The Four Species

And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs [fruit] of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

Leviticus 23:40 (KJV)

On Sukkot (Feast of Booths), God instructs us to take up four elements from four different species of trees. We hold these in our hands… for what? To understand this, we need to reflect on the details of this verse and contrast it with another one earlier in the Bible.

Continue reading “The Four Species”

One Tree

And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

Ezekiel 37:17 (KJV)

Stick – Have you read this prophecy? God instructs Ezekiel to take two “sticks”. On one write the name of Judah (symbolizing the House of Judah, Judah being the dominant tribe of the southern kingdom) and on the other write Joseph (symbolizing the House of Israel, Joseph’s child, Ephraim being the dominating tribe of the northern kingdom). Then take these two “sticks” and join them together to become one “stick”. In a nutshell, God is prophecising about the reuniting of the kingdom – all 12 tribes. You see, Ezekiel lived about 400 years after the kingdom divided upon King Solomon’s death. His life existed in a time when the kingdom was still split in two. And the kingdom never came together again… it hasn’t happened yet. So this is clearly a prophecy of a future time. Continue reading “One Tree”