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| (Redeemer) |
I am in Proverbs chapter 11.
Forget speed-reading Proverbs!
11.30 counsels me.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
I write it on a card, to carry with me and guide me through this day. This will be my meditative focus.
Here I am told that my life (yours too) can bear life-giving fruit that will nourish and vitalize others. Even, saving lives.
This is wisdom, which, again, is to be sought after, and stored up in one's heart and mind.
John Walton writes:
"The immediate background of this image is the tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Ge 2). Those who embrace wisdom are like those who embrace the tree of life; i.e., wisdom is the source of life in all its fullness. A symbol commonly referred to as the “tree of life” by modern scholars is well attested in ancient Mesopotamian art, though no textual evidence identifies it as such. It is more appropriate to identify it as a “cosmic tree”— a tree located in the center of the world that links the cosmic realms."
Zondervan,. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook (Kindle Locations 140525-140529). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
