Deforestation has been going on in our country since 1963. By 2050, twenty-three million acres will be gone, replaced by urban sprawl. Trees have always been a blessing to creation, cleaning air, providing oxygen, and providing medicinal oils and ointments. It has been documented that cities containing more trees have far less violence. To grow a softwood pine forest takes 20 years; to grow a hardwood forest takes up to 70 years. When people disobey God's commandments, God's Word indicates that blighted trees is a resultant curse. In our recent national history, the Chestnut, Dutch Elm, Butternut, and Red Pine have all suffered blight. In the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, trees, thorns and briars have also depicted people, illustrating how a remnant will be spared from annihilation. Whether we speak of forests as literal or symbolic, we cannot afford to take our forests for granted.