Genesis 21:33
Abraham planted
a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord,
the Eternal God.
In
our monthly, men’s breakfast, we are watching a video series by Ray Vander Laan
titled “Walking with God in the Desert.” The segment we watched this month
focused on how God provides for desert people through different kinds of trees.
One of those trees is the tamarisk tree.
The
tamarisk tree is very slow growing. It requires quite a bit of attention at the
beginning to get it started. It is most often planted near places where people
live. As one Bedouin man explained, we plant a tamarisk for our grand-children.
Because it grows so slowly, the benefits of it will not be realized until
generations after it is planted. So why plant one?
The
tamarisk tree has an extremely unique feature that makes it an ideal desert
tree. It has a very high salt content in its leaves. Because of this high salt
content, it captures the moisture from the air. During the heat of the day,
this moisture slowly evaporates, making the shade of the tamarisk tree
considerably cooler than other trees. Bedouin people love to plant these trees
near to their dwellings for this reason.
In
Genesis 21, we are told that after Abraham had received God’s promise that he
would inherit all of the land of Palestine, as an act of confidence in God’s
promise, he planted a tamarisk tree. He knew that he would never benefit from
that tree, but he was trusting God that one day his grand-children and great
grand-children would.
Vander
Laan used this story to ask an important question. What are we doing today that
will benefit generations to come? In what ways can we plant a spiritual tamarisk
tree that will provide shade for those who come after us? In our “live for the
moment” world, this is a question we should all be asking. As a follower of
Christ, what am I doing today that benefit generations to come?
But
not everything about the tamarisk tree is positive. In North Dakota, the
tamarisk tree is known as the salt cedar. It is an invasive species that can
destroy a pasture. In the arid desert, the tamarisk tree is sparse and grows
very slowly. In a fertile, well-watered land it can grow rapidly and spread.
The problem with this is that because of the salt content in the tree it
changes the soil around the tree, making it extremely alkali. Soon the soil can
not longer sustain other forms of vegetation. It becomes a great place for salt
cedar, but a bad place for everything else.
In a
spiritual sense, we can see that this is exactly what Satan has done in our
world. He has taken things that God intended for our good and transplanted them
into places where they should not be. What God intended for good becomes
something that produces harm. Planted in the wrong place, these things act as
invasive species, taking over the place and pushing out the good things that
should be there. There is no better example than what has happened with human
sexuality.
God
intended for human sexuality to be planted in the environment of marriage; the
loving, monogamous relationship between a man and a woman. Satan has ripped
human sexuality from this positive environment and transplanted it into various
other environments. The outcome has been broken, devalued people. Today, human
sexuality has become an invasive species that seems to dominate our society,
while pushing out God’s original design.
Before
we start casting stones, we need to realize that it is possible for each of us
to plant a spiritual tamarisk tree in the wrong place. We can create a legacy
that will have reverberating negative effects for generations to come.
God
warned us about this. In the Ten Commandments, God made it clear that if we
plant our tamarisk tree in the wrong place it will have long lasting
consequences. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You
shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a
jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and
fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations
of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:4-6
As
we make our way through life, we will have many opportunities to plant a
tamarisk tree. If we are intentional, we can leave a positive legacy that will
benefit generations to come. If we are unintentional, we may leave a negative
legacy that will also affect generations to come.
Ephesians 5:15-16
Be very careful,
then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every
opportunity, because the days are evil.
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