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Roots, Branches, Trees and Fruit in the Bible and their Relevance
When I was twenty two I went with five friends to see the largest living things on the planet. No they weren't the 100ft, 150 tonne blue whales although that's on my list of things to see also! The record for it's height is 112 metres and the record weight is 1488 tonnes which is the equivalent of 248 elephants.
It's name is 'General Sherman' and Giant Sequoia trees can be found in Northern California not far from Yosemite National Park. One of these redwoods can provide as much wood as an acre of other typical trees in the area.
How far down down do it's roots go? I don't exactly, but I know they go down a seriously long way to support the tree standing above ground level. If the roots become severed or disconnected though, the tree will not continue to grow. Likewise if the roots do not receive sufficient water after a period of time it will start dying. We need to ask ourselves...
Am I firmly rooted in the word of God?
Am I bearing good fruit because Jesus said you shall know them by their fruit?
Am I renewing my mind by the washing of the word?
Am I connected to the true vine because Jesus said I AM the true vine?
Am I abiding with I AM?
Psalm 1 encourages us to meditate on the law of the Lord.
'But his delight is to meditate on the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in season, whose leaf also shall not whither; and whatever he does shall prosper. (v3)'
What does it mean to meditate on the law of the Lord?
- It doesn't mean passivity, emptying your mind, channeling or using induced breathing techniques etc.
- It does mean filling your mind on whatever is noble, just, holy, good and virtuous, see Phil 4:8 (how about putting this above your t.v or sound system and see if the two can be reconciled!!!)
- Joshua 1:8 reminds us to continually meditate on the word, day and night. How can we do that? The Jewish people still write the commandments on the doorposts and bind them to their foreheads! Can we learn anything from that? How about reading the word to ourselves, listening to it or writing it on the walls? Why Not?
What does it mean 'he shall be like a tree'?
In Scripture lush trees are often a symbol of blessing and spiritual prosperity. Psalm 92:12 -14 confirms that 'the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.' Those who planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing.'
The righteous are those RIGHT STANDING with God. We can't plant ourselves and we have to rely on and remain connected to the true vine! Notice the leaf of the righteous shall not whither as he is continually meditating on the law of the LORD.
There is a stark contrast in this Psalm comparing the way of the righteous and the end of the ungodly.
Psalm 1:4-5 'the ungodly are not so. But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.'
So where did it all go wrong? To answer that question we need to go back to the Garden of Eden, which incidentally was a real place where real events occurred, with real people and of which we have experienced the consequences.
What was Adam and Eve's problem? They ate from the wrong tree and we need to be careful that we don't eat from the wrong tree and produce bad fruit also. Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and then they tried to hide. Could they hide from God? Of course not. Why? Because God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent and their efforts to hide were futile. Does God still possess those three o words in His character? Yes! Hebrews 13:8 says 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever' and Malachi 3:6 says 'For I AM Yahweh, I do not change.'
That's the bad news, what's the good news. Well in the real garden with real people and real trees there was also another real tree called the tree of life. The good news is that one day all believers will eat from the tree of life (See Rev 22:2) and we won't have any concerns about the effects of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Notice that the tree of life bears fruit each month, it's always in season. We need to remain connected to the true vine to bear fruit and to be in season.
TO BEAR GOOD FRUITS WE NEED FIRM ROOTS
- Proverbs 12:3 'a man of righteousness is not established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous cannot be moved.'
- Proverbs 12:12 'the wicked covet the catch of the evil men, but the root of the righteous yields fruit.'
- Job 14:8-9 'Though its root may grow old in the earth and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth leaves like a plant.'
SCRIPTURE SPEAKS OF JESUS AS THE ROOT, THE ROD AND THE STEM OF JESSE. HE IS THE ROOT AND OFFSRING OF DAVID. HE IS ALSO THE BRANCH! THERE ARE MANY TITLES OF JESUS IN SCRIPTURE. ONE OF WHICH IS THE BRANCH.
Each of the Gospels emphasises different aspects of Jesus attributes.
Matthew - Kingship
Mark - Servant-hood
Luke - Man
John - Son of God
Matthew - Jer 23:5 'Behold the days are coming says the Lord, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness, a King shall reign and prosper.'
Mark - Zech 3:8 'Behold I am bringing forth My Servant the Branch.'
Luke - Zech 6:12 'Behold the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord.' (Jesus was raised in Nazareth and called a Nazarene which comes from the Hebrew root netzer meaning branch or shoot!)
John - Isa 4:2 'In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious.'
That's why in John 15 Jesus said I AM the vine and you are the branches. He is the Branch and we need abide, rest and remain connected to Him. He chose us also so that we can bear good fruit, remain connected to Him and become more like Him!
In chosing to remain connected to Him we need to read the Bible, pray, meditate on His word, fellowship and tell others (why be selfish and keep the amazing truth to yourselves?) Scripture is clear if we do these things we shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth fruit in its season, its leaf shall not whither and whatever we do shall prosper.
Amen! |
