Job 14:7-9 ‘ For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.’
DAILY READING John 4:1-26; 1 Chronicles 15:1-16:6; Zechariah4
For thousands of years, the date palm was a staple crop in the Kingdom of Judea, as it was a source of food, shelter and shade. Thick forests of the palms towering up to 80 feet and spreading for 7 miles covered the Jordan River valley from the Sea of Galilee in the north to the shores of the Dead Sea in the south.
So valued was the tree that it became a recognized as a symbol of good fortune in Judea. It was the cure for a wide range of diseases including cancer, malaria and toothache. However, its value was also the source of its demise and eventual extinction. The tree so defined the local economy that it became a prime resource for the invading Roman army to destroy. Once the Roman Empire took control of the kingdom in 70 AD, the date palms were destroyed in an attempt to cripple the Jewish economy. They eventually succeeded and by 500 AD the once plentiful palm had completely disappeared, driven to extinction for the sake of conquest
But all was not lost, because in 1963, this tree was rediscovered when archaeologists unearthed a small stockpile of seeds during their excavations at the site of Herod’s palace in Israel. These seeds were found in a clay jar dating back 2,000 years. Believing that the seeds would be no good after all that time, the archaeologists abandoned them in a drawer at Tel Aviv’s Bar-Ilan University.
But then after four decades, in 2005, a botanical researcher decided to plant one of the seeds and see what, if anything, would happen. And amazingly, the multi-millennial seed did sprout. It produced a sapling no one had seen in centuries, becoming the oldest known tree seed to germinate.
The sprouting of this 2000 years old seed is indeed amazing. Despite how long it had been dormant, it simply came alive through introduction to water. This validates what the Bible says in Job 14:7-9 ‘For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant’
“Water” in the above verse refers to the Word of God, because Ephesians 5:26 says ‘That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word’. So water speaks of The Word of God. And just as that 2000 year old seed sprouted, once it encountered water, the same way, an encounter with God’s Word will cause any dormant situation to come alive.
The Word of God can bring about new beginnings.
God’s Word is indeed pregnant with wonders. Anything can happen at the instance of The Word. Miracles, signs and wonders can spring forth from any dead situation once The Word of God is introduced. There is no situation so dead that The Word of God cannot revive it. In Ezekiel 37, in the valley of dry bones, the situation had looked utterly hopeless. But once the prophet began to release The Word of God, there was a shaking. At the coming of The Word of God, things began to move. Suddenly, those age old dry bones came alive and became a mighty army.
The Word of God is indeed full of wonders. But for us to experience these wonders stored up in the Word for us, we must take up the responsibility of consciously studying it daily. And today, as we feed on The Word, through faith, we shall experience our desired miracles of restoration, revival and rejuvenation in Jesus Name.
PRAYER: Lord, by the power from your Word let every dead situation in my life be revisited and revived, let the good seed You have planted within me come alive for manifestation in this season in Jesus Name.
QUOTE
The study of The Word will keep shame and disgrace far from you.