"The righteous are planted in the house of God, like Tamar (the palm tree)."

"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God."
— Psalm 92:12–13

                                                               Photos of Solomon’s temple interior

 

The inner sanctuary was carved with palm trees, flowers, and cherubim.

The Bible often personifies trees.

Especially those used in the temple construction or in sacrificial rituals—they were never used without significance.
Among these, the cedar is most renowned.
Not only is it a superior and precious wood, but its name implies that it carries a hundred different fragrances.
Its strong scent was said to prevent insects and animals from entering the temple.
Another important tree is the cypress (pine)—a tall, straight tree that stays green even in winter

and is excellent for building.

                                    Cedar Tree                                                                                    | Cypress Tree

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Today’s meditation focuses on the palm tree, which appears in Jesus’ genealogy, is carved into the temple,

and symbolizes the righteous.

Tamar — Tamar (תָּמָר, Tamar) = Palm tree
From the same root: Tomer = palm tree, or column/pillar.

There are three women named Tamar in the Bible:

1. The daughter-in-law of Judah
2. The daughter of David who was raped by her half-brother Amnon
3. Tamar, daughter of Absalom, David’s son.

All three lived difficult and painful lives.
Yet Psalm 92 compares the righteous to the palm tree and the cedar.
Looking into the lives of these Tamars may show us what it means to be righteous.

                                                                                           Palm = Date Tree

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The palm tree mentioned in the Bible refers to the date palm in Israel.
It grows even in deserts. Its fruit ripens under the scorching sun and becomes sweet like honey, yielding a rich harvest.
Why does God use “Tamar” (Palm) to send us a message?

The name Tamar belongs to a woman with a calling—to bear a child for the tribe of Judah, the line of David.
All three Tamars are connected to the house of Judah, the royal line through whom the seed of the woman would come.
When Judah wandered away from his brothers, it was Tamar, his daughter-in-law, who risked everything to preserve the lineage.
She cast off her widow’s clothes, disguised herself as a prostitute, and conceived by Judah—fulfilling her mission.

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The palm tree must shed its outer bark in order to grow.
Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, also shed her garments of mourning.
What’s intriguing is: How did she know the Messiah would come from Judah?
That prophecy was spoken by Jacob on his deathbed.
According to the law, once a husband dies, a woman is free to remarry.
Yet Tamar deliberately risked her life, choosing disgrace to carry out her mission.

How could she do that unless God had revealed it to her?
She disappears from the biblical narrative after fulfilling her role—
but she is forever recorded in the genealogy of Jesus.

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What does the palm tree symbolize in Scripture, and why was it used to decorate the temple?

The palm tree has extraordinary vitality.
Even in typhoons, it doesn’t break because of its deep roots.
After surviving a storm, it grows taller and stronger.
Even if its stump is burned, it sprouts anew.

For this reason, the palm tree came to symbolize Jewish resistance against Rome.
Despite its strength, it has one fatal weakness:
If the topmost shoot, the growing point, is cut off, the tree dies within a week.
This growth point is called "kippah".
The Jewish skullcap derives its name from this very concept.
The palm tree that symbolizes the righteous gave its name to the kippah.

                                       dying palm tree                                                                              kippah

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The palm tree continuously grows upward and sends out branches.
Its depth of root supports its height and the heavy clusters of fruit it bears.

In the Song of Songs, the bride is described as a palm tree—
as if surrounded by countless children clinging to her branches:

 

"Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.’" 
(Song of Songs 7:7–8)

 

 

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But if the growth point is damaged, the palm easily dies.
Like Tamar, the daughter of David, who was born a princess,
but fell into shame after being raped by her half-brother Amnon.

Unlike Judah’s Tamar, who chose to remove her widow’s garments,
David’s Tamar had her royal robe torn away by force—
as if her growth point had been shattered.

                                                                                   Amnon and Tamar

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Around the righteous, Satan prowls like a lion—seeking to strip away
the white linen garments Christ has given us.
We must be ever watchful.
Only Christ deserves our complete trust and rest.

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The righteous are compared to the palm tree,
but it is Christ the Rock who gives them their foundation.
The Holy Spirit now dwells in us,
because the Son, once in flesh, died and rose again
and now lives among us as righteousness.

When Jesus walked the earth in the flesh,
He could not dwell simultaneously in every child of God.
But now, having finished His work,
He has sent His Spirit to dwell with each of us.

Why does He come?
To reveal the Father’s love for His Son.

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“About righteousness: because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.”
(John 16:10)

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.
I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known,
in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
(John 17:25–26)

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We are the Church built on the Rock of Christ.
We are the branches abiding in the Vine.
Anything else is unlawful.
Only through faith in Jesus Christ are we saved.
No other name has been given for salvation.

Absalom rebelled against his anointed father David,
seeking to be king by his own might.
How then did his daughter Tamar live?

Scripture does not say.
In Chronicles, Rehoboam married Absalom’s daughter, but her name is given as Maacah—
likely Absalom’s granddaughter, as Israel called both granddaughters and daughters the same.

I wonder—was Absalom’s Tamar a proud woman?
She had always lived as royalty.
With both her grandfather and father kings, she had never known humility.

Like a palm tree that only grows taller,
she may have been in danger of being cut down with the axe.
When Absalom’s rebellion ended in disaster,
her royal status likely perished with it.

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Today, I briefly meditated on Tamar and the palm tree.
Which part of the palm tree do I resemble?