"The Spirit of Yahveh is upon me; because Yahveh hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of Yahveh... to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahveh, that he might be glorified." (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Where did the trees of righteousness go? I was born in the covenant, raised in Christian schools, sat through thousands of hours of preaching, but never heard about the trees of righteousness. Tzedekim is a Hebrew word for "Righteous Ones". The Righteous Ones are those who love Yahveh and obey Him. The scriptures compare them to trees that bear fruit.

• They shall be called "Trees of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:3)
• "filled with the fruits of righteousness" (Phil.1:11)
• "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance ." (Isaiah 32:17)
• "And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." (James 3:18)

The Tzedekim then are tree people who work for Peace. Yahshuah said those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and work for peace are the true children of Yahveh,

• "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness." (Mt.5:6)
• "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." (Mt 5:9)

John said

• "This is how you know the children of Yahveh, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of Yahveh, neither he that loveth not his brother. (1 John3:10).
• Everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him." (1 John 2:29)
• "Everyone that loveth is born of Yahveh" (1 John 4:7)

So the Tzedekim, the Trees of Righteousness, are those who love and obey Yahveh, love their brothers (and sister) and are Peacemakers. When you live the life of a righteous tree you will know that "righteousness and peace have kissed each other." (Ps.85:10)

So Who Cut Down the Trees?

The Jews still believe in the Tzedekim, but the concept is lost to the Christians. Today most Christians do not believe that we can live righteous lives. They say we can be saved by Yahshuah's righteousness, but our own righteousness is filthy rags. We are wretched sinners born with sinful natures, and sinful flesh, and we will go on sinning from the womb to the tomb. We have inner peace with God through Yahshuah, and peacemaking means leading others to Yahshuah so that they can have inner peace, but we have no duty to try to end men's wars, in fact our duty is to fight in wars if our country calls us; even to kill fellow Christians if they are on the enemy lines.

The reason many say we cannot live lives of righteousness is because Romans 3:10 says There are no Tzedekim, "There are none righteous no not one." And Isaiah 64:6 says "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (literally menstrual rags).

Let me deal with the rags first

The 3 rules for interpreting the scriptures are context, context, and context. The context for Isaiah 64 is the destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th Century BC. Two prophets were writing at this time; Jeremiah and Isaiah. Yahveh told Jeremiah to go into Jerusalem and if he could find one Tzedek (righteous person), he would spare the city. Jeremiah did not find one.

The Babylonians came and burned every city in Israel, slaughtered over a million men, women, and children, and took thousands, as prisoners, in chains to Babylon. The Babylonians looted the temple and destroyed it. They knocked down the walls of Jerusalem and burned the golden city to the ground. In Isaiah 64 the prophet is looking at the scene of destruction and writes; "we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind have taken us away." He says when Yahveh searched in Jerusalem for righteousness he found none "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."

To take this verse and say that it means no righteous people have ever existed, or will ever exist, and any attempt to please Yahveh by doing kind loving deeds will be seen in his eyes as filthy and despicable, is to wrest scripture and make it say something it doesn't say.

In the 6th Century BC there were no righteous Tzedekim in that city. But that does not apply to everyone in every city throughout history. When Yahshuah was born Luke says "And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout." (Lk 2:25) The word Just (Dikaios in Greek) means "Righteous". Simeon was a Tzedek. Matthew tells us the step father of Yahshuah "Joseph her husband, being a just man." (Mt.1:19) So Joseph was a Tzedek (a righteous one). The parents of John the Baptizer (Elizabeth and Zechariah) "were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."They were Tzedekim. So to apply Isaiah 64 to all people everywhere, we can see is a false application.

Can Christians Really Be Trees of Righteous?

As I said Christians are taught that Yahveh declares them righteous because of Yahshuah's life, death, and resurrection. This is true. But they are also taught that it is not practical to believe that they can really live righteously while in this life. They are told it is impossible, so don't try. But the scriptures say

• "henceforth we should not serve sin." (Rom.6:6)
• You are "freed from sin." (Rom.6:7)
• "Let sin not reign in your mortal body that ye should obey it."(Rom 6:12)
• "Sin shall not have dominion over you." (Rom 6:14)
• "Being made free from sin (Rom.6:18)
• "Being made free from sin (Rom.6:22)
• "Awake to righteousness and sin not." (1Cor 15:34)
• Jesus told the lame man in the temple "Thou art made whole sin no more." (John 5:14)
• Yahshuah told the woman caught in adultery "Go and sin no more." (John 8:11)

Live Free

So once you have been born of Yahveh, it is possible to live free of sin. It is possible to live the rest of your life in righteousness. Your good, kind, loving deeds are not seen as despicable rags, they are pleasing to Yahveh.

Col.1:9 says we are praying for you "That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work." See our deeds can be good and pleasing.

In fact, Revelation19:7-8 says

"the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteous deeds (Tzedekah) of the saints."

Have you ever heard of anything more beautiful and poetic? Each righteous deed you do will be embroidered into the heavenly Bride's wedding gown. So get up and get going, so the angels can start sewing.

