A ROOT OF BITTERNESS

1. A Root Of Bitterness

a) Deuteronomy 29:18 GNT
"[18] Make sure that no man, woman, family, or tribe standing here today turns from the LORD our God to worship the gods of other nations. This would be like a root that grows to be a bitter and poisonous plant."

i) The root is not itself bitter but rather when it grows to be bitter, it bears the fruit of bitterness. And the bitterness it bears is something poisonous. This bitter fruit may be festering anger, or it may be something else. The point seems to be that it is deadly.

ii) This bitterness is also translated as bitter food and poisoned water feeding the body, soul, and spirit of someone who turns their heart away from the LORD..

b) Hebrews 12:15 GNT
"[15] Guard against turning back from the grace of God. Let no one become like a bitter plant that grows up and causes many troubles with its poison."

i) Therefore a “root of bitterness” is a person or a doctrine in the church which encourages people to act presumptuously. Such a person or a doctrine defiles many and can lead to the experience of Esau who played fast and loose with his inheritance and could not repent in the end and find life.

c) Acts 8:23 GNT
"[23] For I see that you are full of bitter envy and are a prisoner of sin."

i) Simon’s wickedness was his desire to buy the power of the Holy Spirit, essentially treating God as a commodity to enhance his own career as a magician.

ii) So, the “bitter root” in Hebrews refers to a source of evil or wickedness within the church. A root may be small and slow in its growth, but, if it carries poison, it is malignant; it is dangerous. Sin in the church must be diligently rooted out; the result of tolerating wickedness is that “many” will be defiled.

d) God dealt with a “root of bitterness” in the early church, see the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

e) Obviously, God considers pulling up such “bitter roots” to be critically important to the health of His church.