The Cedars of Lebanon

Cedar of Lebanon

'The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, "The Lord is upright; He is my rock and there is no wickedness in him." ' Psalms 92:12-15

The Cedar of Lebanon is a strong tree with deep roots and extensive foliage. The wood is durable, gives out a strong pleasant aroma and is much sought after for timber since ancient times. The Bible described the cedars as strong and durable (Isaiah 9:10), graceful and beautiful (Psalms 80:10), high and tall (Amos 2:9), and fragrant (Song of Songs 4:11).

Its aromatic wood is used for buildings, notably the temple of Solomon and the palaces of King David and King Solomon.

The Bible said that this cedar tree is planted by God.

'The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted.' Psalms 104:16

The cedars of Lebanon has been used as a metaphor for growing old gracefully. Indeed the Pasir Panjang Hill Brethren Church's senior generation ministry used Psalms 92:12-15 to describe their group. These verses tell of longevity and vitality in old age. 

Many of us take this to be promises of strong physical health. Yet the reality is that as we grow old, our bodies become frail and disease set in. Our bodies weaken and we are no longer as strong as we used to be. 

While it is true that the Lord will remain our strength and shield in old age, I learned that the descriptive qualities of the Cedars of Lebanon refers to our spiritual selves; more so than our physical bodies. 

How will we prosper in old age? The elder generations will possess and show the following attributes: 

• Abiding Witness and Testimony. The righteous man and woman will be like the cedars with abundant foliage and spreading branches. They will flourish in the courts of the Lord, witnesses of Jesus Christ.

'Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.' Psalm 1:1-2

• Firmly Planted Faith. The roots of the cedars run very deep underground. These roots sustain the formidable tall tree. Deep roots represent deep faith, unshakeable and immovable. 

'So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing that you do for the Lord is ever useless.' 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT)

•  Abundant Fruitfulness. In the silver years, the lives and testimony of faithful elders will bear much fruit and yield good results.

 'That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit is season and whose leaf does not wither - what ever they do prospers.' Psalm 1:3

And so the Cedars of Lebanon bear witness to our spiritual strength and fortitude in old age. God himself planted and continue to tend us.

'This is what the Sovereign Lord says, "I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel, I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shades of its branches." ' Ezekiel 17:22-23 

Psalm 1 extols the man that the Lord plants. Blessed is the man. 

Blessed is the man

The man who does not walk

In the counsel of the wicked

Blessed is that man

He who rejects the way

Rejects the way of sin

And who turns away from scoffing

Blessed is that man

But his delight by day and night

Is the law of God almighty

He is like a tree

A tree that flourishes

Being planted by the water

Blessed is that man

He will bring forth fruit

His leaf will wither not

For in all he does he prospers

Blessed is the man

The wicked are not so

For they are like the chaff

Which the wind blows clean away

The wicked are not so

The wicked will not stand

On the judgement day

Nor belong to God's people

The wicked will not stand

But God knows the way

Of righteous man

And ungodly ways will perish

Lionel

The Futility Of War: Destruction, Devastation, Death

The War In Ukraine

 

On the 24 Feb 2022, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, war began in Ukraine. This war is billed as the biggest military operations in Europe since WWII. Tanks rolled in, missiles struck, untold human suffering and property devastation began.  

The war in Ukraine reverberates throughout the world, affecting everything and impacts the lives of everyone on the planet. Today, 20 Mar 2022, the war ravages on for the 25th day. The Chinese philosopher wrote in the Tao Te Ching, 

"Thorn bushes spring up wherever the army has passed. Lean years follow in the wake of a great war."  

Why wage war? No one can see the rationale for going to war in the midst of a pandemic. The only explanation is the sinful nature of humankind, which leads to egocentricity and selfishness causing man's inhumanity to man. 

Humanism is an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Rev(Dr) Daniel Koh Kah Soon wrote, "Since the dawn of the Enlightenment, humanity tried to declare independence from God. The assumption is that we do not need God to help us make sense of the world or to help us find solutions to the complex challenges we face in our time. What we need we are told, is to depend on human ingenuity and with the help of human reasoning, we can progress without having to look to God for guidance and wisdom." (Ref 1)

Humanism centres on the idea of the supremacy of man, the notion of the rational, autonomous self and ignoring the conditioned sinful nature of the individual. Remember the temptation of Eve and Adam?

"You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." Genesis 3:4

The prophet Jeremiah also spoke out against humanism in Jeremiah 17:5-6

Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

and makes flesh his strength,

whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He is like a shrub in the desert,

and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

in an uninhabited salt land." Jeremiah 17:5-6

Rev Koh went on, "Sadly,....the world is a mess. Many wars have been fought, nations against nations, tribes against tribes. Millions of people are homeless as victims of war and famine. More money have been ploughed into producing sophisticated weapons to destroy life and property than money spent in alleviating poverty." 

There is no end to wars. In 1918, the International Committee of the Red Cross released a statement on the Global Trends of War and their Humanitarian Impact:

• Wars are lasting much longer than they used to 20 years ago. 

• Wars are more often fought in highly populated urban areas, and when high powered explosive weapons are used, large numbers of civilians are at risk of death, injury, but also of losing their infrastructure – water systems, electricity, and jobs. These protracted, urban conflicts impact the basic health, water and sanitation systems, causing long-term, systemic impacts.

• Increasingly, the root causes of violence are unclear and difficult to address – they are often a tangled web of politically–motivated violence, terrorism and disproportionate reaction by states, inter-community and social violence, which often go hand-in-hand with economic crime. This also defies traditional legal concepts and challenges us with complex overlap between the legal frameworks.

• Armed warriors are more numerous, more radical but also less political and less structured. 

• Wars often involve partners, allies and coalitions – leading to a dilution of responsibility, fragmentation of chains of command and an unchecked flow of weapons. There is also a trend of denying responsibility or of passing responsibility to someone else down the line. This only increases the climate of impunity and ultimately causes yet more suffering.

In these times, human beings have become narcissistic self-lovers resulting quarrels and the fragmentation of human societies. The Apostle Paul warned,

'But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.' 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Against this back drop, Is there any hope for mankind? The Lord beckons us to repudiate humanism, sin and evil and return to Him. The Lord God promises blessings to all who trust in Him. The man who trust in God is secure, safe and need not seek any quarrel with his neighbour. 

'Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.'  Jeremiah 17:7-8

Remember the American Civil War Negro Spiritual 'Ain't Gonna Study War No More'? Those who trust in the Lord and lay down beside the riverside, will not go to war. 

I’m gonna lay down my heavy load, down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside, down by the riverside
I’m gonna lay down my heavy load, down by the riverside,
I ain't gonna study war no more

I ain’t a gonna study war no more…….

Well, I’m gonna put on my long white robe,
 down by the riverside 
Down by the riverside, down by the riverside
I’m gonna put on my long white robe,
 down by the riverside
I ain't gonna study war no more

I ain’t a gonna study war no more….

Well, I’m gonna lay down my sword and shield,
 down by the riverside
Down by the riverside, down by the riverside
I’m gonna lay down my sword and shield,
 m; down by the riverside
I ain't gonna study war no more

President John F Kennedy noted,

"Mankind must put an end to war before war put an end to mankind."

Lionel

Ref 1: Daniel Koh Kah Soon, My Thoughts Are Not Your Thought. Up From The Ashes Hope Will Arise - Daily Devotions For Lent, 2022. Sower Publishers.