Today is the 15th day of the month of Shevat on the Hebrew calendar, "Tu B'shevat". Why is that important? Well, it is not just Israel's "Arbor Day" as some have come to know it. It is the beginning of the season when the Almond Trees in Israel begin to bud, and the unofficial beginning of Spring!
The budding and blossoming of trees in the Holy Land is addressed in the Scriptures...
The Torah says:
וְכִי-תָבֹאוּ אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, וּנְטַעְתֶּם כָּל-עֵץ מַאֲכָל--וַעֲרַלְתֶּם עָרְלָתוֹ, אֶת-פִּרְיוֹ; שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים, יִהְיֶה לָכֶם עֲרֵלִים--לֹא יֵאָכֵל
Lev. 19:23“When you come into the land and have planted all kinds of trees for food, you are to consider their fruit as forbidden. Three years it will be forbidden to you. It is not to be eaten.
This is also reinforced later in the Torah:
כִּי-תָצוּר אֶל-עִיר יָמִים רַבִּים לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ לְתָפְשָׂהּ, לֹא-תַשְׁחִית אֶת-עֵצָהּ לִנְדֹּחַ עָלָיו גַּרְזֶן--כִּי מִמֶּנּוּ תֹאכֵל, וְאֹתוֹ לֹא תִכְרֹת: כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה, לָבֹא מִפָּנֶיךָ בַּמָּצוֹר.
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כ רַק עֵץ אֲשֶׁר-תֵּדַע, כִּי-לֹא-עֵץ מַאֲכָל הוּא--אֹתוֹ תַשְׁחִית, וְכָרָתָּ; וּבָנִיתָ מָצוֹר, עַל-הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר-הִוא עֹשָׂה עִמְּךָ מִלְחָמָה--עַד רִדְתָּהּ
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Deuternomy 20:19“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, making war against it to capture it, you are not to destroy its trees by swinging an axe at them. For from them you may eat, so you shall not chop them down. For is the tree of the field human, that it should enter the siege before you?
20You may destroy and chop down only the trees that you know are not trees for food, so that you may build siege equipment against the city that is making war with you until its downfall.
Trees for food were very important, and remain so in the Holy Land. The Torah gave clear instruction on how the B'nei Yisrael were to treat the Land and the produce of the Land.
Yeshua the Messiah often used trees to teach us about the Kingdom of Heaven. He taught:
וּמִן־הַתְּאֵנָה לִמְדוּ אֶת־הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה כַּאֲשֶׁר יִרְטַב עֲנָפָהּ וּפָרְחוּ עָלֶיהָ יְדַעְתֶּם כִּי קָרוֹב הַקָּיִץ׃
כֵּן גַּם־אַתֶּם בִּרְאוֹתְכֶם אֶת־כָּל־אֵלֶּה דְּעוּ כִּי־קָרוֹב הוּא בַּפָּתַח׃
אָמֵן אֹמֵר אֲנִי לָכֶם כִּי לֹא יַעֲבֹר הַדּוֹר הַזֶּה עַד אֲשֶׁר־יִהְיוּ כָל־אֵלֶּה׃
Matt. 24:32“Now learn the parable from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
33So also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the door.
34Amen, I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.
In context, Yeshua had just given many prophetic statements of what things would be like in the End of Days, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and great apostasy...
He used the fig tree as an example. When we see the fig trees blossom, we know that Spring and Summer are near - today on this Tu B'shevat, let us remember the signs of the times we are living in. Yeshua is near, we need to lift up our heads, our Salvation is drawing near!
The things we are seeing in our times, the shifting of nations, the wars and the Jihad that is brewing, and even the apostasies that we are seeing... just recently I noticed advertisements of new comedies on T.V. portraying the end of the world... "You me & the apocalypse" and another show about "Lucifer" portraying Satan giving up being "bad"... perhaps the world finds this funny and amusing; but they won't be amused when the Messiah does come with His Sword.
The fig trees are blossoming, the almonds are budding on Aaron's Rod, and it is time to get serious about our faith and our walk with Yeshua, not a time to make jokes about the end of all things.
It is near friends. Get right with God now.
