Bible Project | Trees | A Review
What’s trees got to do with it?
Have you ever wondered the significance of the Tree of Life in Genesis and in Revelation?
Do you want to fully understand its purpose and place within scripture and eternity? Maybe
you’re just interested in why there are so many trees mentioned in the Bible, especially at
key moments when God’s people meet with Him. Well then this is the Podcast Series for
you.
Tim Mackie and Jon Collins from the Bible Project take you from the Tree of Life in Genesis
right up to the Tree of Life in Revelation, looking at all the key moments in scripture where
trees are present, finishing off in the ninth podcast by looking at ‘Jesus on the Cursed Tree’.
This is then followed by a question and response section.
Tim Mackie is a very well-respected Bible teacher and has some excellent biblically-based
insights on scripture and its meaning. Jon Collins, Tim’s co-founder, is excellent at helping
people to understand the complex parts of scripture and help to make it understandable.
In the opening two episodes, starting with ‘Humans are…Trees?’, Tim and Jon look at how
there are humans and trees together at many of the hinge points of the biblical story. This
is then followed by a look at the representation of Trees throughout ancient cultures,
including during biblical times, which is where the meaning and context of the tree of life is
explored.
The following three episodes discuss the two trees in the Garden of Eden and tell us
something truly profound about the human condition and the choice we all face. We then
see how the lives of Noah and Abraham are explored as these two great men of faith face
important tests and big decisions before a tree on a high place. Tim and Jon also explore
the reason for and purpose of sacrifices at these moments of testing on high places.
After this, we see a journey through the lives of Moses and the nation of Israel with all the
tests that they face, also before trees on high places. This is moved onto the life of David
with a new Eden being set up in Jerusalem; however, many false Edens are being set up by
the people. There is a sense of a need for a response from God and this response that God
will give is prophesied by the prophet Isaiah who speaks of the seed who will usher in the
new Eden, pointing to God’s answer.
The series concludes by looking back to the Tree of Life and it’s place in the Kingdom of God
with Jesus Himself as the tree at the centre and the future promise of the new Eden to
come. The penultimate episode then focuses in on Jesus’ final test in a high garden before
His sacrifice on a tree on a high place for a broken humanity.
As I listened to this podcast series, I was just amazed and enlightened to the incredibly
central theme of trees in the biblical story. I was also struck by the significance of the Tree
of Life too in God’s plan and the Kingdom of God. As you listen to this podcast, I hope that
you too will realise the focus that God places on trees on high places in scripture and how
they are so important to the story from the Tree of Life in Genesis right up to the Tree of
Life in Revelation.
I have never found so much enjoyment and had so much interest in trees before. There was
just so much that I hadn’t really grasped about their role in God’s wonderful plan and the
story before humanity and after Jesus comes again into eternity. I’m sure if you listened to
this yourself too that you would find amazement in the beautiful use of trees in the Bible.
Here is the link to the series for you to listen to it yourself online:
https://bibleproject.com/podcast/series/tree-life-podcast/
You can also listen on Spotify