We need to begin by looking at the context this verse is set in. This is part of the ceremony concerning the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival, which was instituted in grateful commemoration of the Israelites having securely dwelt in booths or tabernacles in the wilderness, was the third of the three great annual festivals, and, like the other two, it lasted a week. It began on the fifteenth day of the month, corresponding to the end of our September and beginning of October, which was observed as a Sabbath; and it could be celebrated only at the place of the sanctuary, offerings being made on the altar every day of its continuance. The Jews were commanded during the whole period of the festival to dwell in booths, which were erected on the flat roofs of houses, in the streets or fields; and the trees made use of are by some stated to be the citron, the palm, the myrtle, and the willow, while others maintain the people were allowed to take any trees they could obtain that were distinguished for verdure and fragrance. While the solid branches were reserved for the construction of the booths, the lighter branches were carried by men, who marched in triumphal procession, singing psalms and crying "Hosanna!" which signifies, "Save, we beseech thee!" (Psalm 118:15, 25, 26). It was a season of great rejoicing.—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
The feasts and festivals of Israel were community observances. The poor, the widow, the orphan, the Levite, and the sojourner or foreigner were invited to most of the feasts. (From Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
There is a good deal of symbolism associated with willows. The Westernized thought of weeping willows as a symbol of grief most likely originates from a Bible verse, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the willow-trees we hung up our harps.” (Psalm 137)
The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in Roman times. The Romans rewarded champions of the games and celebrated success in war with palm branches. Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul, as in the Palm Sunday festival celebrating the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. In Christian art, martyrs were usually shown holding palms representing the victory of spirit over flesh, and it was widely believed that a picture of a palm on a tomb meant that a martyr was buried there.
{The palm tree was symbolic of victory; the willow of weeping; the myrtle of joy; the olive of anointing.}
When you come into my presence the Lord said He wanted you to bring a palm branch in one hand and a willow in another.
Why would God have a person come with a palm branch in one hand and a weeping willow in the other?
He said come in and rejoice with both of them in your hand in my presence.
The palm branch represents the blessings of God as it stands upright into the sunshine with its arms waving up toward heaven in victory. It represents joy, prosperity and victory. [The palm is a figure of the righteous enjoying their deserved prosperity (Psalm 92:12), —New Unger's Bible Dictionary Palm branches are a symbol of victory (Rev. 7:9).—New Unger's Bible Dictionary]
The Willow represents the difficult times, the times of weeping. Its limbs are bent over and looks like it is crying. It represents sad times, tough times and trials. It represents hard days and difficulties. It represents adversities in life.
In the palm tree you have all of the good things of life. In the weeping willow tree you have all the bad things about life.
That is really what life is: everybody has palm days and willow days whether you are a Christian or not. Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean you will have a palm tree life all of the time. The truth is you are going to have to learn to worship with a palm and a willow. You are going to have to learn that there are good days and bad days. You are going to have to learn that there are days when everything seems to go right and there are days when everything seems to go wrong. You have to learn that there are days when everything is looking bright and there are days when everything looks dark and gloomy.
We are to bring them both as we worship and praise the Lord. We are to worship God no matter what kind of a day we are having weather it is a palm day or a willow day.
We are to worship and praise Him when things are going well in our lives and we are to worship and praise Him when things aren't going so good in our lives. We are to worship Him in the good times and we are to worship Him in the bad times. We are to worship Him when everything is bright and when everything is dark and gloomy.
He wants us to worship Him when we are healthy and prosperous and when everything seems to be going the way it should in our lives. But when you are going through the opposite and you are having a willow day, when you feel like giving up and it seems like everything is going wrong and nothing seems to be going right; He says bring that into my presence and rejoice in my presence.
We must praise the Lord even in hard times. The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk gave his remedy for times when everything is going wrong: Habakkuk 3:17-19 “17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls — 18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”
A modern rendition of this passage might read like this: “Though the economy is unstable, and unemployment is rising, though Islam may be growing, and terrorism is rampant, though the car is broken down and my wife is stranded downtown, though my kid just broke his arm and the medical insurance ran out, [and I might add, though the church is going through transition] yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior!”
Life is a mixture; it is a mixture between laughing and weeping, sorrow and joy, having plenty and going through struggles.
When things are going well you should rejoice. That is why it is a shame that some of you who have been in this service this morning with good healthy bodies and in your right mind and you've yet to rejoice; you've yet to get out of yourself enough to give God some worship and praise. On palm days we should be happy and rejoicing because of the blessings of the Lord. Is anybody having some palm days right now? Let me tell you that I am having a palm day today: I woke up breathing, I made it here safe without having an accident, I am married to a great and beautiful lady, I have three great children two great son-in-laws and a great daughter-in-law and the greatest grandson in all the world, my health is fairly good, I have food to eat and clothes to wear and a roof over my head; I am having a palm Sunday. I have something to rejoice about if nobody else does. You need to learn to rejoice because willow days are coming. You need to learn to rejoice when you are having a palm day. The palm tree in your life will someday become the willow tree in your live. They go back and forth.
The flood comes; the storm comes. Isaiah 15:7 – “Therefore the abundance they have gained, and what they have laid up, they will carry away to the Brook of the Willows.” If you have abundance; it doesn't matter how much you have stored up sooner or later you are going to have to deal with a willow tree. When you go through those difficult times he invites you to come to Him. Don't just come to him when you are on the mountain and have the palm branch but come to him when you have the willow and rejoice. We need to learn to come to him when everything isn't going the way we want it to in our lives and learn to rejoice.
