THE YIELDING YEARS
Leviticus 19:23-25
Today, I would like to jump back into the Book of Leviticus to check out a passage of Scripture that paints an incredible picture of the life of a believer.
Typically, most people kind of shy away from the book of Leviticus (as its name states) it is one of the most extensive books covering God’s Law – how His people could practice the Levitical ceremonies He ordained.
However, tucked away in this book of difficult context and obscure practice, there are some real treasures that God has left for us to glean from – that is what we will do today! I want to look at the YIELDING YEARS.
Leviticus 19:23-25 23And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. 24But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. 25And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
Now I know that we aren’t orchard farmers in here, and at first this passage really doesn’t have much significance to us today – but please bear with me and lets see if we can glean some practical principles that God was seeking to teach His people.
I want to start off by looking at the context in which this instruction is given:
Leviticus 19:22 22And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
God speaks in the verse before about an atonement that would be made – a trespass offering for sin – and the forgiveness that would come by that offering (a ram without spot or blemish).
Right after mentioning this forgiveness that could come from the sacrifice of a ram (incredible OT picture of Christ – the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world John 1:29) God speaks of coming into “the land”.
John 5:24 24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
1 Peter 2:9 9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
As they entered into this “PROMISED LAND” they were instructed to plant all manner of trees.
Leviticus 19:23 23And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.
A) THE PLANT
This is where this passage really begins to COME ALIVE!! Because as we study the Word of God and compare Scripture with Scripture or (spiritual things with spiritual 1 Corinthians 2:13), we see some interesting parallels between trees and men!
Psalm 1:1-3 1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Mark 8:23-24 23And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. 24And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Luke 6:43-44 43For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
Really, if you think about it, our purposes are quite similar!
What are trees supposed to do?
1) Clean up the earth and make it a more beautiful place,
2) The are supposed to continually grow in strength and stature, and most importantly:
3) The are supposed to BEAR FRUIT and REPRODUCE after their own kind by spreading SEED.
Genesis 1:12 12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
1 Peter 1:23 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
If you think about it – in a kind of wild way, people and trees have a lot more in common than we may realize!
Instead of being the Physical reproduction of fruit, in the life of the believer, it is Spiritual.
John 15:8 8Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Galatians 5:22-23 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
So God takes all of this time to teach us of the similarities between men and trees, paralleling our lives and purpose with theirs, and then he goes into the subject of FRUITBEARING.
Because once again, the success or failure of the forest, just as in the church, is dependant on whether the trees are able to grow and bear fruit!
God gives a little instruction here: I have always wondered exactly how long we should give new believers to grow and mature in their faith to reach “fruit-producing” age.
I think God has an answer to that question tucked away here in Leviticus.
For three years, the fruit of a newly planted tree was not to be eaten of – the new tree was considered “uncircumcised” or unclean for that early growth period.
{And you know how God is – when He says “Don’t eat the fruit of the tree” you really need to obey and not eat the fruit of the tree! Just ask Adam and Eve about that one!}
When we look at that three year mark – we find some interesting things:
Jesus spent three years investing His life into the lives of His disciples.
Galatians 1:18 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
Ac 20:31 31Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
This principle is played out time and time again in Scripture – Maturity does not come as quickly as we would like it to! It is easy to get discouraged and frustrated because we are not as mature as we would like to be.
THERE ARE NO SHORT-CUTS TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH!
If you have ever tried to eat fruit before it is ripe and ready, I promise it will leave a bad taste in your mouth!
We have a lot of embittered Christians today that bit off more than they could chew too early in their walks, and now really don’t even care if they are used at all in the church.
So, what happens on year four in our passage?
Leviticus 19:24 24But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.
B) THE PRAISE
Three years – you can’t lay your hands on it – for three years you are patiently waiting to eat of the tree you planted when first entering into the land – YEAR FOUR – and NO – NOT YET!
Year four is all about God and for God.
Now this seems like a very simple principle, and it is – but the principle it teaches is absolutely amazing!
Before we can be used to feed our fellow people – before we can be profitable to nurture and sustain the lives of the people that God has placed around us, we must be consecrated unto our God!
Just as that tree was to be holy to praise the Lord – so ought that to be our goals every day of our lives.
It is not about SERVING OURSELVES, it is not even about solely SERVNG EACH OTHER, it is about SERVING GOD and giving Him the PRAISE He is so worthy of!
As long as we put Him first in our lives and seek to give Him the Praise and Glory He deserves, we will be incredibly FRUITFUL in this life.
It is only by Him and through Him that we are able to bear fruit and – the fruit we bear is for His purpose and glory!
Revelation 4:11 11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Then we come to year five – THE PRODUCE!
C) THE PRODUCE
Leviticus 19:25 25And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
FINALLY – All this time has passed, we have diligently waited so long, and now it is time – having been given the time we need to mature and grow, having been given the time to put the Lord first in our lives (being consecrated to Him and Him alone, we are able to meet the needs and hungers of those around us!
It is in this mature state that trees reproduce fruit exponentially – not just one piece of fruit, but much fruit:
Remember? John 15:8 8Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
We will yield an incredible increase in our lives, as we continue to give Him the preeminence that He deserves.
How about us today?
How long have you been walking with the Lord?
How long have you been growing closer to Him? How many rings does your trunk have?
We can do things that cause our growth to be stunted, but as long as we get plenty of Sun (Son) and Water (Word) we should grow and be healthy.
Our church has two rings – we have been around for just over two years – we are still uncircumcised according to the incredible picture in this passage – but take heart, don’t be discouraged, God is continuing to grow us and open doors!
Before long, as we continue to give Him the preeminence and remain consecrated to His purpose, will, and plan, we will yield fruit that many will be able to partake of!
We must always remember, as Christ taught:
John 15:5 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
