[:en]RIVER TREE
A tree that is planted by the water will always flourish. It does not have to worry about weather reports, withering temperatures or an uncertain future. Nourished and cooled by the river, its roots holds firm to the ground with its leaves offering shade for comfort and its fruits for nourishment.
By contrast, prophet Jeremiah pointed to a shrub (Jr. 17:6). When the rains stopped and the summer sun turned the ground to dust, the bush shriveled into itself, offering no shade or fruit to anyone.
Jeremiah was comparing a flourshing reee to a withering bush to remind the people what had happened since their miraculous rescue from the slave of Egypt. For forty years in a wilderness, they lived like a tree planted by a river (Jer. 2:4-6). Yet in the prosperity of their promised land, they had forgotten their own story. They were relying on themselves and on gods of their own making (Jer. 2:7-8), even to the point of going back to Egypt looking for help (Jer. 42:14)
Let us remember God not only in days of trouble but also in good times. – (Mark Dehaan)[:]