Isaiah 65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people… Many of the ablest scholars, ancient and modern, hold to the opinion that the true rendering of the passage is this: "As the days of the tree, are the days of My people" — "as the days," that is, of the "tree of life!" And there is very much to be said in favour of this rendering. The Tree of Life in Eden — that first of sacraments — was designed to sustain and refresh the life infused into man at his creation. To us, however, there is another Tree of Life, even the Cross of Christ. The body broken, and the blood shed upon that Tree, are to us the means of resurrection and immortality. And, again, there is another Tree of Life, to which as yet we can only look in faith, that, namely, which is fast beside the river that issues forth beneath the throne of God and of the Lamb — which bears its twelvefold fruit twelve times within the twelvemonth, and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. "As the days of the Tree, are the days of My people." Their destiny is to feed on the Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God; and as the days of that Tree are never ending, never darkened, so shall the days of God's people be. (H. Macmillan, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. |
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