A Green Olive Tree
Today’s Verse:
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. ~Psalm 52:8
Do you eat olives or use olive products? Olives have culinary benefits. I enjoy chopped olives on pizzas and in salads. I will eat them alone. Olives have cholesterol benefits. Olive oil is favored in cooking, and usage of it helps to lower your bad LDL level and increase your good HDL level. David used the olive tree as a powerful analogy to describe God’s favor in his life during a time of persecution and trouble. Let us see the powerful image of an olive tree for our life.
We see the people.
“The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken” (Jeremiah 11:16). The olive tree symbolically speaks of the nation of Israel and God’s covenant relationship with them. Gentile believers are pictured in Romans 11 as wild olive trees that have been grafted into the root of the olive tree (Israel) and share in its blessings. With God as the Farmer, He is cultivating a people of God for Himself.
We see the peace.
“And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth” (Genesis 8:11). The olive branch is a beautiful picture of a peace relationship. Putting out an olive branch speaks of peace. In the midst of great trouble, David found peace by being rooted firmly in the Lord. The peace of God is ours when we have absolute trust in God for the eventual outcome of our problems.
We see the power.
Olive oil was used as fuel for the menorah candlestick. Olive oil was what the high priest poured on the head of a king. Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. An anointing with oil was always with olive oil. It represents power in the life of the one who has been anointed. The psalmist said, “I shall be anointed with fresh oil.” Fresh oil was obtained from olives that were crushed and squeezed. God cannot trust us with His power in our life until we have been “crushed and squeezed” so that we are empty and ready for the Holy Spirit to fill us completely. David realized that no enemy could defeat him when he had the fresh anointing of God on his life.
We see the perseverance.
Olive trees have been found to be as many as 1,500 years old. The average lifespan of an olive tree is 500 years. David said, “The goodness of God endureth continually.” The analogy of being a green olive tree in the house of God teaches us that when we get deeply rooted in our spiritual life, we have great endurance. We can endure the storms of life. We can endure rejection. We can endure all circumstances because of being rooted in the Lord. Olive trees withstand heat, cold, rain, hail, and all seasons. Stay at something long enough, and you will be recognized as being steadfast and unmovable. Olive trees keep producing the same luscious fruit every season. Every Christian who is like an olive tree bears fruit, more fruit, and much fruit.
David used an apt description of where God put him during a time of difficulty: a green olive tree in the house of God. Don’t just be any tree: be a green olive tree that is rooted in the Lord!
Have an abounding God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 2 Chronicles 1-4