“As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my Beloved…  I sit in His shadow with great delight, and His fruit is sweet to my taste.” (Song of Solomon 2:3)

In the Bible, people are often called trees.

When the LORD commissioned Isaiah to go and proclaim the Good News, He said: “My Word will not return void… all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12). The LORD promised the prophet that the people of Judah would gladly receive the LORD’S word.

Proud people are compared to tall trees. Daniel interpreted wicked King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a tall tree cut down by a Rock from heaven. “Your Majesty, you are that tree” – Daniel 4:22.

The theme of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is that the LORD humbles the proud and exalts the humble. “All the trees of the forest will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it” – Ezekiel 17:24.

The righteous are compared to “trees planted by streams of water, who yields fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and whatever he does will prosper” – Psalm 1:3.

Jesus spoke of the judgment of the wicked by saying, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” – Matthew 7:17-19.

Understanding people as trees brings a greater understanding of the Messiah’s coming to earth.

Jesus Christ Is the Apple Tree In a Forest of Trees.

It is a rare thing to find an apple tree in the middle of a forest of trees. How unique indeed for the Son of God to come among the forest of trees as the Apple Tree of Bethlehem.

Throughout ancient times, an apple tree was one’s most prized possession. The Roman historian Pliny recorded: “Yearly income from an apple tree produced two thousand sesterces; yielding a Roman more profit and revenue by the year than a pretty good farm.”

So too, of all relationships you have with the trees of the world (people), your relationship with the Apple Tree from heaven is the most precious. “He is the chiefest among ten thousand,” Song of Solomon 2:10. In the Bible, the number ten thousand represents infinity. There is nobody, anywhere, at anytime, more valuable to know than the Messiah.

“His fruit is sweet to my taste,” wrote Solomon. The gifts of His Word and His Spirit make this journey among the forests of life “sweeter than honey or the honey-comb,” Psalm 19:10.

“I sit in His shadow with great delight,” declared Solomon. The Messiah provides shade for those who come to Him. Shadows are often used in Scripture to denote protection and mercy (see Isaiah 4:6; 25:4; 32:2; Psalm 57:1; 91:1; 17:8). He is a shade from the scorching heat of God’s wrath for sin. He is shade during times of difficulty when the heat of this present life seems unbearable. Coming to Him in your time of need provides shade of delight and refreshment.

The leaves and fruit of the apple tree have been deemed medicinal for man throughout history. So too, the Apple Tree came from heaven to “heal the brokenhearted and set at liberty the bruised soul” (Luke 4:18).

Merry Christmas! The Messiah has come as the Apple Tree in a forest of trees.

Come to Him and live.