Bible Trees

The Trees of the Field

To round off this series on trees I want to look at an Old Testament verse that has intrigued me ever since Stuart Dauermann wrote the song based upon Isaiah 55:12 “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

What a wonderful image of the trees of field clapping their leaves in response to the joy we find in our hearts.

Chapter 55 of Isaiah is rightfully named “The Compassion of the Lord.” At this point in the book of Isaiah, God’s people have been completely disobedient, but God the Father is a God of grace and compassion, so he invites them into his lovingkindness. He is restoring them so they may glorify him once again and he is blessing his people.

Verse 12 specifically commands the people to go out in joy and be led forth in peace. Why does God ask this and how do we, as believers, do this?

What does that scripture mean, “Trees of the field shall clap their hands”? For a moment imagine a time of great joy and celebration. You are standing in a bountiful field of grain surrounded with fruit trees heavy with harvest. You feel so blest that you shout with joy! The trees of the field are just a part of the whole picture. The entire verse is a vibrant blessing and goes like this:

 

“For you shall go out with joy,

And be led forth with peace:

The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. “

 

A dynamic scene unfolds bursting with joy, peace, and singing! All of nature rejoices with you and great happiness abounds. What a blessing this is!

 

Certainly it is a blessing worth pursuing. How can a person get this blessing?

To find the answer, we turn to Leviticus 26: 3, where God says: 

 

“If you walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them;

Then I will give you rain in due season,

And the land shall yield her increase,

And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.”

 

The Lord gracious and abundant in goodness is the blessing source. All we have to do is follow His game plan. Sounds like a good deal to me. How about to you?