The Hydroponic Olive Tree

[DeanZF]

We love H.O.T. topics!



We've had some inquiries from folks both on and off these forums asking "What about our 'Jewish Roots'?" With this particular forum and the topics you'll find here, we're attempting to provide a space for talking about, for exploring our Jewish Roots in a safe environment.



We're also hoping to keep this pretty narrow, talking more about Jewish Roots in terms that will not take us off onto partisan bunny trails. I'm aware of numbers of them, and we have a few other folks on this site who are also watchful and try to defend a "pure approach" to what has come to be called Jewish Roots Studies.



The basis here is to explore how Jewish culture, Jewish religious practice, Jewish mindset, and other similar things have and should be allowed to influence what we might call the Gentile Church. We may talk a little about Messianic Judaism (we have more than a few of those here!), and we might mention some of the "bunny trails" in passing, only to make folks aware of them, not to dispute or argue their points, but again just to help inquirers know that they're out there. The goal is to concentrate on the truth, not to explore the counterfeits.



Part of the ministry of ZionFire is to help "the Church" become aware of the Jewishness of her Messiah, and the Jewishness of her faith and its expressions. Our hope is that through this particular forum, we can all grow together as we learn to discern the Roman's 11:17 olive tree and its roots. The Gentiles are the wild olive that's been grafted into the existing root and stem system. God established it and grounded it and then invited us in. It would be good to know more about the Abramic Family Tree. And sometimes, the exploration can only be done through discernment. God will help us understand and to know the difference between the gold and the dross.

[HelenaZF]

Some further thoughts as we establish our premise......



In the scriptures, Israel is represented as the olive tree, and the gentile church is represented as branches grafted into that tree. This forum is dedicated to exploring that relationship with Israel and also the Life that comes to believers, both Jew and Gentile, up through those ancient roots.



Where does the nourishment for the tree come from? It flows to the uttermost branches by the sap, brought up to the whole tree from the roots. The life flows up from the Root. Our Root is Yeshua, Jesus...the Jewish Messiah. And so, the Jewishness of our roots should deeply concern and inspire us, as our Messiah is Jewish.



THIS IS NOT REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY. In this forum, we will seek to support the truth that the grafted-in branches DO NOT replace the original ones in relation to the covenants and promises of God, but that we and they both draw our very lives from the root of the same tree.



Romans 11:17-18 (NIV)

17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.





When studying Scripture, it is often just as important to understand what a passage does not say as it is to understand what it does say. Gal 3:29 does not say that the children of Israel have lost any of their status as the "chosen" people of God. Rather, it says that all people, whether Jew or Gentile, now have the right to claim spiritual descent from Abraham through the shed blood and sacrifice of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).



"And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:29)



So, with that in mind, let us explore together this rich heritage of our Jewish roots, and it's expression through Gentile and Messianic believers alike. Please share helpful sources you have encountered. We wlll discuss and then evaluate resource contributions for scriptural accuracy, and then present them as non-biased resources for others in the pinned resource topic. If possible, please provide a link when the resource item may be accessed or purchased.