In the land of Israel there are many palm trees. The Scripture tells us that, “The righteous shall 1flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (Psa. 92:12) 1pāraḥ: to break out with purpose. One outstanding characteristic of the palm is its straightness, and this may be one thing to which the Psalmist has reference. Even at heights of 60 to 80 feet, the Israeli palm trees remain remarkably strait and upright.
“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and UPRIGHT; he feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1) The idea of uprightness in scripture is principally conveyed by two Hebrew words, “yashar” and “tam.” Yashar: straightness, tam: perfection or completion. God sets the example for our uprightness “The path of the righteous is level; you, the UPRIGHT ONE, make the way of the righteous SMOOTH.” (Isa. 26:7)
It all started in the beginning, “Truly, this only I have found: That GOD MADE MAN UPRIGHT, But they have sought out many schemes.” (Eccl. 7:29) Adam and Eve, who were representative of all mankind. Genesis 3 makes clear that they exercised their leadership by leading us into sin. In so doing, they led us all to fall from THE UPRIGHTNESS GOD CREATED IN US. Let’s remember this,
“HE WHO WALKS IN HIS UPRIGHTNESS FEARS THE LORD…” (Prov. 14:2)
-Bill Stockham