September 27

If you say, ‘Let us persecute him, since the root of the matter lies with him,’ — Job 19:28 BSB

In most plants, disease starts at the root. If you see a plant in a flowerpot looking unhealthy, it’s likely something is wrong at the root. It may be overwatered or underwatered, or perhaps the root has become diseased, causing its growth to slow or stop. So it is with religion. If something is wrong with a person’s spiritual life, it’s almost always because something is wrong at the root. Job said, “The root of the matter is found in me.” Job could appeal to God that the root of his religion was sound.

If “the root” had been wrong, the rest of his religion would have been wrong as well. But as long as the root was healthy, like the terebinth tree mentioned by the prophet, even though it may lose its leaves, “the substance will still be in it,” and in time, it will sprout new branches (Isaiah 6:13). If a person’s religion has no root or if the root is damaged, it will become evident in their outward profession. Such a person cannot have a healthy soul—neither inwardly nor outwardly—unless the root is deep in the soil and full of life, drawing nourishment from the river whose streams make glad the city of God. Then they will be like a tree planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. These trees aren’t troubled by heat or worried by long droughts. Their leaves stay green, and they continue producing fruit (Jeremiah 17:8).