We shall never see anything lovely as a tree

"one cuts a tree from the forest,

the work of the hands of the workman,

with the ax.

They decorate it with silver and gold;

they fasten it with nails and hammers

so that it will not topple"

Jeremiah 10:3-4

I love trees.  I think that's mostly because I love shade.  But I also love the variety and diversity among trees.  The leaves, the trunks, the flowers, the seeds, the height and girth.  It's fascinating how much can be different among creations that are so much alike.

I got a book on trees a few Christmases ago, and was astonished to learn that you can differentiate between pine trees by how many needles there are to a cluster or by how their pine cones grow ~ hanging down or pointing up.

I love the variety in flowers on trees ~ and the fact that some trees have none.   I love the different shades of green ~ and the fact that some trees aren't green at all.

Trees are beautiful.  Their trunks, their branches, their leaves...

So why do we cut them down?  Well, because in addition to being beautiful, they are also useful.  Furniture, houses, objects of value and beauty can all be made from trees.  And I think God intends it that way.  God intended for us to make responsible use of the earth and its treasures.

But in this verse, the purpose for these cut down trees, was idols.  The children of God were cutting down trees, to make idols.  They cut them down, then decorated the resulting lumber to make it beautiful ~ which it already had been ~ and then rigging them to stand upright ~ which they already had been.

And then, they worshiped these decorations, the work of their own hands, instead of worshiping He who had created the trees themselves.  

It's a dangerous trap.  God created us to be creators ~ artists, carpenters, songwriters, chefs, poets... but are we more fond of what we've built than we are of Him who gave us the talent? 

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow as lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

{Joyce Kilmer, 1886-1918}

Worship the One who created the trees ~ and the One who created you!

~ "the trees of the woods

      shall rejoice before the Lord" ~ 

1 Chronicles 16:33