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In reading a book recently entitled The Day America Told the Truth, by James Patterson and Peter Kim, I ran across a survey in which people were asked to rank 73 occupations for their honesty and integrity. Americans said that the four sleaziest ways to make a living in America are: drug dealer, organized crime boss, TV evangelist, and prostitute. Notice that prostitution was considered a more "honorable way to make a living than TV evangelism.
Answer for yourself: How could Christianity evolve into something that would allow such to occur?
The involved study that follows will thoroughly answer that question to your satisfaction.
The Rabbinic Sages were often heard saying "Kol hatchalot kashot;" which is Hebrew for "all beginnings are difficult." Fostering the renewal of Gentile Christianity to its Judaic root after being estranged from it for nearly two millennia, is no exception. Just as physical birth and spiritual growth involve pain, so too the revitalization of Gentile Christianity. Today, more than at any other time, there is a sense of urgency within the Gentile Church to understand in Hebraic terms its faith and calling. While the Rabbinic Sages maintained that all beginnings involve difficulty, they also insisted that the greater the degree of hardship, the greater the reward. In this case, continuity with the Olive Tree will bring the life, power and stability that the Gentile Church so desperately needs in our world today.
As Gentiles, we should long for a deeper and more fruitful relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with the King Messiah, and with Israel. We should long to be restored and reconciled to the Olive Tree of the Israel of God.
The purpose of this document is to provide Gentile Christians in multitudes of various denominations with a basic overview of the story of the Olive Tree of Israel as it has developed historically and theologically over the last two millennia. It is hoped that it will serve as a simple resource from which you can glean a better understanding of and appreciation of the condition of the Gentile Church which originally was conceived within Yeshua's Movement within Judaism in the first century. It is hoped that this study will act as a catalyst for further study and the development of a sincere desire for not only a understanding the Jewish roots of Christianity, but serve as a source of Biblical illumination that will lead the Gentile Christian to a more Biblical obedient life-style which is pleasing to our Father in Heaven. Ultimately, it is hoped that many will re-evaluate their existing religious belief system in view of the new facts that will not only be presented but which will illuminate and challenge the disobedience of the Gentile Church as it exists today. It is my hope that your congregational life in your existing church will be affected in such a positive manner that you will begin to adjust your lives and begin to fully engage yourself in the rich heritage and life of the Olive Tree of Israel. Lastly my prayer for you is that together we can begin to believe, practice, observe, and celebrate all that being "engrafted" into the Olive Tree of Israel offers us.
Now if the Root [of the Olive Tree] is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were pruned, and you [Gentiles] were grafted in among other branches and have become equal sharers in the rich root of the Olive Tree, then don't boast as if you were better that the natural branches! However, if you do boast, remember that you are not nourishing the root, the root is nourishing you!
So you will say, "Natural Branches were pruned so that I might be grafted in," They were pruned, but so what! They were pruned because of their unfaithfulness. However, you keep your place only because of your faithfulness. So do not be arrogant; on the contrary, be terrified! For if the God of Israel did not spare the unfaithful Natural Branches, he certainly will not spare you!
So take a good look at God's kindness and his severity; on the one hand, severity toward those who were pruned; but on the other hand, God's kindness toward you Gentiles-provided you maintain yourself in that kindness [toward the Olive Tree]! Otherwise, you too will be cut off! Moreover, the pruned branches, if they do not persist in their unfaithfulness, will be grafted back in; because God is able to graft them back in. For if you [Gentiles] were cut out of what is by nature a wild Olive Tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated Olive Tree, how much more will these Natural Branches [Jews] be grafted back into their own Olive Tree!
For brothers, I want you to understand this truth which God formerly concealed but has now revealed, so that you will not imagine you know more that you actually do. It is that unfaithfulness, to some degree, has come upon some of Israel, until a fullness of Gentiles has come [to be grafted] in to the [Olive Tree] and that in this way all that is of Israel will be saved [that is share in the life and power of God in this world and the world to come]. ([Paul], [Apostle] to the Gentiles, Letter to believers at Rome 11:16-26).
The Olive Tree was a primary source of food, light, hygiene and healing during Biblical times. To the Gentiles in the west the Olive Tree, with its gnarled trunk and soft gray-green leaves does not appear to be an especially impressive tree. Yet to those in the Middle East, it is admired for its artistic appearance and its bountiful nourishment. Its fruit has been eaten as a major food staple for nearly 7000 years. In addition it has been the source of cooking and lighting oil (Exodus 27:20, Leviticus 24:2) as well as medicine and anointing for religious ceremonies (Exodus 30:25-26). As an export it brought great wealth to the nation (1 Kings 5:11).
