FLOURISH IN VARIETY AND PRODUCTIVITY

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took BRANCHES of PALM TREES and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” – John 12: 12-13

The palm tree has a Variety of species, functions and uses. It FLOURISHES in VARIETY and PRODUCTIVITY. The palm tree is multi-dimensional in usefulness, much like “the manifold Grace of God” (1 Pet.4:10). Symbolically, in many historical cultures, palms signified fertility, plenty, peace, and victory. Palms were laid before Jesus at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, buttressing its spiritual significance in the service of the King. Branches of the palm tree were carried at the feast of Tabernacles (Lev.23:40). Beyond its spiritual significance however, the palm tree is divinely designed for maximum performance and productivity. Its potentials are exceptionally diverse. There are about three hundred species of palms that grow from 1 to 30 meters tall. The date palm produces hundreds of pounds of dates annually, while the African oil palm gives a higher yield than most other plants.

Palm trees have been significant to humans throughout much of history. The palm tree has been the representative tree of Palestine and a symbol of the land of Israel. The whole land of Palestine was called by the Greeks and Romans Phoenicia, that is, “the land of palms.” Palm trees are mentioned nearly forty times in the Bible. Palms flourish in a wide variety of environments. They are among the best known and most widely cultivated plant families in the world. Palms can be found in virtually every type of habitat, from rainforests to deserts. Even in barren soil palm trees are watered deep at the roots.

The palm-tree figure is especially intriguing. Palm trees are highly multi-functional in nature. Almost every part of the palm tree is very useful. Various palms provide a great variety of usable materials. Palm trees are not just functional in providing shade, but practically all the parts of the palm have a useful purpose. The fruit of the palm provided a great part of the diet of the East. The fruit is used to make palm oil; shaft from the fruit is used locally to generate fire for cooking; the leaves are used for brooms, and for making temporary roofs in huts; the sap is taken as palm wine, while the stems are used as beams of various application. The various parts of the palm tree produce highly nutritious foods, fruits, oils and syrups, waxes, dyes, medicines, varnish, raffia and palm woods. Products that can be derived from the palm tree include: baskets, brushes, clothing, doormats, furniture, mattresses, ropes, and thatching.

The palm tree in Scripture usually refers to the date palm – a stately and stunning tree, which is perhaps the most useful of all trees, not only producing dates, but also sugar, wine, honey, oil, resin, rope, thread, tannin, and dyestuff. Its seeds are fed to cattle and its leaves are used for roofs, fences, mats, and baskets. Its fruit  is said to get sweeter as the tree grows older, and this is compared to the believer in a beautiful verse: “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing” (Psalm 92:13,14). The life of a ‘Palm Tree Believer’ is colourful, relevant, productive, and profitable in diverse aspects of life and Kingdom service and all through the lifespan. Such a believer will be of profit in the home, in the community, in the Church, in the place of work, and wherever he or she is situated or planted by God. Such a saint maximizes the manifold grace of God. May the Lord God enable each of us to flourish like the palm tree – beautiful in Him, multifunctional and useful in His service, and bearing abundant and excellent fruit to His glory, even into old age!