Here is a standard Protestant concept of our relationship with the Messiah. In this picture, the Messiah covers the husband, and the husband covers his wife and children. There is no priesthood, no (lay) congregational elders, and no congregational servant (deacon).

Let us expand this model, to accommodate all the roles we know are commanded in Scripture.

Now let us invert the umbrellas. Notice that we end up with the same “living tree” model we saw in Torah Government. This also corresponds to the Tree of Ephraim of Ezekiel 37.

In this model, Yeshua is the root (support), the apostles are the trunk, the elders are the branches, the servants (deacons) are the twigs, and the people are the leaves. All parts of the tree labor to send the good nutrients and moisture that the root pulls up, to the other parts of the tree. The tithe is the sap that circulates, nourishing all the various parts of the tree, and keeping the nutrients and moisture being pushed up to the leaves.