Isaiah 44:4

And they shall spring up as among the grass

Springing up as grass

R.., more accurately, omits “as”; but the text is unquestionably corrupt. There is no doubt that the LXX. preserves the true reading: “spring up as grass among the waters.” (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)

As willows by the water-courses

The willow

Hebrews ‘arab, a tree growing on the banks of streams in Palestine, Egypt, and Babylon (Leviticus 23:40; Job 40:22; Psalms 137:2). It grows to a considerable size, and was found generally in groves. It has, indeed, been pointed out that the tree now called ’arab by the Arabs is not a willow but a species of poplar (Populus Euphratica)

As, however, this tree is confined to hot countries like those on the lower Euphrates, it seems more likely that the name was originally that of the willow, and that it was subsequently transferred to the poplar. The Arabic translation of the Bible renders the Hebrews ‘arab by saphsaph, which means “willow,” or, according to the Talmud, a species of the willow growing by brooks. (J. Macpherson, M. A.)

Willows

(Hebrews ‘arabim) are mentioned five times in the Bible, always associated with rivers or watercourses. The willow (Salix) is represented in Palestine by several species, though it is by no means a conspicuous tree in any part of the country. The weight of authority is decidedly in favour of the willow, which though not a conspicuous tree would be doubtless associated in the minds of the inhabitants with pleasurable feelings, as testifying to the presence of the much-prized water. (W. Houghton, M. A.)

The “willow”:

Branches of the garab, which R. Kiepert brought with him, according to Wetzstein’s indication of the place, and which O. Kersten, the secretary of the Imperial German Consulate, sent to the Royal Herbarium at Berlin, show that the garab is the Oriental poplar, Populus Euphratica (Olivier), whose undergrowth may easily on superficial observation be confounded with willow bushes; but it is distinguished from the willow by its leaves, which, although small, are almost quite smooth-edged, and not saw-like. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)

The growth of the willow:

In the Duke of Bedford’s willow garden was a willow which grew in twenty years to the height of between 60 and 70 feet. Four feet from the ground it was 7 feet in circumference. A small cutting grew to the height of 25 feet in four years Fuller says. “In the isle of Ely where willows flourish, there is a proverb to this effect, The profit by willows will buy the owner a horse, before that by other trees will pay for the saddle.”

Willows by the water-courses

Every year we welcome the opening buds of the willow with their silky down, as among the first indications of approaching spring. The children delight to pluck off the shooting twigs, in their rambles in the meadows in search of early flowers. They call them palm branches, though they have little in common with the palm save that willow branches as well as palm branches were carried in the hand of the Jews on their great festival. There are many varieties of the willow, distributed over all parts of the globe, but they are most common in the temperate and sub-tropical regions, where they form a pleasing feature in the landscape, especially in the vicinity of ponds and rivers. The Jewish exiles in the watered plains of Babylon were painfully familiar with the willows, for on their branches they hung their silent harps and wept as they thought of far-away Zion (Psalms 137:1.). Yet the prophet who came to his countrymen with the cheering promise of Divine pardon and speedy restoration to their native land, found in these same willows a beautiful illustration of the happy change that would be produced and the blessings that would speedily follow their restoration to Divine favour and Fatherland.

1. The rapid and luxuriant growth of the willow is suggestive. A mere stake driven into the ground in the vicinity of water where there is plenty of moisture will take root and bud into leaf and branch in a remarkably short space of time. We are familiar with the immense crop of long and slender twigs that shoot up in the summer months and are yearly cut for basket-making in the osier beds by the banks of our rivers. A well-watered soil seems to be the one thing necessary to ensure the life and growth of the willow. In the winter the pollards stand out in the landscape, gaunt and desolate, like old and rotten sign-posts, and the osier beds look like a muddled mass of chopped root stumps. But in summer there is a perfect transformation from apparent death into new life, with graceful and luxuriant growth and greenness. Now, it is winter with men when they live apart from God and strangers to the blessings and comforts of the Gospel. But as soon as men are brought under the gracious influence of the Gospel of Christ, and come into touch with the “river of the water of life,” all things are changed in them and for them. And the beauty and the joy for us is that so much of this change comes quickly. Certainly, for some of the choicest experiences of the Divine life the Christian has to wait. But very many of the comforts and beauties of the Gospel come to the Christian speedily.

2. The willow is capable of service. The wood of the willow is not to be compared to that of the oak and the other slow-growing forest trees. And yet there is a special power and service in the willow which make its cultivation important and of commercial value. Indeed, no growth in nature is without this capacity for service when it falls into the hands of those who know how to use it. You know what power may be found in the delicate pore of such grasses as the flax and hemp when it is properly prepared and spun into cordage. And the slender twigs of the willow, though so rapid in their growth, are yet so tough and flexible that they are extensively used in basket-making, which is, perhaps, the oldest industry in the world. The wood of the larger kinds of willow also is so tough and durable as well as flexible that the ancients employed it in the making of shields for the soldier and warships for the sailor. While the steamer has largely superseded the sailing boat, the paddle-blades of steamers are still made of willow-wood, and if shields have been superseded, the cricket fields of the world still make a large demand upon the willow for the best bats. Even more surprising is it to find that the most suitable charcoal for making gunpowder is procured from the willow-wood, so that even the slender willow, the whip and plaything of the child, can become a powerful force in war. And as soon as men come under the influence of the Gospel of Christ they become serviceable as they never were before. Even the youngest Christians are powers for good in many ways in all our Churches. While there are some things for which we need the firmness, wisdom, and experience of years, we have almost endless capacity and readiness for service in the young Christians. (J. Menzies.)