The
islands of New Zealand were isolated from any and all human occupation until about 1200 years ago.
Eons before various waves of migration hit our shores, unique flora and fauna flourished
in our temperate climate. Vast forests of a magnificent tree, the Kauri,
covered almost our entire northern island, and occupied the warmer lowland
parts of the main southern island, and many of our coastal islands. Kauri is second only in size to the world’s largest trees, the Redwoods of
California.
Kauri has the highest volume of timber of any tree in the world. It was used by Maori to fashion waka (canoes), and by the British Navy and
commercial sailing ships for masts and spars. It was pit-sawn for settler’s homes and
provided valuable kauri gum. Many of the trees so wantonly milled in the 1800’s
were saplings when David went looking for Goliath. By the early 1920’s the
seemingly endless forests were almost gone.
One of
the more unusual properties of the Kauri tree is its ability to shed its
branches as it matures, eventually leaving a trunk clean of any knots or other
imperfections, sometimes to a height of more than 60 meters. Even the
wound from the lost branches usually disappears, resulting in timber of unparalleled strength and beauty.
The timber
is keenly sought after, and “swamp Kauri” that has lain, preserved in the
ground for thousands of years, fetches a considerable price for use in fine
furniture and tourist items. This ancient Kauri predates even the pyramids. One
prehistoric forest, of a species now long extinct species, has been unearthed.
It was buried in such a catastrophic manner that some think that Noah’s flood
was responsible for its demise.
By
contrast, our modern forests are gigantic “factories” of a species introduced
from the Americas.
Pinus radiata or Monterey pine, grows like a weed in this country, and
matures in just 20 to 25 years, and rots even more quickly. The timber from
this tree is very useful, but lacks most of the characteristics of the Kauri
that it has almost completely replaced.
God
likens us to trees… And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivulets of
water that brings forth its fruit in its seasons, and its leaf shall not
wither, and all which he does shall be blessed. Psalm 1:3
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We don't transplant dead stumps, we transplant trees that are alive. And in the same way ,as a righteous person, you are alive, and not just physically alive. We are spiritually alive. God is the source of our life. The New Testament often talks about this. In Ephesians 2:5 Paul says that "because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions."
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A Cedar in Lebanon |
The righteous will flourish like palm trees; they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Psalm 92:12
And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12 ESV
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From God's Word
The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm 92:12-15 ESV
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