Being cultivated in Israel for nearly 7000 years, the Olive has always been considered with special, almost mystical, significance. Both Traditional Jews and Gentile Christians believe it was the olive branch that the dove brought back to Noah from Mt. Ararat (Genesis 8:11). Even in Greek mythology, when the gods held a contest to see which of them could produce the most important of all gifts to mortal man, it was Athena who won the contest when she produced the Olive Tree. It is no surprise then, that Paul, a Jew with Roman citizenship, preaching to Greeks, selected the Olive Tree, to illustrate a central theological point of his gospel (Romans 11-26).
Of Israel, Jeremiah the prophet wrote, The Lord called you a thriving Olive Tree, with fruit beautiful in form, (Jeremiah 11:16). Hosea the prophet said, Israel's splendor will be like the Olive Tree, (Hosea 14:6). David, King of Israel, declared, I am like a green Olive Tree flourishing in the house of God, (Psalms 52:8).
Paul uses this symbol of the living and growing Olive Tree to show that the destinies of faithful Jews and Gentiles are inextricably bound together. Paul's analogy of the Olive Tree represents the proper relationship between the Jewish people and Gentile believers in the God of Israel. In Paul's mind, Gentile believers, find their true identity ONLY in connection with Israel, the Jewish people, and the Covenants of God. Paul implies that Gentile believers are spiritually fed, sustained and supported by their relationship with Israel, the true Olive Tree.
Answer for yourself: Paul, a Jew with Roman citizenship, preaching to Greeks and Gentiles, selected what as the example to illustrate the Gentile's being grafted into the people of God as seen in Romans 11-26? The Olive tree.
Answer for yourself: What did the prophets Jeremiah and Hosea use to compare the people of God in Jeremiah 11:16 and Hosea 14:6? The Olive Tree.
Answer for yourself: Paul uses what symbol to illustrate the intertwined destinies of faithful Jews and Gentiles who come together in the one faith in Yahweh? Olive tree.
Answer for yourself: In Paul's mind, Gentile believers find their true identity only in connection with what other people of God? Israel.
Answer for yourself: Paul implies that Gentile believers are spiritually fed, sustained and supported by their relationship with the true Olive Tree. To what nation of people did he refer? Israel.
Answer for yourself: Did Paul teach that the Gentile Christian Church supports Israel or did he teach that Israel supports the Gentile Christian Church? Israel supports the Gentile church.
Answer for yourself: Does Paul imply that Israel is spiritually fed, sustained and supported by their relationship with the Christian church or did he say that the Christian Gentile church is supported and finds its support in Olive Tree of Israel? The Christian Gentile church is supported by Israel.
Paul used the image of the Olive Tree because of some of its most remarkable features. It is a tree with extreme longevity, easily outliving all other fruit trees (notice the symbolism of Eternal Life). The tree is hearty and grows for centuries. In Israel, Olive Trees fall into three categories: very young trees (those planted 50 years ago), moderately young (50 to 300 years old) and mature trees, some of which grow from root systems 2000 years old. No matter what the conditions: hot, cold, dry, wet, rocky or sandy soil, the Olive Tree will live and produce fruit. Its most remarkable characteristic is its tenacity and long life. It is said that you can never kill an Olive Tree. Even when cut down, or burned, new shoots will emerge from the root (Psalms 128:3). Again, this parallels the history of the Jewish people who, because of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism have been persecuted repeatedly by Gentile nations, wars, and invasions; yet continually outlive their captors. Nations that conquered and subjected Israel to repeated slavery are not to be found in the world today, yet Israel survives as a testimony to the eternal plan of God for Israel.
The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is a testament to this longevity, where trees hundreds of years old can be found. In Matthew 26:36 Yeshua retreated to pray after the Passover meal to a place where abundant Olive Trees and an Olive press were located. It was called Gethsemane, or in Hebrew "gat shemen." The Hebrew term for press is "gat" and the word for oil is "shemen," thus "gat-shemen" or Gethsemane.
Herein lies Israel's likeness to the Olive Tree. Their longevity as a culture, is a derivative of their unique faith, tradition and commitment to Torah. Their understanding of God and His relation to their lives and history, gave them a sense of identity, destiny, and mission which in turn, sustained and enabled them to withstand hostile forces of assimilation and disintegration. It becomes obvious, why Paul, uses the Olive Tree image to illustrate the unity between Israel [the cultivated Olive Tree] and Gentile believers [wild olive branches]. Although denied by much of Gentile Christianity today, the most important point is that Gentiles apart from Israel [the Olive Tree] have no prospects of life [spiritual blessings] which is found in the rich sap of the life-giving root of the Olive Tree.
Answer for yourself: What was the rationale of the prophets and the Apostle Paul in choosing Israel to be likened to the Olive Tree? Its long life.
