29 Mar They Will Be Called Oaks of Righteousness

A few weeks ago, the word “righteousness” kept popping up in my quiet times. It’s a word used frequently in Scripture (213 times!), but I kept looking at it thinking, “Righteousness … what does God really mean when he says, ”He will judge the world in righteousness” (Psalm 106:31) or that Noah “became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith,” (Hebrews 11:7)  or of Abraham, “he believed the Lord, and [this was] credited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

I flipped open my study Bible to “Righteousness” and found this handy little definition, “acting in a morally correct manner; correct by divine declaration.” Righteousness is both acting uprightly, choosing to follow God’s ways, and it is our status as those redeemed by Christ’s blood. We are righteous because he is righteous, not because of anything we did, but because God, our divine creator, had the power, authority, and grace to declare, “I have made her righteous.” Indeed, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The picture above is of my favorite tree in our neighborhood. I like to visit him on my walks; he feels like a Narnia tree. He’s beautiful and gnarled and old and wise. I think about how long he’s been there, his branches slowly stretching to the sky, his leaves unfurling each new spring. I have a thing for beautiful trees.

This tree reminds me of Isaiah 61, a chapter entitled, “The Year of the Lord’s Favor.” In Luke 4, Jesus quoted the beginning of Isaiah 61, saying, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor … today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Wow.

When we really think about what Jesus came to do, all we can say is, “Wow.” He binds up our broken hearts. He proclaims freedom for the captives. He releases us from the darkness, the darkness of our fallen world and the darkness of our own creation. He proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor … forever. We continually exist in the year of the Lord’s favor because Jesus has fulfilled this prophecy.

Later, in Isaiah 61:3, Scripture says that Jesus will give to the brokenhearted, the captives, and those who mourn, “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

Isn’t that an incredible image? You, my dear woman, are an oak of righteousness. You are a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. What a calling! What a privilege!

As women set apart as oaks of righteousness to display God’s splendor, we must also pursue God’s righteousness in our lives. We are righteous through divine declaration yet we also strive daily to live righteously according to his Word. God’s divine declaration paid our debt of sin, and thus we pursue righteousness as an act of obedience motivated by love.

Moreover, there are many promises that accompany the pursuit of righteousness, “The prayer of a righteous [wo]man is powerful and effective,” (James 5:16) and “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,” (1 Peter 3:12) and “I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).

Finally, Jesus exhorts us, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) and everything else will be taken care of, all your other needs will be met.  As we seek first his righteousness, we become the women he intended—solid oaks of righteousness for the kingdom, exquisite women planted to display his splendor.

Find your favorite tree this week and say hello. Spend a few moments basking in the fact that you are an oak of righteousness. Then ask the Lord how you can display his splendor in your homes and relationships.