The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 55:12-13, The Trees Offer a Standing Ovation

The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 55:12-13, The Trees Offer a Standing Ovation. 

WANTED: An imaginative scribe who can write exquisite poetry. A faithful, articulate believer in Yahweh who can switch from one extreme to another at the Lord’s command… from a sublime vision of God’s glory, to a ridiculous demonstration of shameful nakedness; from confronting the people over their sinfulness, to comforting people with hopefulness; from being an outspoken messenger one minute, to a living object lesson the next; from having one foot in the immediate surroundings one minute, to one foot in the future messianic realm the next. Must be adaptable, thick-skinned, and extraordinarily brave. Person who answers, “Here I am. Send me!” will be especially considered. (from The Jerusalem Post, 740 BC).

“You shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace;

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

and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree;

instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree.

And it shall make a name for the Lord Yahweh,

an everlasting display that shall not be cut off.” (55:12-13).

A Prophet of a Worshipful Creation. Was it merely poetic license when Isaiah declared that “the mountains and the hills will burst out in song, and all the trees in the countryside will clap their hands.” (Is. 55:12). Was Isaiah taking flights of fancy when he encouraged the heavens to sing and the mountains to break out into joyful song in a duet with the trees in the forest? (Is. 44:23). Was he just overextending his imagination when he claimed that wild animals will honor Creator God, including the jackals and the ostriches? (Is. 43:20). Or, instead, that Isaiah truly believed that nature could literally praise God in their own unique way? Is Isaiah seeing something here in his inspired, prophetic vision that most of us refuse to see, that creation is designed by God to worship Him, to rejoice and dance to His rhythm? Is this poetic expression, or is it a “living reality” (Virginia Stem Owens)?

Follow the Science. Atoms, the building blocks of all created matter on the earth, are all comprised of impossibly small particles that have synchronized movement. They have an innate knowledge that enables them to cooperate in a natural “dance.” God created them with the ability to move together faster than the speed of light. Electrons move so fast that an electron could race around the earth in eighteen seconds. Scientists have discovered that each atom is “extremely turbulent,” that these particles in the atom “move and interact endlessly.” Surprisingly, these particles all seem to “vibrate coherently.” This discovery of coordinated movement in the atoms suggests that there may be a mysterious intuitive consciousness even at the cellular level in all of creation. Evidently, even inanimate objects have movement and are animate at that basic level.

The great Christian novelist Flannery O’Connor once suggested that we need to discover “a way of reading nature which includes the most possibilities.” Might any of these statements be among those “possibilities”?

(1.) The movement at the cellular level is a form of creaturely self-expression; this “self” is foreign to human experience or knowledge;

(2.) The synchronized movement of the electrons and protons are their form of dancing, of rejoicing, of being expressive according to the way God created them;

(3.) Each cellular particle of every part of creation is vibrating with joy in praise of their Creator, rejoicing in its own existence, and dancing to God’s rhythm;

(4.) All of creation has been blessed to have its own relationship with God; each creature has its own unique way of communicating with God, even at the level of the atom’s inner particles; nature has its own “language” that God can understand;

(5.) Since all of creation is able to “groan” (Romans 8:19-22) under the fall’s curse, creation is thus able to rejoice, now and with the future restoration;

(6.) God’s creation is mysterious to humans to the point that it contains elements that are at the same time fact and symbol, reality and imagination, flights of natural fancy that are so elegant and “perfect” that they must be true;

(7.) Trees are clapping their hands at the subatomic level, expressing joy in their own way, unbeknownst to humans; trees clapping and hills singing are a “living reality” according to Christian poet and scientist Virginia Stem Owens;

(8.) Could the following be literally true, and not a mere metaphor? Are these inspired passages in Scripture just picturesque language? Is the biblical author taking poetic license or is there a curtain being separated into the world inside the world?

“Sing! Starry sky above, break loose with singing, for Lord Yahweh has finished it! Shout! Earth deep below, give up your shout! Mountains high, break out with joyous songs of praise! Let the forest choirs join in, with every tree singing its notes! For the Lord has paid the ransom for His people, and He will be glorified in Israel! (Isaiah 44:23).

“Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’ Let the sea roar and all its fullness; let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth.”  (1 Chronicles 16:31-33).

“You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths drip with abundance. They drip on the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with grain; they shout for joy, and they also sing.” (Psalm 65:11-13).

“Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord!”  (Psalm 98:8).

“The beast of the field will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:20).

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise Him from the skies! Praise Him, all the armies of heaven! Praise Him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise Him, vapors high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued His command, and they came into being. He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked… (Psalm 148:1-6);

Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey Him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, young men and young women, old men and children… (Ps. 148:7-12);

“Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For His name is very great; His glory towers over the earth and heaven!” (Psalm 148:13).

The Scripture seems to take seriously the idea that all creation is able to rejoice, to praise God and worship Him, from the smallest creature to the kings of the earth. As author and writing professor Laurel Lee once wrote, “Some things have to be believed to be seen.”

The Cypress and the Myrtle. This passage that closes the chapter is another one of these two-sided prophecies. The prophets didn’t have a full grasp of the timing of their pronouncements, since the God who inspired their words is outside of time. One thousand years is the same as one year when it comes to God, so it shouldn’t’ surprise us that this word from the Lord has a near-future relevance and a far-future meaning as well.  This ecstatic vision of the triumphant redemption of the exiles from Babylon in many ways reveals the pattern of what the inevitable redemption of the world will look like. Cypress and myrtle trees are both hardy evergreen trees and have always been biblical symbols of resilience and eternal life. Both trees have their sacred uses… the cypress used for the durable flooring of the Temple, and the myrtle for the construction of the sukkah during the Feast of the Tabernacles. So the exiles will be tremendously encouraged by the mention of those two trees in particular as they resettle into what is hoped to be the enduring eternal kingdom of God in their midst. The fact that those two sacred trees will replace thorns and briars reinforces the holy promises of God’s restoration… of Israel, and of the universal restoration of the world. So cypress and myrtle instead of thorns and briars makes perfect sense. The full restoration will include the reversal of nature’s curse in the Garden. Instead of the curse of death will be the blessing of everlasting life. Redemption and restoration are God’s promises for Israel, for humanity, for the whole of creation. Hopelessness will be replaced by joy and hope. Brokenness will be reversed with healing. Slavery to sin will be turned into spiritual freedom. All those shackled in Satan’s prison will experience a jailbreak. Temporary misery will become eternal bliss. A sense of impending judgment will be replaced by grace and forgiveness. That which was dying will now flourish; that which was decaying will now become fully alive. The hopelessly divided pieces of the world, whether families or cultures or nations, will enjoy complete reconciliation and peace. Whatever was fruitless will now become fruitful. Whatever was dry as a desert will become a well-watered garden. Whoever was considered untouchable will now become lovingly touchable. Yes, the literal return of the Jewish exiles from captivity is an inescapable picture of our return from spiritual exile. The restoration of Israel is a glimpse of the certain universal redemption that is our destiny. The triumphant return of the Hebrews out of Babylon speaks of the Lord’s power and mercy, a reminder of God’s purposes in His world, and will remain an everlasting display of His grace.