Come to the Banquet

And if you have come to the heavenly Father through Yahshuah, you will be a guest at the banquet, and you will be dressed regally, for Yahveh, himself, is making a wedding outfit for you. He will clothe you with the "garments of salvation" and over those garments he will put on you "a robe of righteousness." (Is.61:10)

So Should We Try to Stop Wars?

We live in the postmodern age of individualism. Everything centers on the individual, Christianity focuses on the individual. Salvation is presented as a personal, private issue. The Church is taught to stay out of national events, and must keep silent, and even bless the endeavors of the state.

The same preachers who tell us there are no Tzedekim, and we will be hard core sinners until we die, and that our good deeds are filthy rags, tell us we must be good, patriotic citizens. Our duty is to honor and submit to our governments and do whatever they ask. The say peacemaking is about inner peace and not public peace. If your nation calls you to war, you must fight, and never protest.

Should we Fight or Protest?

I said the Tzedekim are those who love and obey Yahveh, love their brothers (and sister) and are Peacemakers.

The war maker says I am fighting against someone who wants to kill my brothers and sisters and possibly supplant Yahveh with a foreign God, so I fight because I love Yahveh and my brothers and sisters. My fighting will lead to peace, therefore by your definition, I am Tzedek.

At first blush this argument sounds solid. But if we ask him "who are your brothers and sisters? " He will reply "my country men."

If you ask him "who made humans?" He will reply "Yahweh." And if you say" then if Yahveh made humans that would make him the father of every human wouldn't it?

If he is honest he must say yes. Then you will say "then everyone is your brother or sister. And to kill even one of them is to kill one of Yahveh's children. I would not like to meet the Father on the judgment Day with his children's blood on my hands would you?" Next lets ask can "Yahveh be supplanted even if an alien army invades and occupies your territory?"

History will attest that often countries that are invaded will see some citizens join the religion of the invaders, but it is usually not for spiritual gain but for self- gain. For true believers, an invasion actually causes them to grow stronger in their faith. So the war makers arguments for war, although they at first sounded noble, are now seen as weak and narrow minded. He neither knows Yahveh, Yahveh's power, nor who his real brothers and sisters are. His view of Yahveh is shriveled and his love for humanity is shriveled. Where there is no vision, people perish. Lack of knowledge leads to warfare and death.

"If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge" (Job 36:12)

The war maker also does not know Yahshuah, nor what Yahshuah taught about loving enemies, showing gentleness to all men, doing good to those who attack them, and renouncing retaliation. Or if he did hear it in Sunday school, he has misunderstood it, or God forbid, he believes it, but chooses to disobey it. But alas he maybe didn't hear it Sunday School. He may hae heard that he was to be a good citizen and fight his country's wars.

What is Yahveh's Will?

When one knows Yahveh the God of peace and Love and Yahshuah the Prince of Peace, one knows their will is for the wars between nations to cease.

"He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the chariots with fire". (Psalm 46:9)

If you want to do the father's will, do the fathers work -make wars cease. But do it in a peaceful manner. If you sow discord, you will reap discord. What you sow comes back 100 fold. If you sow a small amount of discord into the wind you will reap a whirlwind of discord.

Moses

Men were never meant to fight wars. Moses said "Yahveh is a warrior." (Exod.15:3) But Yahveh was meant to act alone and be the only warrior. When Moses was faced with war and was fleeing from Pharaoh, and was trapped at the Red Sea, Yahveh ordered him not to fight, but to stand still and trust. Yahveh opened the Red Sea, and when Pharaoh tried to pursue Moses, Yahveh fought against Pharaoh and destroyed Pharaoh and his army. If there's one thing we learn from the stories of Moses is that "the battle belongs to the Yahveh "alone". He doesn't need our help. "Vengeance is mine says Yahveh." For nations to take up arms and go to war is to play God. We must never play God.

David

Often because David is recorded as fighting in many battles, people think that both David and YHVH approved of war, but David wrote

• "Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war." (Ps. 120:6)
• "Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." (Ps. 34: 14)
• "Refrain from anger and turn from wrath." (Ps. 37: 8)
• " But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace."( Ps 37:11)
• "The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates." (Ps. 11:5)

Yahshuah

• "I say unto you love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use and persecute you, that you may be children of your father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:44-45)
• "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword." (Matthew 26:52)

Paul

• "As far as your responsibility goes, live in peace with all men." (Romans 12:18)
• "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirsts, give him drink." (Romans 12:9)
• "Remind the Christians to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing meekness to all men." (Titus 3:2)

As Peacemakers we must take these scriptures seriously especially the last one. As we work to stop wars, we must not be brawlers, but gentle and meek. We must realize that the harvest of peace only comes if we plant peaceful seeds.

Peace on Earth

When Yahshuah was born the angels proclaimed "Peace on earth goodwill to men". This is Yahveh's will -Peace on earth. This is why we must stand against wars. Yahveh's will is for us to beat our sword into ploughs and our spears into gardening tools.

"They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." (Is.2:4)

Only when we have dedicated our lives to the cause of peace (both inner peace and world peace) and lived it out in a spirit of love and gentleness to all people, can we claim the robe of righteousness, and dance with joy with the Tzedekim at the heavenly banquet.

Finally Brothers and sisters, farewell, be perfect. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace and the God of Love and Peace shall be with you. (2 Cor.13.11)