18/08/2026
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE going to the woods. I love witnessing God’s creation in the luscious mosses (there are too many to name!), I love witnessing the imposing height of the trees from below, and the changes in lights as they sway in the breeze. All in all, it is just so incredibly Zen.
You may have heard of forest bathing or ‘shinrin-yoku’ – this is the practice of immersing oneself in the serenity of woodland, connecting calmly and mindfully to the surrounding nature.
The profound spiritual, mental and physical benefits of being ‘at one’ with nature in this way are undisputed. But anyone who’s ever done any bushcraft will know just how unforgiving such terrain can really be!
In Bible times, the forest was as precious as it is today. It was a source of fuel for survival, and materials for building. The forest of Lebanon, famous for its majestic Cedars, was requested as the source of material for King Solomon to build the Temple and his royal palace – so named ‘The House of the Forest of Lebanon’ [1 Kings 10:21].
In this way, it also symbolised strength, durability and national pride & economy.
But the fire created by such wood is also used to symbolise divine judgment. The clearing or devouring of a forest is used by prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah as a metaphor for God’s judgment on prideful nations and wicked rulers [Isaiah 10:18-19]. In Ezekiel 20:46-48, God tells the forest of his fury, and his plans for judgment of the South by consuming all of its trees by fire. And in Zechariah 11:1-3 we again hear of a once impenetrable forest being destroyed, symbolising the total destruction of the land of Israel, a consequence of rejecting God.
David’s son, Absalom, was caught in a tree and subsequently killed. The rugged and untamed nature of the forest made for a tactical battle ground, but it was also fraught with danger – it was wild, perilous and brimming with hazards. We read of beasts of the forests, lions in particular, prowling and dangerous [Jeremiah 5:6]. Ezekiel 34:25 makes mention of a covenant of peace, that will make sleeping in the forests safe, suggesting that it was not already considered so.
In Isaiah 44:15 the wood of the forest is used by man as fuel for cooking, “But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.”
Yet we also recall David himself hiding from King Saul in the Forest of Hereth in 1 Samuel 22:5. Here it represented sanctuary, protection and refuge.
And the scriptures often depict nature responding to God, like ‘the trees of the forest singing for joy before the LORD’ in 1 Chronicles 16:33.
God has created all things and blessed us with them. It is our privilege not to abuse them, but to use them respectfully and to his honour and glory.
