Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles
7 Fruits of Israel—Dates
Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
Deuteronomy 8: 7-8 "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and date honey.”
People in biblical times used the date tree for many purposes. They ate its fruit, weaved its leaves into baskets, turned its trunks into structures, and fermented its sap to make wine. The date palm tree itself is often used in the Bible to symbolize peace, victory, and prosperity. (Dates in the Biblical Times by Nature's Candy | Apr 6, 2017 | Blog, History, Holiday Ideas)
The date palm tree was seen as beauty personified, and in Genesis, it was referred to as Tamar, a term also used to describe a beautiful woman.
There are many references in the bible directing people to use the date palm to build shelter or nourish their bodies. The images of palm trees were present in the Temple.
Ezekiel 40: 16. There were beveled window frames in the gate chambers and in their intervening archways on the inside of the gateway all around, and likewise in the vestibules. There were windows all around on the inside. And on each gatepost were palm trees.
Ezekiel 41: 15-16: He measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits, as well as the inner temple and the porches of the court.
Evidence of date palm cultivation was found by an archeologist named Ehud Netzer when King Herod’s palace was excavated on top of Mount Masada. The palace was destroyed by the Romans after the Jews committed mass suicide rather than surrender. There was a container of date palm seeds at the site, which were later treated, tested and cultivated at Yale University in the 1960’s, successfully grown into a tree dubbed the Methuselah Palm. The remaining seeds were sent off to Zurich, Switzerland, for carbon dating, and were found to be more than 2000 years old. Beyond being a scientific miracle, the seeds of that era could actually be viable, it is seen by some as a metaphor for the survival of ancient Israel, and of the resurrection.
Psalm 92: 12-14: The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing.
John 12: 12-13: 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!''
Leviticus 23: 39-40: `Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. (This is a reference to the Feast of Tabernacles.)
Judges 4: 4-5: Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
What do the date palms teach us as Christians?
We are to be beautiful in the root meaning of the word. We are to be full of goodness and fruitful in goodness.
We are to be thankful for the grace of God in providing all our needs for protection and provision out of his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
We should walk in the wisdom of the Lord in such a manner that the world will come to us for advice and discernment.
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