Topical Bible: Cedar: Figurative

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The cedar tree, known for its majestic height, strength, and durability, is frequently used in the Bible as a symbol of power, nobility, and beauty. Its figurative use extends beyond its physical attributes to convey spiritual and moral truths.

1. Symbol of Strength and Majesty: The cedar tree is often employed in Scripture to represent strength and majesty. In Psalm 92:12, the righteous are compared to the cedar: "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon." Here, the cedar symbolizes the enduring and flourishing nature of those who live in righteousness, suggesting stability and resilience.

2. Representation of Pride and Loftiness: The cedar's towering presence also serves as a metaphor for pride and loftiness. In Ezekiel 31:3, Assyria is likened to a cedar in Lebanon: "Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest; it towered on high, its top among the clouds." This imagery highlights the nation's grandeur and subsequent downfall due to its pride, serving as a warning against arrogance.

3. Illustration of God's Judgment: The cedar is used to depict the judgment of God against the proud and mighty. In Isaiah 2:12-13, the prophet declares, "For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up." The cedar here symbolizes those who exalt themselves, and its felling represents divine judgment and the humbling of the proud.

4. Symbol of Restoration and Blessing: Conversely, the cedar also signifies restoration and blessing. In Isaiah 41:19, God promises to plant cedars in the desert as a sign of His provision and renewal: "I will plant cedars in the desert, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees; I will set pines in the wasteland, firs, and cypresses together." This imagery conveys hope and the transformative power of God's blessing.

5. Metaphor for Beauty and Glory: The cedar's beauty and grandeur are used to describe the splendor of God's creation and His people. In Song of Solomon 5:15, the beloved is described with imagery of the cedar: "His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, as majestic as the cedars." This comparison underscores the beauty and strength of the beloved, reflecting the glory and excellence attributed to the cedar.

Throughout the Bible, the cedar tree serves as a powerful metaphor, illustrating themes of strength, pride, judgment, restoration, and beauty. Its use in Scripture provides a rich tapestry of meaning, drawing on the tree's natural characteristics to convey profound spiritual truths.

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Psalm 72:16
There shall be an handful of corn in the earth on the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
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Psalm 92:12
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
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Isaiah 2:13
And on all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and on all the oaks of Bashan,
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Isaiah 14:8
Yes, the fir trees rejoice at you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since you are laid down, no feller is come up against us.
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Jeremiah 22:7
And I will prepare destroyers against you, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down your choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
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Ezekiel 31:3
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
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Zechariah 11:2
Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O you oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
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Library

The Figurative Language of Scripture.
... to a word or sentence turned from its literal signification to a figurative sense. ...
that of Jehoash: "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxxv the figurative language.htm

Whether There Can be any Suitable Cause for the Sacraments of the ...
... The figurative reason was that the Divine and human natures in Christ were ... Now this
living sparrow, together with the cedar-wood and scarlet or cochineal, and ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether there can be any 2.htm

The Hebrew Sages and their Proverbs
... Poetical in structure, terse, often figurative or epigrammatic, the proverb was
well ... (33) And he spoke of different varieties of trees, from the cedar that is ...
/.../the origin and permanent value of the old testament/x the hebrew sages and.htm

The Baptist's Inquiry and Jesus' Discourse Suggested Thereby.
... John was no reed, but was rather, as Lange says, "a cedar half uprooted by the ... It
stands in figurative contrast to heaven and indicates that Capernaum shall be ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xlv the baptists inquiry and.htm

Of the Incapacity of an Unregenerate Person for Relishing the ...
... and prophetical book naturally leads us to consider these merely as figurative phrases,
which ... most delicious garden, or in a palace of marble and cedar, to set ...
/.../practical discourses on regeneration/discourse v of the incapacity.htm

The Greater Prophets.
... An allegory is a narrative of a real event expressed in figurative language; that ...
are Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh; the highest branch of the cedar is Jehoiachin ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxii the greater prophets.htm

On the Interpretation of Scripture
... Christian scheme of redemption has been staked on two figurative expressions of
St ... mansion to repeat the denunciations of the prophet about cedar and vermillion ...
/.../on the interpretation of scripture.htm

Solomon's Temple Spiritualized
... Indeed, the whole, in a manner, was a typical and a figurative thing ... 2. These steps,
whether cedar, gold, or stone, yet that which added to their adornment was ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/solomons temple spiritualized.htm

The Holy City; Or, the New Jerusalem:
... But then, saith God, 'I will plant in the wilderness,' that is, in the church that
is now bewildered, 'the cedar, the shittah tree, the myrtle, and the oil tree ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the holy city or the.htm

Mr. Bunyan's Last Sermon:
... AND A. SKETCH OF HIS LIFE, TIMES, AND CONTEMPORARIES. VOLUME THIRD. ALLEGORICAL,
FIGURATIVE, AND SYMBOLICAL. EDITED BY. GEORGE OFFOR, ESQ. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/mr bunyans last sermon .htm