From Hebrew Roots to Hebrew Fruits – thoughts to ponder

Having had a background in botany, I learned in higher education (that is growing up on a farm) that roots grow mostly underground and can’t be seen.  Some trees and plants do have roots above ground, but in order to draw sustenance they too reach deeply into the soil.  As things are, most roots are hidden underground at all times. With this in mind let me ask: What about “Hebrew Roots”?  Is it an “underground movement”? Are roots all that there is to the olive tree (etz) of Jacob (ref. Jeremiah 11:16-17; Romans 11: 17ff)? If there are roots (healthy ones that is) there most likely will also be something growing above ground.

In Ezekiel 37 we read about two (olive) trees - “etzim”- the etz of Judah, and the etz of Joseph/Ephraim.  These two trees have the same Hebrew roots, having both come from the same seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When their progeny was in Egypt they were known as Hebrews.  But when they exited that foreign soil, YHVH identified them as Israel and transplanted them into their own native ground. Later, even though the Elohim of Israel divided them into two separate plantings, their roots were still Hebrew. Yet according to His designated plan, at some point in the future, they will come forth out of the ground, grow and be identified by Him as two trees (etzim). 

Biblical history recounts what happened to the two trees when they were cut down and their branches scattered throughout the earth.  Those branches also took root, but in foreign soil and spread in many nations.  Some of those roots were nourished and some were not.  The ones that YHVH preserved and took care of are known as having a Jewish identity.  But the others became wild and have lost their distinctiveness in the forest of humanity.  Yet their roots are still the same, Hebrew, which by the grace of Elohim many are discovering today.  Obviously from the roots there has to come forth a visible plant, growing into a fruit bearing tree. Are these the trees of righteousness that YHVH has destined to bear fruit for the healing of the nations? Or conversely, are they the two olive branches from which oil drips into the menorah (ref. Zach. 4:11, 12)?

However, we should not be uninformed in regards to the enemies that may lurk underground, in the darkness of the soil, known as cut-worms.  These little white critters (masquerading as angles of light) love to chew away at the roots.  Most of these worms are found in the top soil, close to the base of the trunk.  If there are enough of them they will kill the tree, especially a sapling. 

More problems to contend with are roots of other trees that are growing too close, like the boxthorn (the bramble of Judges 9:15) for example. The roots of this shrub are so thick that other trees can hardly survive in its vicinity, as the boxthorn draws all the moisture and nutrients from the soil.  Such are many doctrines in the religious systems of man, which are prone to kill the two trees, distorting the two ensigns which are being raised up as YHVH’s end-time witnesses.  

Additionally, there are also Hebrew roots that have been placed in pots of religious institutions, and if kept there will not be able to mature into full grown trees and produce Hebrew fruit, as their roots will become bound up in the ‘pot’.  Although plants in pots make for a lovely sight, a constrained and controlled environment limits the plant from developing to its full potential.   Then there are ‘farmers’ who are assigned to tend the trees, but are not trained in horticultural righteousness and are feeding the trees poison while also contaminating the soil.  There are some that do excessive digging around the tree and thus damage the roots. Indeed, has there not been at times a wee bit too much “digging” thus endangering the safety of the roots, sometimes even to the point of chopping them off?

Should not the “planting of YHVH” be given more liberty and freedom to come forth naturally or should I say supernaturally, so that the upper and visible part may mature in health? The ground in which Hebrew roots flourish is in their native soil, being nourished by the Word, covenants and promises of their Husbandman.  YHVH meant for roots to go deep into the soil and be strong enough that the tree will not blow over in times of severe storms, but certainly not to remain in root form only. 

Our hope, over the past few years regarding the Hebrew Roots Movement was that it would begin to identify to a trunk of a tree that YHVH defines as a nation: "…and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again” (Ezekiel 37:22). Let us remember that having our roots identified is only the beginning of becoming that fruit-full nation of which Yeshua is the Husbandman and Kingdom Ruler.