watched, the wind was making them sway and dance and I remembered the verse from Isaiah:
“For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” [Isa 55:12 NKJV]
The Bible is a book of imagery, which is often a bit odd to our way of presenting “information.” We think in bullet points, witnessed by everyone who has ever attended a business meeting and sat through a PowerPoint presentation. (I admit, I used PowerPoint presentations for my Sunday messages, and yes, with bullet points.)
The truths contained in our Bible, however, are often imparted to us by images. For example:
Proverbs 18:10: The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Psalm 17:8: Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.
Isaiah 49:15b-16: I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands….
Sunday a row of trees in the natural waved back and forth in the wind. For just a moment, however, I caught a spiritual glimpse of nature praising its Creator. The trees of the field were clapping their hands with joy.
