Central Florida has 2 garden seasons—Spring and Fall. I started my spring tomato crop Feb 1st and they are finished. I am starting my Fall tomato crop now. The problem is that we often have tropical showers in the afternoon this time of the year and my poor seedlings get drenched. After a shower, I will lift my seedlings out of the mud and clean them off so that they don't die. Apparently, I am not the only one who gardens like that.
In John 15:2 Jesus said, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away…" The N.T. Greek word translated "takes away" is airō. It means "to take up, lift up or carry away." While the idea of "to take away" is certainly a possibility, "to lift up" is also possible and actually fits the cultural practices of that day for vinedressers.
Dr. Gary Derickson wrote: "In early Israel the branches of cultivated grapes were either allowed to trail along the ground or were trained to grow over a pole. When the stems were trained along the ground the grape clusters were propped up to keep them from contacting the soil and being ruined. Trellising of vines … allowed air to flow through the branches to dry the dew more quickly."
Dr. Thomas Constable explains: "Jesus was teaching that the Father gives special support to believers who are not yet bearing fruit. In viticulture this involves lifting the branch off the ground so it will not send secondary roots down into the ground that will prove unhealthful. Lifting the branch off the ground onto a pole or trellis also enables air to dry the branch and prevent it from getting moldy and becoming diseased.
Dr. Derickson defines our 21st century problem: "Few Bible students today can point to having an agricultural background or having lived on a farm. This has led to a distinct lack of familiarity with all or most aspects of agriculture…. Since the culture of the Bible was principally agrarian, this modern unfamiliarity may contribute to misunderstanding some portions of Scripture. When interpreting difficult passages, such issues as context and lexical meanings are certainly important. But the proper use of historical and cultural data may also inform one's understanding of key terms and concepts, thereby clarifying what might otherwise be obscure or confusing in a biblical passage."
Our Biblical Resource Group, continues to work on papers advocating the principles of consistent, literal, historical-grammatical Bible interpretation. Too often folks ignore important matters such as the historical context in which God's Word was written. As good Bereans, we need to apply these sound principles as we study God's Word.
Blessings,
Bob
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Sunshine, Storms and Fruit
Fruit ripens slowly; days of sunshine and days of storm each add their share. Blessing will succeed blessing, and storm follow storm before the fruit is full grown or comes to maturity.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).
