Trees of Righteousness, or Reeds Shaken by the Wind?

When John the Baptist was in prison, Yeshua asked the multitudes, “What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?” (Matt. 11:7).

John the Baptist was anointed with the spirit and power of Elijah. John’s job was to call God’s people to repent, and thereby prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. We need that same spirit and power of Elijah to call God’s people to repent, and thereby prepare the way for the return of the Messiah.

Calling God’s people to repentance is one of the most important works we can do, because this prepares the way for the return of the Messiah.

God’s people are supposed to obey God’s commandments. Some of God’s commandments are being disobeyed by His people. God’s people need to repent and learn how to obey God’s commandments. Calling God’s people to repentance is important.

There are other good works that are also important: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, evangelizing the lost, etc. These things are important, and if more of God’s people would wake up and repent and obey the Lord, the Holy Spirit would lead more individual disciples to do some of these things.

The main reason we do not see more believers doing these things is because so many believers have drifted away from the Lord and fallen asleep in the lap of the world, like Samson fell asleep in the lap of Delilah.

Falling into a spiritual slumber does not happen suddenly. It usually starts by neglecting personal prayer and Bible study. This neglect of personal devotion gradually chills the disciple’s love for the brethren. As love for the brethren decreases, criticism of the brethren increases. This causes the believer to withdraw from fellowship with the brethren. Then, like an antelope that wanders away from the safety of the herd, the isolated believer becomes an easy target for “the devil, as a roaring lion” who “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).

John the Baptist was not a reed shaken with the wind. John had stability. He was like a tree with deep roots. Many believers today are like a reed shaken with the wind. The slightest wind blows them over and uproots them. The slightest temptation comes, and they sin. The slightest trial comes, and they panic. The slightest inconvenience comes, and they don’t come to the worship service.

“I’m too tired,” they say. Or, “It’s too hot.” Or, “I have something else I want to do.”

Sometimes people have a legitimate reason to miss a worship service. But if you frequently miss your congregation’s worship service for unimportant reasons, this is proof that you are a shallow-rooted reed that is easily shaken with the wind.

If you have a shallow, half-hearted commitment to your local body, then you likewise have a shallow, half-hearted commitment to Yeshua/Jesus, the Head of the body, “for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20).

Your love and commitment to the visible body of human brethren is a gauge that measures your love and commitment to the invisible Divine Head of the body, for the Head and the Body are one. “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:14).

If you are a shallow-rooted reed planted in stony soil, you will wilt from the heat of fiery trials and be uprooted by the winds of adversity. Ask the Lord to remove whatever stones are hindering you from sinking your roots down deep. Break up your fallow ground and ask the Lord to remove your hardness of heart that keeps you bound to a shallow existence. Then sink your roots deep into the soil of God’s love. Take root downward and bear fruit upward.

The root system of a tree is hidden below the surface, unseen by men. A shallow devotional life will make you an unstable reed shaken with the wind.

If we want stability like John the Baptist had, we have to be willing to pay the price like John did.

“But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses” (Matt. 11:8).

The Lord might bless you with a fashionable wardrobe of silks and satins, or He might provide you with plain clothing of cotton or linen or sackcloth. If the Lord provides it, it will be modest clothing. If the Lord provides clothing that looks immodest, you can be sure that those items are meant to be worn as undergarments, not as outer coverings.

After speaking about John’s stability, Yeshua told the multitudes that John was the messenger prophesied by Malachi. “For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee” (Matt. 11:10/Mal. 3:1).

As this prophesied messenger, John the Baptist was blessed with a unique status: “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt. 11:11).

Then the Lord added: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:12).

Some believers are puzzled by this statement. Violence? What’s this about violence? Aren’t we supposed to be a peace-loving people? And what’s this about the kingdom of heaven suffering violence?

It helps to think of the kingdom of heaven as more than just a future Millennial Reign of Christ. The kingdom of heaven in this present age could be thought of as the spiritual realm, the “heavenly places” referred to in Ephesians 1:3 and 2:6.

In this present age, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence from the days of John the Baptist until now. John lost his head, Yeshua was crucified, and disciples of Yeshua have been persecuted and martyred throughout the centuries even until now. But at the same time, disciples of Yeshua have been violently engaging in spiritual warfare in the heavenly places. Just as Joshua and the children of Israel violently drove out the Canaanites from the Promised Land, so Christian missionaries have been driving out demonic forces from heathen lands throughout the centuries. Wherever the Christian faith has spread, people have been set free from demonic superstitions, demonic possession, and demonic influence.

Entire cultures have been transformed by the salt and light of Christians. Even when Christianity comes in a somewhat flawed version, it sets people free. God uses Christians in spite of some very flawed theology.

The violent take the kingdom by force, Yeshua said. It takes a violent determination to win a war. General Patton told soldiers who were going to the battlefield that their mission was not to die for their country, but to make the enemy die for his country. Our mission is to win the war, not to suffer. There will be some suffering involved, but suffering is not the goal. The goal is to win the war. Suffering is an unfortunate side effect.

“Daniel, this talk about violent warfare in ‘the heavenly places’ and ‘the spiritual realm’ sounds very lofty. But what does it mean in practical terms? Where and how do we conduct ‘spiritual warfare’?”

The answer to “Where?” is in the prayer closet and in the minds of men. The answer to “How?” is by “pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Messiah” (2 Cor. 10:4f).

Casting down strongholds and vain imaginations and speculations in people’s minds is violent work. It is not physically violent, “for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Cor. 10:3f).

Our warfare consists of more than just shouting at demons and shaking our fists at invisible enemies that surround us, although it’s okay to do that if it helps. The arena of our warfare is first in our own minds, and then in the minds of other people. Our warfare consists of changing people’s minds and setting them free from deception. Changing people’s long-held opinions and beliefs is often violent work. It requires a deep commitment to truth and a proclaiming of truth. When we proclaim Biblical truth, it does violence to the cherished lies people believe and the wrong ideas and opinions they have about God, about the Bible, about life, and about themselves.

Shattering myths and misinformation is as violent as shattering idols of wood or stone. In Bible times, idol worshippers got upset when their idols were violently overthrown and smashed. In these times, people get upset when their theology is exposed as erroneous. They get angry, upset, and confused. They either abandon their error and embrace the truth, or they lash out at the people who exposed the flaws in their theology. They oppose the proclaimers of truth and attempt to bring them down. That is another reason to be a deeply-rooted tree of righteousness, and not a shallow-rooted reed shaken with the wind.

If you are a deeply-rooted tree, you will stand strong in the raging storms. If you are a shallow-rooted reed, you will be brought down by a mere gust of wind. So sink your roots down deep and bear the fruit of the Spirit. “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples” (John 15:8).

| DB

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Image: (Top) Psalm 126 by Daniel Botkin from his Psurrealistic Psalms art gallery; (Bottom) Trees of Righteousness an illustration by Daniel Botkin. Visit DanielBotkin.com to peruse all of Daniel’s art galleries.