TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

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. (Isa 61:3)

  Trees as allegories for people never cease in scripture. Again, I recount the story of blind Bartimaeus, who said, “I see men; as trees walking” (Mark 8:24), as he saw for the first time. Likewise, I see the   trees of the Garden of Eden as the living souls of men standing still. For what reason? To become as trees walking.
  Why as trees standing still? “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exod 14:13), “And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan” (Josh 3:8), and “(The eunuch for Jesus Christ) commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him” (Acts 8:38). Many places in the Bible, people stood still to see the salvation of the Lord. The Hebrews stood still and saw Jesus as they were saved by the water from the sin of Egypt, Joshua stood still in the Jordan as a symbol of salvation and baptism, and the eunuch with Philip stood still as he believed and was baptized.
  Standing still awaiting God’s grace is a significant doctrine. I believe the trees of the Garden were standing still awaiting the salvation of the Lord just as in those three examples. What were they waiting for in all cases? That they might be glorified as they stood still glorifying the Lord!  
  Isaiah, in the passage above, understood the significance of that. “Trees of Righteousness” were standing still that they might be glorified. Who are those “trees of righteousness?” Those that “mourn for Zion.” I believe that Zion is what scripture referred to as “the midst of the Garden,” and is where God IS (Gen 2:9). As I have written before, the trees of the Garden with their canopies, standing still, and facing the Tree of Life in the center of the Garden is a “picture” of both Tabernacle and Temple worship. Why was “standing still” so important? Because they came to God and stood before Him. That would change much later.
  Jeremiah saw the day when the Jews were not to stand still: “Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind” (Jer 51:50). After Babylon fell, the Lord remained with the Jews in Babylon. He did not stay in Jerusalem as temple worship ceased, but he went to Babylon with them. The diaspora of the Jews in Babylon was symbolic of “God With Us” (Emanuel). The prophecy meant that Temple worship would become unnecessary. God had said that He never needed a House. Tabernacle worship was the way that God created worship in the Garden of Eden, and the way Moses and the Hebrews worshiped in the wilderness.
  How could evangelists fulfill the Great Commission by going unto the world if they stood still? Note that the eunuch was likely an African who was driving a chariot. He was transporting the Word as he read his Torah, but he stood still, just for a short time, while God entered into him, then he walked to the river and stood still again as he was baptized by the Lord. Jesus was called “Emmanuel” (Mat 1:23). He is “God With Us;” not God behind us or before us! God seemed to be Rooted in the Garden. Maybe He was as there was only two people to glorify Him. But all that changed with the planting of new “trees.” God no longer stood still, but was “God With Them.” God left the Garden alongside Adam and Eve to serve and preserve His transplanted, or “trees of righteousness.” Why were they all of a sudden righteous? Because God covered their Ten Sins (see my commentary on a “Multitude of Sins for Adam and Eve;” https://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2020/02/multitudeof-sins-for-adam-and-eve.html).
  Standing still was acceptable in the Garden. However, straying to forbidden places was! Adam and Eve strayed to the forbidden tree and entered unto temptation. Christians are to be steadfast in faith, and not stray too far:  “O Lord, why have You made us stray from Your ways…” (Isa 63:17a; NKJV). Adam and Eve strayed from dressing and keeping the Garden to being served by the Serpent with the fruits from the Tree of Knowledge. It should be obvious that trees, if not kept well, will have mutated fruit. Adam’s and Eve’s fruits went from twelve fruits of the Spirit to a multitude of withering fruits (Gal 5). Before sin, all the fruits of the trees of the Garden were righteous fruits, but with sin, they mutated to unrighteous fruits. How can anyone know of which fruits are of the trees of righteousness? To find all the twelve fruits of the spirit, only the Latin Vulgate version lists them (the others list only nine):

Fructus autem Spiritus est caritas, gaudium, pax, patientia, benignitas, bonitas, longanimitas, 
mansuetudo, fides, modestia, continentia, castitas. Adversus hujusmodi non est lex. (Gal 5:22-23; BSV)

  For those a little rusty in their Latin, the twelve fruit(s) are: charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity (kindness), goodness, longanimity (forbearance), mildness (gentleness), faith, modesty, continency (self-control), and chastity. I have been writing “twelve fruits” (plural). Scripturally they are one “fruit,” for just as failing one commandment is as if failing them all, not having one fruit is as if not having any fruit! For instance, how can one be at peace if they are not kind? How can one be gentle if they do not have self-control. Indeed, the righteous tree has one fruit, and that one fruit is righteousness. How so? Righteousness is exemplifying all the twelve fruits. A person is not righteous if he or she fails even one characteristic of righteousness. This is hard doctrine, but all things are possible with God!
  I could write a book on righteous-types of trees as well as the unrighteous-types. I won’t though, because Galatians chapter five lists the unrighteous-types of trees for us to avoid! (Hint: Open your Bible and read Galatians chapter five!)
  Perhaps trees not standing still tells us something. Should Christians only GO to church, or are they TO BE the Church wherever they are?




 (credit eprophetic)