From the stump
Tree recovery in Niger and the Hope of Isaiah 11:1
The Season of Creation invites us to not only meditate on the beauty of God’s creation, but also on the resilience and renewal that the Earth reveals to us when we honor it. One of the most powerful images in Scripture for such renewal comes from Isaiah 11:1 – a vision of hope where life springs forth from what seemed dead: a shoot from a stump.
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. -Isaiah 11:1 NRSV
In the original Hebrew, the word for the tree in this passage is believed by many scholars to be “elon” or “alon,” often translated as oak or terebinth.* Though different species, and difficult to distinguish from one another, the trees are among the only relatively tall trees in Israel. Both are renowned for their deep roots and their ability to regenerate, even when cut down. The tree becomes a metaphor for the Davidic line – once seemingly destroyed, yet still alive at the roots, awaiting the emergence of new life in the form of the Messiah.
Remarkably, this same kind of resurrection from stumps is happening today in a place you might not expect – the dry, desert-prone regions of Niger, in West Africa.
Over the last few decades, farmers in Niger have discovered a natural and sustainable way to reverse deforestation and desertification. Decades of drought, land-clearing, and demand for firewood had left Niger nearly treeless. Government efforts to reforest in the 1970s failed. Sixty million trees were planted; fewer than 20 percent survived.
And then, in 1983, a group of men who had left Niger for work during the dry season did not return in time to remove trunks and seedlings from their fields before the rainy season began. The fields had to be planted. Out of time and options, they planted around the sprouts. They noticed something unexpected: instead of hindering crop growth, crops planted near young trees seemed to grow better and faster. The following year, they left the seedlings, and it happened again.
Other nearby farmers took notice and stopped clearing their fields. Now this technique, known as Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), has brought back over 200 million trees across five million hectares of farmland in Niger. These trees are not only restoring the soil and providing shade but also improving crop yields and offering timber and firewood – all without the planting of a single seed, simply protecting the root systems of native trees already present underground – invisible but alive. Left undisturbed, these roots send up new shoots, regenerating trees from what had appeared to be lifeless stumps. Falling leaves fertilize and keep the soil moist. The vegetation blocks sand pushing in from the Sahara and protects crops from wind.
This “resurrection forestry” reminds us that even in times of devastation – ecological, personal, or spiritual – life can spring anew when we care for what remains at the root. God is still at work in the stumps. The Spirit is still moving underground, nurturing new shoots – physical shoots – and shoots of justice, peace, and restoration. As we mark the Season of Creation, Isaiah’s words and Niger’s story can inspire us to see the sacred in the soil, the holy in the hidden, and the hope that grows from what seems cut down.
Pay attention, protect the roots, be tender with what remains, expectant of what may rise.
Nancy+
* The oak tree (Quercus calliprinos) was the first tree Abram encountered when he entered the land (Gen. 12:6). The “Oak of Mamre” marked one of his important settlements (now Hebron), where, among other events, he hosted the three angels who told of Isaac’s birth. Abraham buried Sarah in a cave near here. Later, he, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah were buried here as well. The place is now known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Many famous trees in the Hebrew Bible are terebinths (“Pistacia palaestina” related to the pistachio tree). The battle of David and Goliath took place in the Valley of Elah (1 Sam. 17), likely named for the large number of elah trees that grew here in the past.
Many thanks to the following articles which inspired this writing:
https://israelbiblicalstudies.com/blog/category/holy-land-studies/two-biblical-trees
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TQIhwrGsFUNZ_uCM30CjXAodg1J-wEKB/view (Season of Creation Children’s Resources)