Not many chapters in Scripture provide us with such a clear picture of Yahweh’s favour and love towards his people, as Hoshea 14. It comes to us as a sensitive and heartfelt conversation between Yisrael and his Elohim, Yahweh. The chapter begins with Yisrael speaking to Yahweh, acknowledging that they have turned their backs upon Him and could no longer afford to look at all kinds of alternative and popular means of salvation and restoration: “Take away all our crookedness, and accept what is good, as we render the offerings of our lips … Ashur (Assyria) does not (cannot!) save us … and we shall no longer say to the works of our hands: ‘Our mighty ones!’ … (we are like) the fatherless (and) will only find compassion in You! (14:2-3).” In response to this outcry of desperation, Yahweh answers: “I shall heal their backsliding, I shall love them spontaneously, for my displeasure has turned away from him. I shall be like the dew to Yisrael. He shall blossom like the lily, and strike out his roots like the Levanon. His branches shall spread, and his splendour shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like the Levanon” (14:4-6).
This is just a confirmation of how much the beauty of nature reminds us of the beauty of Yahweh. He can bring freshness and vitality to one’s life like the dew and the rain bring freshness and joy to a barren land. He can make us blossom again, similar to the way the lilies are starting to blossom again, almost out of the blue, this time of the year in the Western Cape. He can widen our perspective and increase our hope for the future like the branches of a lovely tree keep on spreading out more and more. He can add the kind of attractive fragrance to our lives that can only be compared to the fragrances found in nature and last, but not least: He can cover us with a splendor and inner beauty like that of an olive tree.
For some people the olive tree may not have the same splendor as that of a willow or a palm tree. However, it is the inner beauty and the inner (and sometimes hidden) qualities of the olive tree that will make us realize that the splendor and the beauty spoken of in Hoshea 14 is indeed a beauty that surpasses anything else in nature as we know it. When looking at the meaning of the word “zayit” which is the Hebrew word for “olive” or “olive tree”, one will begin to understand the significance and true symbolism of the olive tree in Scriptures. The word “zayit” is one of those Hebrew words which may have developed from (or may be connected to) more than one root words and therefore it is a word that may carry a number of meanings and connotations – all of which may lead to a better understanding of the symbolism attached to this word. One source indicates that “zayit” may have come from the root word “zahah” which means “to be bright, to be fresh, to be luxuriant”. This makes perfect sense, as the main purpose of olive oil was that it was used as “fuel” for the lamps – especially those used in the house of Yahweh. Yisrael, and the believers in Messiah, are often compared to the olive tree, because we are called to reflect the light and the brightness of Yahweh in this world.
The word “zayit” also seems to be connected to the word “zuah” which means “to tremble” or “to shake”. This is what was done to an olive tree to cause the ripe (and spoiled) olives to fall from the tree. In YeshaYahu 24:13 we read about the remnant being separated from the rest of the people like a “shaking of the olive tree”. This is how Yahweh will select and test and purify his called ones – especially in the end-times – when all kinds of calamities will come upon this earth as a result of its disobedience and transgression of Yahweh’s commandments. What may seem to us like a process of unusual difficulty and unwanted shaking, may in fact be Yahweh’s way of preparing us for the great end-time harvest!
Another word with a possible connection with the word “zayit” is the Aramaic word “zuh” which means “to put aside” or “to put away” or “to draw together”. It is not entirely impossible that comparing Yisrael with an olive tree, was intended to indicate that Yisrael, and those who are associated with them, were supposed to be set-apart from other nations and their customs. We should be set-apart (and live set-apart lives) because Yahweh is the set-apart One, calling Yisrael to be set-apart as He is set-apart (Wayyikra 11:44-45, see also 1 Kepha / 1 Peter 1:13-16). We should draw together as believers and draw a clear line between our own behaviour and the ways of the rest of the world. This truth is confirmed by the fact that a trained eye can recognize an olive tree quite easily by the distinctive silver reflection on its leaves in the sun – even when growing among other types of trees. Let us take a brief look at some of the other references in Scripture to the olive tree (including olive leaves, olive branches and olive oil) to establish more clearly what exactly is meant by the prophet’s words that the splendor of Yisrael will be like an olive tree.
The splendor of Yahweh may be seen in the never-fading light that is brought into this world through the lives of those who allow Yahweh to “press” them like olives that need to be pressed to provide the oil that may ensure that the lamps will keep on burning. Lev 24:2 “Command the children of Yisrael that they bring to you clear oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually.”
The splendor of Yahweh may be seen in the favour He bestowed upon us – blessings that we have not deserved – comparable, among other things, to the fact that Yisrael enjoyed the fruit of vineyards and olive trees which they did not plant. Deut 6:11 “(He will give you) houses filled with all kinds of goods, which you did not fill, and wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied.”
The splendor of Yahweh may be seen when someone becomes like a green olive in the house of Yahweh, by choosing to make Elohim his strength and not trusting in riches or any other human accomplishment. Ps 52:7-8 “See the man who did not make Elohim his strength, but trusted in his many riches, being strong in his destruction. But I am like a green olive tree In the House of Elohim, I have trusted in the loving-commitment of Elohim forever and ever.”
The splendor of Yahweh may be seen when someone truly fears Yahweh, together with his wife and his children, whose gathering around the table (or family meeting place) may be compared to young olive plants growing out of the roots of the older tree and surrounding the area where it stems from the ground. Ps 128:1-4 “Blessed are all who fear Yahweh, who walk in His ways … Let your wife be as a fruit-bearing vine within your house, your sons like olive plants all around your table. Look, so shall the man be blessed who fears Yahweh.”
The splendor of Yahweh may be seen when those who look up at Him as their single Source of deliverance, manage to exalt Him and rejoice in Him despite the fact that the yield of the olive had failed and the work put in with the hope to accomplish much, had proven to be in vain.
Hab 3:17-18 “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit on the vine, the yield of the olive has failed, and the fields brought forth no food, the flock has been cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will exult in Yahweh, I will rejoice in the Elohim of my deliverance.”
The splendor of Yahweh may be seen when believers from gentile nations are being added to Yisrael, the chosen people of Yahweh, like wild olive branches being grafted in among the branches of the original olive tree. Rom 11:16-18 “Now if the first-fruit is set-apart, the lump is also. And if the root is set-apart, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, have been grafted in among them, and came to share the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. And if you boast, remember: you do not bear the root, but the root bears you!”
These “wild branches” will not only share the root and the fatness of the olive tree, they will also be overwhelmed by Yahweh’s splendor and his esteem:
Rom 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of riches, and wisdom and knowledge of Elohim! How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways! For who has known the mind of Yahweh? Or who has become His counsellor? Or who first gave to Him, and it shall be given back to him? Because of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all, to whom be esteem forever. Ahmain.”
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