As told in Genesis, Joseph served Pharaoh faithfully. Even after being wrongly accused and imprisoned, he served while in prison and eventually rose again to prominence in Pharaoh’s kingdom. When Pharaoh dreamed of famine, Joseph interpreted the dream, and under God’s direction, came up with a plan to survive it. “And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” – Genesis 41:38
In the gospels, Peter and John began as uneducated fishermen, yet they were personally discipled by Jesus for 3 years. In Acts chapter 4, these former fishermen forcefully proclaim the gospel, and about five thousand people came to faith in Christ. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13
Pharoah recognized the Spirit in Joseph and people noticed Peter and John were different – do people notice the Spirit in you? Can they tell you’ve been with Jesus?
“A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ.” – Charles Spurgeon
Have you ever wondered what life was like for Adam and Eve during Genesis 3:7? This verse, which happens between the moment they fell to temptation and the moment they next meet God, says “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” Since they were able to figure out how to make clothes for the first time, we can guess that the time frame within Genesis 3:7 was more than a few minutes.
The song “Trees” by the band twenty øne piløts may be a contemplation of that time, and if it is, the song imagines that Adam and Eve had some time to think about it. Songwriter Tyler Joseph crafts lyrics that allow for religious and secular meanings, but also that sometimes also apply to multiple audiences. In the song’s lyrics, “You” is sometimes capitalized, and sometimes not, and therefore I think the song has two intended audiences, God and the band’s fans.
Reading between the lines a bit, I’ll explain below what I get from this song, in each audience perspective.
You = the Father The lyrics are relatively compact, with the repeated verse of:
I know where You stand, silent in the trees And that’s where I am, silent in the trees Why won’t You speak where I happen to be? Silent in the trees, standing cowardly
Our first ancestors had lived a perfect life in fellowship with God in the garden of Eden, but the fall into temptation changed that relationship, and the verse imagines how.
First, the sense of togetherness was gone. They were still in the garden, but the sense that God was also there was gone.
Second, although “the eyes of both were opened,” the voice of God guiding their activities had gone silent. They had chosen to determine their own way but had not considered the consequences. Wherever they were, He used to guide them, but now they were confused.
Third, instead of being comfortable in God’s presence, they were terribly afraid of Him.
And a repeated chorus of:
I can feel Your breath I can feel my death I want to know You, I want to see I want to say Hello, hello Hello, oh, hello
In the original Hebrew Genesis was written in, the words for “breath” and “spirit” are sometimes the same word. Therefore, the first two lines of this chorus mean that our ancestors could still feel God’s presence (His breath/spirit), but instead of it being a comfort, they now felt something they never felt before – their mortality. This is a foreshadowing of their being cast away from access to the tree of life.
Also, instead of the constant conversation with God they had known their whole lives, now they wanted to speak with God and know Him again, but He was not responding. In the context of the song, maybe it was then that “they knew that they were naked.” They knew they had done wrong, were exposed, and thought judgement was what they should expect. Adam and Eve went from perfectly hearing their Father’s and Master’s voice, to feeling like orphans and castaways from His family.
What came next? Genesis 3:8 says, “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”
You = The Fans The “you” in the song is also the band’s fans – and Tyler sings out to them, in the trees. Tyler says the song is also about a personal experience he had, which he doesn’t publicly explain, but He does publicly display tattoos of both the cross of Christ and of bands around his wrist, which likely represent rubber bands people wear to manage and prevent self-harm. These tattoos are like permanent memorials – or Ebenezers – from his life, and his ongoing recovery from mental illness. Many of the band’s fans are going through similar struggles and many feel left behind by the world.
Therefore, the “you” of the song is those who feel alone and silent in the trees, who feel ashamed before God, hiding themselves. They expect God to show up in judgement, as Adam and Eve expected, and hid their nakedness. Tyler could be calling out to them: God did not judge me, and neither will He judge you if you call out to Him. God will speak to them, “where they happen to be.” After all, Genesis 3:9 says: “But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” It was God who desired and initiated reconciliation with His people.
The outro of the song has Tyler screaming HELLO over and over again, before the song ends with 12 seconds of intentional silence before the track ends.
What will be the answer?
When you find someone alone and silent in the trees, remember James 1:27 – “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
If you find yourself alone and silent in the trees, tell your Heavenly Father you want to say hello. He wants to know you and He wants to see you.
Coda For many years, “Trees” has been the last song played at every twenty øne piløts concert. Why is this? On the album “Vessel”, “Trees” was the next-to-last song and other parts of the album built to it. The first song on “Vessel” describes demons and spiritual warfare, the second song is called “Holding On To You,” and the third song, “Migraine,” has the repeated line:
And I will say that we should take a moment and hold it And keep it frozen and know that life has a hopeful undertone
It seems like from the beginning of the album, that moment to hold on to when you’re battling whatever demons you have was coming. So, in each concert, the fans know that the moment to hold on to is coming. The song is a moment you can remember when you’re down and know you’re not alone. The song an Ebenezer in its own way, and a bold statement that the band is not going to ignore the problems of people left behind, the metaphorical widows and orphans of the world. Also, if they pay close attention, those fans can find the message of Christ in the lyrics. God doesn’t wait until our affliction is over and we make ourselves acceptable to come to us. He bridges the divide Himself.
Below is a video I took last year at a concert in Philadelphia. Apologies for the video quality, especially when they fired massive amounts of confetti into the air, which fans collect to remember the moment later. My phone camera just couldn’t keep up, but I offer it as a 5-minute moment you can take and hold and know that life has a hopeful undertone.
