Trees of Righteousness
In Scripture trees can represent individual people or nations. The children of Israel are special trees chosen for ruler-ship with the Messiah. Part of the prophecy of the Messiah was that he would prepare these trees by his ministry, inspired by the Holy Spirit. His ministry was “ To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3.
Centuries later John the Baptist warned these trees of the danger of rejecting the Messiah. “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:8-12. We must bring forth fruit by the Holy Spirit so that we are not cast aside and burned up.
Jesus continued the warning. “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:18-21. We must keep the commandments. This is a sign that we are good trees. Just because we are Israelites we cannot claim eternal life. God can raise up children to Abraham from the stones of the ground. We must be good trees, bringing forth good fruit.
The good fruit of the Spirit is mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25. We must ask the Lord to forgive us our sins and believe that his death on the cross cleanses us of our sins. Also we must ask him to send the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts. Then we will bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. We will be trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.
We live in troubled times. By the time you read this article the U.S. election will be over and the winners may or may not be known. Many people will be wondering and worried about what is coming next year. No doubt the attacks on our Israel people will continue next year, with continual propaganda against our history and the commandments in the Bible. In the end we shall win because God is on our side and he will glorify Israel through the ruler-ship of Jesus Christ. Jesus said our hearts should not be troubled. Our eyes should be on his kingdom and his righteousness. We must do our part in promoting his righteousness by making sure we are trees of righteousness. We should have love, joy, and peace by the Holy Spirit, not hatred, despair, and turmoil. Many people will descend into madness next year, but we can have the peace of God ruling in our hearts. Pray for your nation but trust him for his plan. At the time of John the Baptist the people did not understand God’s plan. They did not know of the Lord’s miracles, his death on the cross, his resurrection and ascension, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the growth of the early church. When John the Baptist preached, they could not have guessed at what was coming. We are in the same condition today. But we know that God has a plan.
