Every Stone Speaks

Seeds, trees and flowers · Lessons in real photos

Plants and Trees in the Bible

From a tiny seed to a giant cedar, the Bible uses plants to show us what God is like and how His kingdom grows.

The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12 (BSB)

God made every plant and saw that it was good. Look at each photo, read the verse and talk about what it shows.

  1. The mustard seed
  2. The olive tree
  3. Zacchaeus’ tree
  4. The kernel of wheat
  5. The flowers of the field
  6. The cedar of Lebanon

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Black mustard in bloom. It grows from one of the tiniest seeds.
Black mustard in bloom. It grows from one of the tiniest seeds. Photo: Vinayaraj, CC BY-SA 4.0

The mustard seed

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Matthew 13:31-32 (BSB)

A mustard seed is smaller than a crumb, but it grows into a big plant where birds can rest. Jesus said God’s kingdom is like that. It started small, with Jesus and a few friends, and now it has spread all over the world.

Talk about itWhat small thing could you do for God today? How might God make it grow?

Old olive trees in a field on the Greek island of Naxos. Olive trees can live for hundreds of years.
Old olive trees in a field on the Greek island of Naxos. Olive trees can live for hundreds of years. Photo: Bouke ten Cate, CC BY 4.0

The olive tree

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in the loving devotion of God forever and ever.

Psalm 52:8 (BSB)

Olive trees are tough. They live for hundreds of years and keep giving olives and oil. David said that trusting God made him like an olive tree, strong and full of life.

Talk about itWhat helps you stay strong and keep trusting God, even in hard times?

A boy climbs a sycamore-fig tree in Ashkelon, Israel. This is the kind of tree Zacchaeus climbed.
A boy climbs a sycamore-fig tree in Ashkelon, Israel. This is the kind of tree Zacchaeus climbed. Photo: Ian Scott, CC BY-SA 2.0

Zacchaeus’ tree

So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way.

Luke 19:4 (BSB)

Zacchaeus was a short tax collector, and the crowd was in the way. So he climbed a tree to see Jesus. Jesus stopped, looked up and said He was coming to Zacchaeus’ house that day. Jesus came to look for people who were lost.

Talk about itZacchaeus really wanted to see Jesus. What can you do to get to know Jesus better?

Ripe ears of wheat, ready for harvest.
Ripe ears of wheat, ready for harvest. Photo: ㇹヮィㇳ, CC BY 2.0

The kernel of wheat

Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.

John 12:24 (BSB)

A kernel of wheat has to be planted in the ground before it can grow into a plant with many new kernels. Jesus said this about Himself. He would die and be buried, and then rise again to bring new life to many people.

Talk about itHow is a seed in the ground like Jesus in the tomb?

Red anemones bloom across a field in Israel in late winter.
Red anemones bloom across a field in Israel in late winter. Photo: מרוה עסאקלה, CC BY 2.5

The flowers of the field

And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.

Matthew 6:28-29 (BSB)

Jesus pointed to the wildflowers on the hills and said that God dresses them more beautifully than King Solomon in all his royal clothes. If God takes care of flowers, He will take care of you.

Talk about itWhat do you worry about sometimes? How do the flowers help you trust God?

A huge old cedar in the Cedars of God forest in Lebanon.
A huge old cedar in the Cedars of God forest in Lebanon. Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0

The cedar of Lebanon

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Psalm 92:12 (BSB)

Cedars of Lebanon grow tall and strong and live for a very long time. King Solomon used cedar wood to build God’s temple. The Bible says people who love God will grow like a cedar: steady, strong and still growing.

Talk about itHow can you keep growing in your love for God, like a tree that keeps growing?

Before you go

Growing like a tree

Psalm 1 says a person who loves God’s word is like a tree planted by streams of water. Its leaves stay green and it gives fruit in its season. Reading the Bible, praying and following Jesus help you grow like that.

Talk about itWhich plant on this page is most like you right now: a small seed, a growing tree or a field of flowers? Why?

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