Answer for yourself: Although denied by much of Gentile Christianity today, is the most important point for understanding by the Gentile Christian is that apart from whom [the Olive Tree] the Gentile believer has no prospects of life [spiritual blessings] which is found only in the rich sap of the life-giving root of the Olive Tree? Yes.
The roots of the Olive Tree are extremely sturdy and are the reason why the tree is able to thrive in terraced hills or valleys, rocky or fertile soil. The roots run deep and allow the tree to produce fruit in great heat with a minimum of water. Some have argued that the root in Paul's analogy represents the Messiah or his Messianic movement. But this view confuses the expression root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10) or root of David (Revelation 5:5) with Paul's root of the Olive Tree (Romans 11:17b). David Bivin, in his The Identity of the Root of the Olive Tree in Romans 11, published in Jerusalem by the Jerusalem School of the Study of the Synoptic Gospels, states that the context of Sha’ul’s' letter supports the conclusion that the root represents the Patriarchs in general and Abraham in particular. God's sovereign plan in history was to establish his covenant with mankind through a man called Abraham. He was a semite, a descendant of Noah's son Shem (Genesis 11:10-32). The Patriarch Abraham was the first person to be identified as a "Hebrew" (Genesis 14:13). The Jewish people trace their ancestry to Abraham as the father (root) of the nation of Israel. It was Isaiah who proclaimed God's word, Look to the rock from which you were cut...look to Abraham your father (Isaiah 51:1,2). When God called Abraham he promised he would give the land of Canaan to his offspring (Genesis 12:7, 13:14, 17:8). He further promised that he would have numerous descendants (Genesis 12:2, 13:16,15:5).
Gen. 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen. 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered.
Gen. 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
He also promised that All gentiles on earth would be blessed through his seed (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18).
Gen. 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Gen. 18:18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
Gen. 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice
Kefah [Peter] acknowledged that his fellow Jews were physical descendants of Abraham, and heirs of these promised blessings (Acts 3:25).
Acts 3:25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
In Paul's mind, the Gentile believers in Yahweh were also heirs, partakers and sharers of Yahweh's promises as spiritual descendants of Abraham (Galatians 3:7,8,14).
Gal. 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Answer for yourself: Is the "good" news given to Abraham concerning the death and resurrection of Yeshua or that all Gentile nations will have the opportunity of spiritual blessings in that they will have opportunity to come to Yahweh in faith; thus being blessed? Come to faith in God.
Gal. 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
1 Peter 1:21 Who by him (Yeshua) do we believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
Answer for yourself: God worked mightily through Yeshua who commanded in the Great Commission that the Torah be taken to the Gentile in order that their faith and hope might be in Yeshua or God? God.
Their origin in Abraham is their faith in the message of the servant of the LORD (Yeshua), who is himself of the seed (Galatians 3:16) of Abraham (Galatians 3:16).
Gal. 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Thus the biblical phrase, our Father Abraham (James 2:21, Acts 7:2) expresses a family relationship that every person of faith has with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:6-9).
Gal. 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. {accounted: or, imputed} 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
The argument is based on the belief that those who display Abraham's faith and deeds are Abraham's offspring (James 2:23).
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Answer for yourself: Sha’ul’s' letters supports the conclusion that the root of the Olive Tree represents the Patriarchs in general and who in particular? Abraham.
Answer for yourself: God's sovereign plan in history was to establish his covenant with mankind through what man and what people? Abraham.
Answer for yourself: When God called Abraham he promised him in the Abrahamic covenant that besides the Jews, what group of people on the earth would be blessed through his seed (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18). Gentiles.
Answer for yourself: In Paul's mind, the Gentile believers in God were also heirs, partakers and sharers of God's promises as spiritual descendants of whom (Galatians 3:7,8,14)? Abraham.
Answer for yourself: According to James, those who display Abraham's faith and deeds are Abraham's what (James 2:23)? Seed.
Answer for yourself: To understand correctly how the Gentile Christian Church is to relate to the Israel of God we must begin with what epistles in the New Testament? Ephesians, Romans, Galatians.
Answer for yourself: Paul, the Apostle to the Gentile states that the Gentiles, like you and me, have been quickened or made alive in a spiritual sense by whom because our sins and trespasses had separated us from God? Yeshua.
1 Peter 1:21 Who by him (Yeshua) do we believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God (notice he did not say that one's faith need be in "Jesus").
If according to Peter you believe in God today because of Yeshua and his ministry which fostered a movement from within Biblical Judaism to the non-Jewish world whereby the non-Jew could come to the saving knowledge of the God of Israel then let us continue to search for deeper meaning as to our status in the Covenanted People of God….the Israel of God. Shalom.