Pass this on if you wish.

-L

May 2006

This is something I wrote for the "Library" in my church. It will be in a frame next to a decorative olive tree. I hope you gain something in it. The Olive is a precious symbol for us. The pimento I'm not so sure about, but one thing at a time, right? Enjoy, my friends!

The Olive Tree

The olive tree and its fruit are spiritually symbolic. Like the Trinity, the olive has three parts: the skin, the fruit and the pit. The whole olive is precious because valuable oil is extracted from all three parts. Throughout history olives were harvested for oil by beating the trees with sticks to bruise and knock down the fruit. Oil was procured by completely crushing the olives in stone or wooden mortars, or by using beam presses.

Ancient peoples prized olive oil and used it on a daily basis. They used olive oil nightly in oil lamps. Olive oil was also used as medicine, for cooking, grooming, for making perfumes, cosmetics, and as a currency in its own right. Its benefits and versatility made it an highly valued commodity. God used olive oil as a symbol of His presence throughout the Scriptures. This way His children could easily associate His presence as vital for daily living, widely beneficial, and especially precious. The best example of one filled with the oil of the presence of God is Jesus. Filled with the presence of God, he is the light of the world.

Just before his betrayal and arrest Jesus went into an olive grove. He prayed at the foot of the Mount of Olives in the garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane means, “press of oil”. In great anguish, he prayed near an olive press. This night was the commencing crush of the Son of God as our sacrifice. His mental and emotional pressing began there very intensely and continued throughout his crucifixion. The sweet presence of God offered to us came by the beating and utter crushing of the Son of God physically, emotionally and spiritually– A free gift of grace!

As Christians we are called to be like oil lamps. We are vessels filled with the oil of the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, through Christ’s sacrifice. We may be a light and balm to the world, if we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us. The Olive Tree here reminds of Jesus’ sacrifice and the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Him, and in those who believe.

Lisa DeLay

©2006