The watcher's proclamation continues: But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its lot be with the animals of the field, grazing on the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a human, and let an animal's mind be given to him, till seven times pass over him. The crucial phrase: leave the stump of its roots. The tree is not to be uprooted and destroyed completely; its roots remain in the earth. This preservation of the roots suggests that the judgment is not final destruction but temporary humiliation from which recovery is possible. The binding with a band of iron and bronze establishes restraint; the tree is captured and constrained. The command to let the tree experience weather (dew of heaven) and grass (like animals of the field) suggests that the tree will be reduced to a state of vegetative existence, with no dominion or greatness. Yet the preservation of roots foreshadows eventual restoration.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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