Grace, Mercy and Peace unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A
men
Living in Oregon, a land of many trees for 2.5 years, I came to grow a fondness
for those majestic, always green, monumental plants.
---It was on the third day of creation when God said, let there be vegetation, p
lants and trees bearing seed each of their kind; And at His powerful Word no lon
ger was the dry land barren, for the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yiel
ding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is thei
r seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. The trees God
created are good, He even uses them for His Kingdom.
The two most prevalent types of trees in the Cascade Mountain Range where I live
d were the Douglas Fir and the Hemlock. There goes a story about these two trees
, when they were only but seeds at the time of creation: Before God there was a
line of all the plant and tree seeds, waiting to be cast upon the earth that the
y might sprout and grow and produce fruit. Most of the seeds quietly waited thei
r turn for the moment when God would cast them upon the earth and give them grow
th. But the Hemlock was impatient, He kept on butting in line, cutting off the o
ther tree seeds and boasting about how he would be the biggest and greatest tree
of all, how he would tower over the other trees and they would all dwell under
the shadow of his branches. The little seed bragged with swagger how he would to
wer above the rest with his top swaying in the wind.
But, God is not a God of confusion but of peace. Peace comes through recognizing
and embracing the order He has given; not by forceful exertions to get your own
way, not by causing confusion and disorder through prideful rebellion.
Thus, God has created and ordered His creation according to His own will, that y
ou might have eternal benefit. See how each creature and plant has a dignity of
its own some a little higher than others, each in its right place, holding its p
roper God given honor so that all creatures and plants might together learn of t
he Creator's majesty, and praise Him for all the wondrous things He has done.
Because of the Hemlock's hubris and impatience the Lord would teach it a lesson,
and from the Hemlock's fate you do well to take heed. It was NOT the Hemlock wh
ich grew the straightest and tallest in the forest, rather it was the mighty Dou
glas Fir who towers above the rest. Doug Fir produces the finest of lumber of wh
ich most of the homes in the west are constructed from. Not only did God grant t
he Doug Fir to be the tallest, regularly over 150ft and in old growth stands rea
ching over 400ft.
Compared to the Douglas Fir God humbled the Hemlock by making it max out around
100ft. Another identifying feature is its top spire bowed down. To this day, thi
s is how you differentiate a Hemlock, the top sprig is bent over, humbled becaus
e of its pride.
---You would think being shorter and bowed down would be enough of a reminder fo
r us not to force our way about things rather to honor God by waiting on Him; bu
t the Hemlock was also given the smallest pine cones and the tiniest needles.
---Today's lesson from Ezekiel is a parable about how the Lord Himself will humb
le the proud, how He alone delivers and exalts. He "brings low the high tree, an
d makes high the low tree, dries up the green tree, and makes the dry tree flour
ish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it." When it comes to salvation
, God does it. There is no room for boasting and no other way to the front of th
e line except in God's Son, the Christ.
Ezekiel was given the Lord's Words to speak to an exiled nation, not much differ
ent from you, to give them certain hope that the Christ would come to redeem the
whole world, and that God would even glorify the things He created on the 3rd d
ay in His work of Salvation.
Ezekiel spoke to a people living in a foreign land, a people who had been ravage
d by the ruthless king Nebuchadnezzar taken out of the land of Judah, no longer
in the Holy city Jerusalem. They did not have the beautiful temple built form th
e prized Cedars of Lebanon with a sweet fragrance and gilded in gold. That Templ
e, built by the hand of King Solomon, a man of peace, was destroyed by Nebuchadn
ezzar. No longer did the people have a place to come into the presence of the Al
mighty.