You can't escape the willow. Who told you that if you just get saved everyday will be palm tree days? That's just not true. I don't care how much you fast or how much you pray there will be willow days. Just because you go through willow days doesn't mean you have failed God or that God is putting judgment on you. The truth is, we all will experience willow days. I don't care who you are you will experience palm days and you will experience weeping willow days. What you have to learn to do is be consistent in rejoicing.
I know what it is like to go from a palm experience to a willow experience. I know what it is like to be on a high because of a good service on Sunday but on Monday and sometimes on Sunday afternoon before service to meet difficult times and go into a weeping mode. God wants me to praise him then as much as I praised Him in Sunday morning service.
Just as sure as you have good days you will have bad days, that is life; that is reality.
Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean it will be all palm days there will be willow days in your life. All of our problems don't disappear when we become Christians. It is not all happy and easy as a Christian. There will be willow days.
I have gone from willow trees to palm trees in one day and from palm trees to willow trees in one day.
We are a phone call away; a doctor's report away, a knock on the door away from a willow day.
I want you to understand that if you have a willow branch in your hand that right now miracles can strike as suddenly as tragedies. Just as quickly as you can go from a palm to a willow you can go from a willow to a palm that is why we just need to learn to rejoice all the time.
Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Rejoice in the Lord always, not just when the sun is shining or you are having a palm day but rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice, even when you are having a willow day. The Message says it this way: “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!” And the NLT says it this way: “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!
If you don't learn to rejoice always it could shake your Christianity. You thought you would always have palm days. Don't forget that everybody has willows and palms. You haven't failed and you haven't backslid, welcome to life. You have to make sure that your worship is not tied to whether you are having a palm tree day or a willow day. What you have to do is tie your worship to God then it doesn't matter what kind of a day you are having. He is worthy of my praise and I will praise Him no matter what kind of a day I am having.
I've learned we make a big deal out of our willow days but we don't make a big deal out of our palm days. In my study I found out that the weeping willow is one of the fastest growing trees, that it sprouts easy. In fact, they grow so easily that oftentimes they originate from a broken branch lying in the soil. The average tree grows from 6 to 8 feet per year. It seems easy for us to magnify the bad times in our lives; the willow times in our lives are easy to grow and it takes time and work to grow the palm tree. If you get up with a headache you will tell 50 people by 10:00 o'clock in the morning. Not many got up this morning and said, "guess what I don't have a headache." All we do is blow up our willow days and forget to rejoice on our palm days. Listen, you have something to praise God for today.
Think about Elijah: he had a palm day experience on Mt. Carmel {1 Kings 18} when the Lord answered by fire but he had a willow day when Jezebel threatened his life {1 Kings 19:2}. He had a willow day when he was in the wilderness and wanted to die {1 Kings 19:4} but a palm day when he heard the still small voice of God speaking {1 Kings 19:12}.
What about Job: he had a palm life with the blessings of God but had a willow experience when he started losing everything he had {Job chapter 1}. But no matter what was going on in his life whether it was a palm day or a willow day Job learned to worship and praise the Lord. Even after he had lost everything this is what he did: “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:20).
Hezekiah was having a willow day when he was sick and then he learned from the prophet Isaiah that he was going to die {2 Kings 20:1} but he had a palm day when he went to the Lord in prayer and Isaiah came back with the message that he was going to live {2 Kings 20:5-7}.
Jesus and the disciples were having a palm day when they got into the boat and started across the dead sea but it quickly turned into a willow day when the storm arose {Mark 4:35-37} but just as fast as the storm arose, just as fast as the willow tree came, the palm day came when Jesus rebuked the storm and the wind and waves calmed down {Mark 4:39}.
Jesus had a Palm Sunday where everybody was praising Him and wanting Him to be the King to bring deliverance {John 12:13} but he had a willow day when they hung Him on a cross but a palm day was on the way and three days later he arose from the dead.
I wonder if there is somebody here today who is ready to come with a palm and with a willow and rejoice in the presence of the Lord. Did anybody come today to thank him and rejoice? You can find people who will grumble all the time. Very seldom will you find people who want to rejoice.
Psalm 34:1 – “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” This should be true for the palm days and the willow days in our lives.
Psalm 103: 1-4 – “(1) Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! (2) Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: (3) Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, (4) Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, (5) Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”
Psalm 30:5 – “…Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Weeping may be for a while but joy, my palm tree, is coming in the morning.
Psalm 115:18 – “But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.” From this day forward I am going to praise the Lord. It doesn’t matter what is happening; it doesn’t matter what I am going through or how I feel or how I am treated, from this day forward I am making a declaration that I am going to praise the Lord.
Whenever we bring our willow branches and our palm branches and begin to praise the Lord we will begin to experience victory:
Numbers 10:9 - "When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.” God says that in response to the trumpet blast [which is praise], He will bring the victory.
Judges 1:1-2 –“1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, "Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?" 2 And the Lord said, "Judah {which means praise} shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand." Judah which means “praise” was to go first, leading Israel into Canaan, into victory, into blessing. If you will come today and bring the willow branch and the palm branch the Lord is going to bring victory into your life.
Psalm 149:6-9 – “6 Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands—7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 8 to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains, 9 to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!” (NLT) God has given us a twofold combination with which to defeat our enemies: the praise of God in our mouths, and the word of God in our hands!
Let’s rejoice and praise the Lord right now; the devil didn’t expect you to do that he thought you would go throughout the day weeping.
Take that good thing and take that bad thing and let's come into his presence today and worship and rejoice. Somebody needs to rejoice today. Bring your palm branch and bring your willow branch and rejoice today.
