God's Word is Fruitful

Last night I enjoyed meeting up with a small group gathered to learn to study the Bible.  The observations of the attendees were encouraging as they expressed how the study helped them glean far more by the end than in the first reading alone.  Initially because they understood the words written in English they thought they understood the meaning of the passage, yet there was still much work to do.  The first reading of scripture can be likened into moving large boxes into a new home but not opening them.  You are "moved in," but that is only the first stage.  An empty house isn't yet suited for comfortable living.  Opening the boxes, discovering what is inside and where is the best place for each item is what turns a house into a home.  In a similar way, verses of the Bible are packed with meaning and require intentional effort in seeking the LORD to understand and apply personally.

When we read the Bible, we are looking at a finished work.  A person who walks through a grand mansion can appreciate the architecture, colours, patterns and craftsmanship they see.  At the same time they are largely ignorant of and do not consider what is behind that lovely mural adorning a wall:  the framing, insulation, piping, wiring, all supported by a foundation.  The study of God's word is really an investigation into the genius of the builder, our Maker the LORD God who has given us His word.  Like archaeologists are careful not to destroy historical sites and priceless relics, we are careful not to destroy the flow of passages by wrenching them from context or slathering the paint of our personal emphasis over the mural of God's revelation.  By God's grace He allows us to rightly divide the word of truth, to retain the structural integrity of each piece as we carefully separate them to better understand what God has said, what God means, and what God's word means to us.

After revealing God's thoughts and ways are not ours and are infinitely higher than ours Isaiah 55:10-13 says, "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹ so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ¹² "For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."  The overarching theme of these verses is God's word will be fruitful.  As God causes the rain to fall in season for the purpose of watering the earth, seeds producing growing plants that bring forth fruit, God's word does this spiritually.

The branches of trees and grassy hills waving in the breeze are personified as rejoicing and celebrating the goodness of God and His word.  Man's wisdom could be compared to briers and thorns that spring up on their own and dry out and die by the sun's heat.  The contrast between briers and a myrtle tree and thorns and a cypress tree could not be more extreme.  A tumbleweed is blown away by the wind and gone, while a tree endures season after season, year after year.  A brier can be easily crushed underfoot, and running into a cypress could break bones in a foot!  God's word is fruitful, fulfills God's intended purpose and is cause for great rejoicing.  May we celebrate the great God who has given us His word and enables us to rightly divide it, and grow by His grace like a tree planted by rivers of water fruitful in season.