Ezekiel 47:12 - "By the river on its bank, on one side
and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food Their leaves will not
wither and their fruit will not fail They will bear every month because their
water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their
leaves for healing."
In chapter 47 of Ezekiel it speaks of a river that flows forth from the house
of the Lord, and by this point in the chapter there are trees growing on either
side of the river. Now these aren't your normal tree. Notice, their leaves do
not wither and their fruit, which they bear every month, will not fail. They
bear in every month because they're fed by the water that comes from the
sanctuary.
This tree, I think, is a picture of the christian life. It says in Psalm 1:1-3 - "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers."
The person who does not keep company with sinners and delights in Gods Word, we're told here, is like a tree planted by the water. We need to delight in the Word of God. Not simply read it out of obligation, but growth and fruit come when we delight in His Word.
Also in Jeremiah 17:7-8 it says - "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."
This tree, I think, is a picture of the christian life. It says in Psalm 1:1-3 - "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers."
The person who does not keep company with sinners and delights in Gods Word, we're told here, is like a tree planted by the water. We need to delight in the Word of God. Not simply read it out of obligation, but growth and fruit come when we delight in His Word.
Also in Jeremiah 17:7-8 it says - "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."
Remember, the water which feeds us "flows from the sanctuary." Even
in a dry and weary land, when things don't really seem to be working out right,
we have no need to be anxious, and we should not cease to yield fruit. But
notice, this verse doesn't say "shouldn't be anxious" it says
"it will not be anxious" and it doesn't say "shouldn't
cease to yield fruit" it says "it will not cease to yield
fruit." This is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is the
Lord. This tells me that if I really trust God, and if God is really my trust,
then when things aren't really going the way I would like, I will not be
anxious. And even when I don't feel on fire for the Lord, I won't cease to
yield fruit. I don't know about you, but this is a challenge for me. Not just
to say that I trust the Lord, but to live it. When heat comes, or in the year
of drought, if we're firmly planted by the water, firmly rooted and now being
built up in Him (Colossians 2:7) then rather than being anxious, we'll have the
peace of God which surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7) ruling within us. The
way I react to any given situation shows whether or not I trust the Lord.
That's the man who trusts the Lord, but in the verses before that, verses 5 and 6, it talks about the man who trusts in mankind rather than God. Jeremiah 17:5-6 says - "Thus says the Lord, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant.""
Praise the Lord that we can trust in someone higher than ourselves. That rather than being a dry bush in the desert we can be a tree that constantly bears fruit because it's constantly drinking the living water that Jesus talked about in John 4:14 - "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." This water that Jesus offers is what enables us to bear fruit. And the fruit that we bear is used to edify others.
In 2 Timothy 4:2 we're told to "be ready in season and out of season". Like this tree, we need to bear fruit at all times. In the middle of harvest, when we're pumped up about the gospel, when we've just listened to a sermon that's fired us up for God, but we also need to be ready out of season, in the dead of winter, when we're discouraged, faint in heart, when we feel like God is a million miles away, we need to be ready to bear fruit. I wouldn't expect to go to an apple orchard in the dead of winter and find any fruit on the trees. But as Christians, in whatever season of our lives we are right now we need to be bearing fruit. Because our water, our source of spiritual life flows from the sanctuary of God.
That's the man who trusts the Lord, but in the verses before that, verses 5 and 6, it talks about the man who trusts in mankind rather than God. Jeremiah 17:5-6 says - "Thus says the Lord, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant.""
Praise the Lord that we can trust in someone higher than ourselves. That rather than being a dry bush in the desert we can be a tree that constantly bears fruit because it's constantly drinking the living water that Jesus talked about in John 4:14 - "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." This water that Jesus offers is what enables us to bear fruit. And the fruit that we bear is used to edify others.
In 2 Timothy 4:2 we're told to "be ready in season and out of season". Like this tree, we need to bear fruit at all times. In the middle of harvest, when we're pumped up about the gospel, when we've just listened to a sermon that's fired us up for God, but we also need to be ready out of season, in the dead of winter, when we're discouraged, faint in heart, when we feel like God is a million miles away, we need to be ready to bear fruit. I wouldn't expect to go to an apple orchard in the dead of winter and find any fruit on the trees. But as Christians, in whatever season of our lives we are right now we need to be bearing fruit. Because our water, our source of spiritual life flows from the sanctuary of God.
John 7:37-38 - "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"
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