Living in captivity in Babylon they had no temple. There in located in modern da

y Iraq, all they had was the Word of the Lord from the mouth of a prophet. There
isn't much different from then till now. Evil kings still want to rule over you
r mind and enslave it to the elementary principles of this world. There are stil
l evil men in Babylon who want to exile, even behead God's people. You, like the
captives in Babylon still struggle against Satan who wants to trap you in your
sin.
---But there is a huge difference, a Good King has come, Who reigns with righteo
usness and justice. The foreign nations that enslave your mind to pride, greed,
covetousness, lust and hate are being obliterated.
---Hear Ezekiel's prophecy, Thus saith the Lord God, "I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the
topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I Myself will plant it on a high an
d lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it m
ay bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will d
well every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will n
est. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord."
---The problem at the time of the Babylonian Exile was King Jehoiachin, full of
pride and an evil plan to deliver himself. He was one of the main reasons that G
od's people were led into captivity. There were a whole series of evil kings tha
t the Prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah and Isaiah spoke out against. Jehoiachi
n did not follow the Lord's commandments, he did not live according to the statu
tes laid out by God's Law, he broke covenants.
That ultimately lead to the deportation out of Israel, a failed alliance with Ba
bylon. Jehoiachin had made an alliance with Babylon and agreed to pay a certain
amount from the treasury but he broke the covenant. He made another alliance und
er the table with the pharaoh of Egypt to try to overcome the oppression of Baby
lon and King Nebuchadnezzar.
But, as Ezekiel and the other prophets had warned, the reason God had given Baby
lon power over them was because of their unfaithfulness. ---Sometimes difficulti
es arise because of our sin. When this happens it is best to deal with the conse
quences, grin and bear it, trusting that the Lord will deliver. God had raised u
p the foreign nation Babylon over His own nation because of their iniquities, id
olatry, unfaithfulness, gross and corrupt sins.
---How many of you children have done something wrong that your parents even tol
d you not to, and then tried to weasle your way out of the punishment? 'But eve
ryone else was doing it', 'I didn't know', 'It was just...' excuses. Excuses ha
ve no place in the Christian's life. Not for children, not for adults. If you ha
ve done something wrong, own up. Say a thing for what it is, do not be double mi
nded or speaking half-truths, let sin be sin. Confess it to the Lord, and when i
t weighs heavy on your heart confess it to pastor, that you might personally hea
r the words of Christ's absolution.
---The evil king Jehoiachin is an excellent example of what NOT to strive for, h
e is the embodiment of human pride, he would not take ownership of his mistakes
and tried to get out of the punishment he deserved, Jehoiachin, like the impatie
nt boastful Hemlock tree, endeavored to make a life for himself when he wanted.
They would not be strong, take courage and wait for the Lord.
It is not this way with Christians, for you know that you are a poor and miserab
le sinner indeed, as we confess together in the liturgy. And this is precisely w
hat faith does, it trusts the Word of Promise, the Absolution spoken and gains s
trength by the Spirit, takes heart, and waits for the Lord.
Only those who need help, are humbled to receive it. Only those who see somethin
g worth waiting for will hold fast. ---You have been humbled to receive Christ;
you have been granted courage to wait for His deliverance.
Your help does not come from an evil king like Pharaoh, nor from telling yoursel
f 'I need to forgive myself, and not be so hard on myself, nobody's perfect.' Th
ere is no place for these weak platitudes in the life of a follower of Christ Cr
ucified. ---Only Jesus forgives. You must not make excuses saying, 'I'm not as b
ad as the next guy', 'we're all sinners', Comparing yourself to others as to les
sen your own iniquity is not Gospel. The Gospel is Jesus. ---He comes to you who

cry out, Lord have mercy on me a sinner.

---The proud have no need of a Savior, but the humble do. A seed must die and fa
ll to the earth, then at the right time God gives growth and it sprouts and bear
s much fruit. Likewise you have died in your baptism. The Lord has cast you upon
the earth and granted you faith to grow, so Daily you rise to newness of life i
n Christ, always living with the hope of the final raising.
Do not plot ways around God's grace, like Jehoiachin, there is only one way; or
try to cut in line like the Hemlock, your time will come. If your beloved Lord h
ad to be patient through suffering, and die, before His resurrection, what makes
you think you can go another way?
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the pro
per time, 7 cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Your Lord sa
ys, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cr
oss and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoeve
r loses his life for My sake will find it."
The whole point of Ezekiel's parable about the tree is to point you to the tree
on which Jesus died for your sins. The tree of life which Adam and Eve were barr
ed from in the Garden because of unbelief has been opened up to you. Its Fruit f
or you to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins, for eternal salvation. Jesu
s Christ, the tender young twig broken off by His Father and planted on the high
and lofty mount Calvary. This tree has produced many branches, yes you abide in
Him. Under its shade are gathered many birds, all nations under the sun find re
fuge in the forgiveness and deliverance of Christ.
All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high t
ree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree fl
ourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.
What a majestic humble tree is the Kingdom of God, for there upon we find Christ
. Amen
Now, the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard and keep your he
arts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen