Welcome To Bitter Root!

What if I told you there is a root that sprouts poison?

Would you be interested in experiencing it? Or, maybe you would just want to avoid it at all costs!

This particular poison is also linked to bitterness, and it’s not the bitterness as in an unpleasantly sharp taste.

This poison, in fact, has little to do with ingestion and taste. It is, however, a particularly nasty poison that spreads and affects others. And the bitterness that accompanies it is the kind that the dictionary defines as that which is distasteful or distressing to the mind or that which is caused by or expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret.

So where does this poison and bitterness come from?

It comes when we turn from being with the Lord and we go after other gods to serve them: “Make sure there isn’t any one among you right now—male or female, clan or tribe—whose mind is turning from being with the Lord our God in favor of going to serve these nations’ gods. Make sure there isn’t any root among you that is sprouting poison and bitterness.” (Deut 29:18)

One version seems to indicate that a person could be the source of the poison: “Make sure that no one among you is the source of this kind of bitter poison.” (GW)

Other versions seem to indicate that it the worship that is the source of the poison:  “No one must worship the gods of those nations. Make sure that kind of worship doesn’t spread like bitter poison through your whole community.” (NIRV)

Whether it is a poison from a person who has gone to serve other gods or it is the worship of other gods, the likely result is a root that sprouts poison and bitterness.

There is a New Testament corollary in Hebrew 12: “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (v. 15).

From what I understand, the “bitter root” in Hebrews 12 could refer to a source of evil or wickedness or disobedience within the church. It’s possible also that it is being used metaphorically to describe those who hold to unsound or incorrect doctrines and spread them in the church. But whatever the source and however it spreads, people are failing to obtain the grace of God and a root of bitterness is springing up and causing trouble. And not only that, but the trouble is causing people to become defiled.

So what do we do to make sure this root does not sprout and spread poison?

Perhaps the verses say it best in and of themselves:

· Don’t allow your mind to turn from being with the Lord;

· Don’t go after and serve other gods;

· Don’t fail to obtain the grace of God;

· Don’t follow those who are a source of disobedience.

Easy to write, harder to do, but absolutely necessary to keep a root from springing up and sprouting and spreading poison and bitterness