And what’s all this about widows and orphans? This post continues a series on James 1:27, which began here. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
In the ESV Bible, the phrase “but God” appears in the narrative 43 times, changing the direction of the story. Ebenezer the squirrel, the blog’s mascot, represents these memorials of God’s intervention in the world and in our lives. As a squirrel can unexpectedly draw our attention, I write about these moments to draw our attention to God as a reminder that adding God to our circumstances can change everything. One of the times the words “but God” appears is in Genesis 20:3, which says:
“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.’”
This “but God” Ebenezer comes during Abraham’s sojourn in Gerar, where Abimelech was king. Similar to an earlier story from Genesis 12, Abraham lies and says his wife Sarah is his sister in order to stay out of trouble. In this case, Abraham explains his reason for lying as: “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’”[1] Ironically, Abraham inadvertently here proved there was no fear of God in his own life at this moment, by prioritizing an assumption he had made about Abimelech’s character above the absolute knowledge of God’s character, who does not lie. Be careful about what you’re certain of. It might be wrong.
Just like each of us, even the heroes of our faith are not perfect and seek their own means of finding prosperity apart from God. How God deals with them therefore reveals His grace with real people, and also has lessons we can learn from. In response to this “but God” dream, Abimelech returns Sarah to Abraham to avoid sinning with her. The dream revealed the power of God to Abimelech, who “took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.”[2] Abimelech even gave Abraham 1,000 pieces of silver and told Sarah it was “a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”[3]
Ebenezer, the ‘but God’ squirrel, is behind more than you know.
Although Abraham ended up shamed by this situation, God ended up glorified. God was always in control, even when Abraham was faithless. Of this story, the Life Application Study Bible notes: “How many times has God done the same for us, holding us back from sin in ways we can’t even detect? We have no way of knowing—we just know from this story that he can. God works just as often in ways we can’t see as in ways we can.” In other words, there are often many Ebenezers we are not even aware of. We may benefit from “but God” moments in the lives of others, as Abraham did with Abimelech. Therefore, next time you see a squirrel (or the next 100 times), thank God for His many mercies toward you that you haven’t even noticed.
“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” – John Piper
Although highly allergic to cats, I love the two we have, but sometimes wonder if it’s worth the trouble. This past Saturday night, one of the cats, named Misty, was up crying much of the night, waking us up regularly. Eventually, I realized she must have been upset about her litter. The store was out of the “usual,” so I tried to get away with a replacement, even though I know how finicky cats are. Sure enough, once I changed it to what I had left of the usual stuff (kept in reserve in case of finicky cat trouble), she stopped complaining.
Why am I telling you this? Because what happened next reminded me that God is concerned about even the most minor details of our lives, and about every living creature He has made. Sunday morning my reading schedule began with Psalm 8, which includes this:
“You have given [man] dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.”- Psalm 8:6-8
Misty, an indoor cat who may feel like she’s trapped in the ark.
Under the mandate given in Genesis, mankind is supposed to take care of whatever God has given us – the earth and everything in it. My study Bible helpfully noted that this includes pets, which reminded me of Misty’s crying! I thought maybe our cats were worth the trouble after all, but God wasn’t finished making the point.
Also on my reading schedule was Genesis 7, which includes: “And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.” – Genesis 7:24
During the flood, Noah and his family were flooded in the ark for 150 days with two of each kind of animal (but seven of each kind of clean animal, because provision was made not only for the survival of Noah’s family, but also provision for continued worship of God). After the 150 days, they had to wait months longer for the waters to recede and the land to dry before coming out of the ark. Noah’s family took care of an ark full of animals for more than 150 days. They probably lost a lot of sleep! As for me, I only have two cats and get to leave the house. I also have allergy medicine to make it more tolerable.
Looking back at Psalm 8, the last verse declares: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
This Lord is the same one who brought Noah, his family, and those animals through the flood. He also cares about my family and even my pets. In seemingly small acts like taking care of pets God has given us, we can declare the majesty of God’s name! In whatever influence we have, big or small, God wants us to participate faithfully in the work started at creation, with the authority He has given us.
In addition to perhaps cats, what else might we be allergic to? Sin is not just a list of things we shouldn’t do, but it is our allergy to God’s dominion over the world and the way we each should have dominion over it and under him. We’re too often allergic to loving this world the way he did on the cross, yet we claim to hope for a world where that sacrificial love governs 100% of all actions.
Our Lord wants nothing more than to greet us in Paradise and say “‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’”[1] He literally died to make such a greeting possible. Therefore, consider what creatures or people our Sovereign God has delegated to each of us. What tasks or roles? Jobs or ministries? Do some of those things irritate and annoy us, as if we were allergic?
In aggregate, the church’s role is to have dominion over His entire creation, but not in the way the world would, exploiting everything for our own benefit and casting aside what doesn’t seem useful, but as a servant would. Like a God who abhors all our sin as if He were allergic but decided to cover our sin with His own precious blood. The same blood that covers us so that, like a compassionate Father, our Lord can gently say on a Sunday morning after a bad night of interrupted sleep:
“Be thankful you aren’t stuck in an ark for 150 days with thousands of animals.”
The holidays may be a joyous time of gathering with family and friends for many people, but for others it can be a lonely time, even if there are people around. This Sunday Share, telling the story of God proactively comforting an unlikely person in their loneliness, is from David Garrison, pastor of Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Madison Heights, Virginia. David also happens to be an old friend of mine, and I’m delighted to share this post on Genesis 16 – “The God Who Sees You” – from his Pastor’s Corner blog. If you’re ever in that part of Virginia, drop into his church!
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 