280. Plant the Branch on the Mountain
Ezekiel 17:22, 23 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top on his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: an it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
God promises to plant the highest branch of a cedar on a high mountain. The Lord will take the Branch (Jesus the Messiah) and plant it, and it will grow and produce many branches and much fruit. There is much symbolism in this parable. Jesus uses a parable of this kind to refer to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God will grow and produce fruit after the Christ dies and rises again. The kingdom will grow among all those who are growing out of Jesus (they believe in Him).
When Jesus appeared in public He said, “Repent and believe the Gospel, for the kingdom of God is near.” Jesus is the kingdom, and those who believe in Him enter the kingdom. And so it grows; it brings forth branches; it bears fruit. Jesus likened the kingdom to a mustard seed: this is faith, maybe even a little faith; and it grows into a large shrub with branches and it bears fruit. The birds of the air will nest it in and dwell safely. The kingdom (the high mountain) starts as a seed, or a twig (faith), and it spreads all over the world.
The kingdom is also within the heart of the believer. It starts as a seed of a little faith, and then it grows inside. We don’t even know how. “The seed grows secretly.” It bears fruit. We don’t even try to make it happen. The inner kingdom bears fruit as long as we are connected to the Vine. We don’t even see it happen. Promises like this are given to us because we don’t see it. God promises, and so we believe it happens. Staying in Jesus through faith in the Word and in prayer produces results. Since we don’t see or take credit for the results, God tells us so that we may believe there is a cause and effect relationship between believing in Christ and living a holier and more loving life. The promise is real. The growth is real. A fruitful life is the promised result.