At this time of year, some of the seven “species” of Israel are coming into season - specifically, the date, the fig, the pomegranate. There were seven species of food that God assured his people that they would find in the Promised Land. Listed in order that they are ready to harvest, they are: barley, wheat, grapes, honey, figs, pomegranates and olives. (Deuteronomy 8:8)

There are countless palm trees in every direction in Israel, and there is wonderful Biblical meaning behind the tree, which we can remember every time we see them, or taste its fruit. Understanding the symbolism behind the carefully chosen words in the Bible can open the meaning up for us in whole new ways.

Palm Trees in the Bible

There are 32 mentions of the palm tree in the Bible (depending on how you count it) which fall into these categories:

- The leaves were used to celebrate at the Feast of Tabernacles mentioned in Leviticus and Nehemiah
- Palms were used as decoration in Solomon’s temple and Ezekiel’s description of the third temple and are mentioned a lot in these contexts
- the city of Jericho is often referred to as the City of Palms a number of times- a couple of times it is referred to in contrast to the reed - the strong in contrast to the weak
- The woman in Song of Songs is twice likened to a palm tree
- It is used to describe the righteous in Psalm 92
- The leaves are waved in victory and praise, as Jesus entered Jerusalem, and also in the book of Revelation.

Broadly, palm trees represent victory, uprightness and righteousness.

Early church father, Origen, calls the palm the symbol of victory in that war waged by the spirit against the flesh[1], and representations of palm trees featured strongly in early Christian art to symbolise spiritual triumph and heaven.

In Judaism, the palm is reminiscent of the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot as it is called in Hebrew. It is one of four types of plant that God ordains for the celebration - myrtle, palm and willow branches, and the etrog, which is a citrus fruit. Some say that the palm is like the strength of the backbone in this arrangement, and others say that the sweet fruit the palm gives represent those who know and love God’s law, but God doesn’t specify in the Bible why he selected these particular species. Perhaps he wanted us to think about it. There is also no clear reason given as to why they were chosen to be part of the decoration of the temple, both the first temple built by Solomon, and the one in the vision that God gave to Ezekiel. But there are no coincidences in the Bible, and just as every detail of the first tabernacle in the desert had powerful and prophetic meaning, so too can we expect that God did not choose to adorn his temple with palm trees just because they look nice.

Flourishing in Hard Times

My favourite verse about palm trees is in Psalm 92:12:

Nineteenth century Bible commentator, Albert Barnes, reflects on the subject: "The palm, rising above the world." He notes;
"Well is the life of the righteous likened to a palm, in that the palm below is rough to the touch, and in a manner enveloped in dry bark, but above it is adorned with fruit, fair even to the eye; below it is compressed by the enfoldings of its bark; above, it is spread nut in amplitude of beautiful greenness. For so is the life of the elect, despised below, beautiful above. Down below, it is, as it were, enfolded in many barks, in that it is straitened by innumerable afflictions. But on high it is expanded into a foliage, as it were, of beautiful greenness by the amplitude of the rewarding."[2]

As someone else put it; “This verse is a picture of the believer who, in the midst of drought, death, dearth and desolation, fixes their faith and trust down deep in the living promises of God and flourishes for Him, in company with other believers.”[3]

Palm trees, as anyone who watches the news on television will know, can withstand the battering of some serious storms. Their roots go deep and their trunks can bend so that they stay strong in drought, wind and storm. They can flourish even in harsh conditions, and that is what can also be said of those who drink deep from God's living waters.

In the book of Joel, chapter 1, we see this heartbreaking lament:

The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD.
The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up;
the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the olive oil fails.

Israel is once again in a state of spiritual desolation. Whilst we can see the hand of God providing, rescuing, and even blessing; people are not drinking from his living water, and the answer is prayer in earnest.

Hard times are coming to Israel. Please pray for the believers in the land to get deeply rooted in God's goodness and bounty to withstand the storms to come; pray that they would grow to believe that no matter what, God is good. Let God's people be like the palm trees adorning the temple - planted strong and sure to declare his goodness. And pray for more and more to be gathered to their number - please pray for Israel to return to their God, to be planted and flourish in his courts like majestic palm trees, displaying his victory and proclaiming; “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” (Psalm 92:15)

Here is a great video about palm trees flourishing in the desert, and Israel's abundant production of milk and honey in accordance with Biblical prophecy:

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2011/October11/1121.html

[1] In Joan., XXXI
[2] Notes on the Bible by Albert Barnes [1834] Text Courtesy of Internet Sacred Texts Archive.
[3] Daniel and Amber Pierce