Bible Trees

The Ash Tree

Ash wood is strong, durable and generally light in colour. It is coarse but the grain is fairly straight. As a result of its strength and durability, ash wood has an array of uses but is commonly used in the making of tools, furniture and frames.

The Authorised Version uses the word Ash where as many of the subsequent translations prefer the word pine; for example “He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.” Isaiah 44:14

The object of this passage is to show the amazing stupidity of those who should worship a god made of the same material from which they made a fire to warm themselves, or to cook their food.

Image-making is described, to expose the folly of idolaters. Though someone may use part of a log for fuel, they also fall down before an image made of the remainder, praying that it would to deliver from some impending ill. However, we might shake our heads and think how preposterous that in our enlightened age we might be drawn into such thinking.

You might even find yourself reading through the prophets and nonchalantly grazing past the verses on idol worship without stopping to think twice. You may be tempted to think that they don’t apply to you, because you don’t struggle with those things.

We may also think we’re far too advanced for such simple thinking. We live in a day and age with advanced science, technology, and education. We wouldn’t even consider idol worship as a temptation.

It’s easy to fall into this way of thinking when you only understand idols based on the examples given in scripture. 

But idols aren’t limited to graven objects crafted by human hands. Idols are anything that you give your life to,that you pour every ounce of your energy into in hopes of it bringing you the things you desire in return. Anything you place above God. There are many idols we struggle with and many of them creep into our lives without us even realising.

We assign far too much value, energy, and hope to these things. The idols we build in our lives are serious offences against God. We need to be aware of our temptations and the idols we build in our lives without realising.