Shevat 30
Leaves
“For he shall be as a tree Planted by the rivers of water … whose leaf does not WITHER” (Ps 1:3 ISR, emphasis mine)
The
Hebrew word that has been translated as “wither” is the word nâbêl (Strong’s #H5034), and besides meaning wither
and droop, it also carries the implication of being senseless, foolish,
treating with contempt, and fading away, which makes for an interesting play on
words. Be that as it may, we can clearly see
from this expanded definition how important water is, not only to the roots of
the tree, but also to the leaves.
Without necessary water, leaves will wither, droop, and eventually fade
away.
However, let us look at the other meanings
of the word nâbêl, and how they might apply
to our lives. Mr. Webster defines “leaf” as “organs of
perspiration and inhalation in plants. They usually shoot from the sides of the
stems and branches, but sometimes from the root”[1]. When
our lifestyle consists of a diet filled with high carbohydrate junk food, it will often give evidence through our perspiration – to put it bluntly, our sweat will
stink. Would these unhealthy habits come
under the heading of “senseless, foolish, and treating with contempt”, (as
found in the definition of the word nâbêl) the
physical body our Creator endowed us with?
Just as an interesting side note, do y’all
remember the story of Abigail and her first husband? Well, just guess what his name was: nâbâl (Strong’s #H5037), which is related to our word translated as “wither”. Not only was this man a senseless fool, but
it would not be erroneous to say that he withered and faded away (see 1Sam 25)!
Let us be
the people of YHWH our Elohim, making sure that we ingest the “water” we need,
as well as displaying our “leaves” in a healthy and profitable atmosphere. Is this not what our Father expects of us?
“But I am like a green
olive tree In the House of Elohim, I have trusted in the kindness of Elohim
Forever and ever.” (Ps 52:8 ISR)
“Blessed is the man who trusts in יהוה, and whose trust is יהוה.
For he shall be like
a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and
does not see when heat comes. And his leaf
shall be green, and in the year of drought he is not anxious, nor does he
cease from yielding fruit.” (Jer 17:7-8 ISR,
emphasis mine)
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