Yahweh called your name, “A green olive tree, beautiful with goodly fruit.” With the noise of a great roar he has kindled fire on it, and its branches are broken.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh called your name, “A green olive tree, beautiful with goodly fruit.” With the noise of a great roar he has kindled fire on it, and its branches are broken.
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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.
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The LORD called thy name a leafy olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit; with the noise of a great tumult He hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Jeremiah 11:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 11:17-24 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree, don’t boast over the branches. But if you boast, it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Don’t be conceited, but fear; for if God didn’t spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. See then the goodness and severity of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off. They also, if they don’t continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
- Psalms 52:8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in God’s house. I trust in God’s loving kindness forever and ever.
- Isaiah 27:11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
- Psalms 80:16 It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke.
- Psalms 83:2 For, behold, your enemies are stirred up. Those who hate you have lifted up their heads.
- Isaiah 1:30-31 For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. The strong will be like tinder, and his work like a spark. They will both burn together, and no one will quench them.”
- Jeremiah 21:14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says Yahweh; and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it will devour all that is around her.’ ”
- Ezekiel 15:4-7 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire has devoured both its ends, and the middle of it is burned. Is it profitable for any work? Behold, when it was whole, it was suitable for no work. How much less, when the fire has devoured it, and it has been burned, will it yet be suitable for any work?” Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will set my face against them. They will go out from the fire, but the fire will devour them. Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I set my face against them.
- Ezekiel 20:47-48 Tell the forest of the South, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word: The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree. The burning flame will not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it. All flesh will see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it. It will not be quenched.” ’ ”
- Matthew 3:10 “Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.
- John 15:6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain The Prophet says first that the Jews had indeed…
The Prophet says first that the Jews had indeed been for a time like a fruitful and a fair olive; then he adds, that this beauty would not prevent God from breaking its branches and entirely eradicating it. He afterwards confirms this declaration, and says, For God who had planted it, can also root it up whenever it pleases him. This is the import of the two verses.
The Prophet no doubt derides here the vain confidence by which he knew the Jews were deceived: for they were so inebriated with their privileges that they dared to despise the very giver of them. Hence the Prophet thus addressed them, “Do ye think that so many vices will be unpunished? Ye omit nothing to kindle God’s wrath against you, — ye have polluted his Temple, ye have corrupted the whole of Divine worship, ye have despised the law; and can you think that the Lord will perpetually spare you?” But when the prophets thus assailed them, they had this answer, “What! will God leave his own Temple, concerning which he has sworn, This is my rest for ever? Is not this the Holy Land? And is not this also his heritage and his rest? And further, are we not his flock? Are we not his children? Are we not a holy people?” What then the Jews were wont arrogantly to claim, the Prophet concedes to them. “So,” he says, “ye are a green olive, a fair and tall olive, a fruitful olive; all this I grant; but cannot God kindle a fire to burn the branches and to reduce to nothing the whole tree?” We now then understand the design of the Prophet.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Of the Babylonians and Chaldeans.
Of the Babylonians and Chaldeans.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jer 11:16 The LORD called thy name, A green…
Jer 11:16 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.
Ver. 16. The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree.] Green all the year long, fair and fruitful; this was thy prosperous and flourishing condition, but now thy best days are over; for,
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With the noise of a great tumult.] Barritu militari; the battle cry of soldiers, such as soldiers make when they storm a city.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That is, the Lord fixed thee when he brought…
That is, the Lord fixed thee when he brought thee first into Canaan, in a beautiful flourishing state and condition, so as thou wert in a capacity both to have done thyself much good, and to have brought him much glory, like a beautiful fair olive tree, fit to bear fair and goodly fruit. But thou hast so behaved thyself, that the Lord is altering the course of his providence to thee, he that planted thee is about to pluck thee up. God is about to kindle a fire which will burn thee up, and to break thy branches. There is nothing more usual in prophetical writings than to have things yet to come expressed as if past, because of the certainty of them; they being what shall as certainly be as if already done.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For the Lord of hosts that planted thee,.... As…
For the Lord of hosts that planted thee,.... As a green olive tree, and gave thee all thy verdure, fruitfulness, happiness, and prosperity; when he first put thee into the possession of the good land, and distinguished thee by so many favours and blessings; as he is able to take them away, so he will:
for he hath pronounced evil against thee; he hath determined it in his mind, and he hath declared it by his prophets:
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for the evil of the house of Israel; the ten tribes, who had committed sin, and for which the evil pronounced had been executed on them already, being some time ago carried captive:
and of the house of Judah; who had taken no warning by them, but had followed them in their iniquities, and even exceeded them; and therefore must expect the like punishment for their sins:
which they have done against themselves; for sin is not only against God, his nature, will, and law; but it is against the sinner himself, and is to his hurt and ruin, both temporal and eternal:
to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal; this particularly was the evil which was so provoking to God; and therefore he determined to bring the evil of punishment upon them; and shows the cause and reason of it; and which is a sufficient vindication of his justice.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Fair - The Lord fixed thee when he brought…
Fair - The Lord fixed thee when he brought thee first into Canaan, in a flourishing condition, like a fair olive-tree, fit to bear goodly fruit. Broken - But thou hast so behaved thyself, that he who planted thee, is about to pluck thee up. God is about to kindle a fire which will burn thee up, and to break thy branches.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. The Lord called thy name, A green…
Verse 16. The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree] That is, he made thee like a green olive-fair, flourishing, and fruitful; but thou art degenerated, and God hath given the Chaldeans permission to burn thee up.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jer 11:16-17. The Lord hath called thy name, A…
Jer 11:16-17. The Lord hath called thy name, A green olive-tree — Perhaps Jeremiah here alludes to Hos 11:7, where Israel is compared to an olive-tree. The Jewish nation, which, in its flourishing state, is often compared by the sacred writers to a vine, is also sometimes compared to an olive-tree, chiefly because of the fruits of holiness and righteousness which God might justly have expected from them, after all the care and pains he had bestowed upon them to make them fruitful. Fair, and of a goodly fruit — Amiable and serviceable, pleasant to the eye, and good for yielding food. With the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled a fire upon it, &c. — The words קול המולה, here rendered the noise of a great tumult, occur Eze 1:24, and are there explained to be כקיל מחנה, like the voice of a host. Here they undoubtedly signify the confused murmur, noise, and tumult of the Chaldean army, coming to desolate Jerusalem and its dependances with fire and sword, described under the image of an olive-tree, whose branches are cut down that they may be burned, or which is burned as it stands; its branches, or lofty boughs, as דליותיוmore properly signifies, meaning the priests and princes. For the Lord that planted thee — And expected fruit from thee in vain; hath pronounced evil against thee — Hath passed a condemnatory sentence upon thee, and marked thee out for destruction. For the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah — The evil of whose heinous sins shall now be followed with the evil of most dreadful punishments.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Burnt, by lightning. The olive was a most useful…
Burnt, by lightning. The olive was a most useful and beautiful tree.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain called thy name--made thee.
called thy name--made thee.
olive-- (Psa 52:8; Rom 11:17). The "olive" is chosen to represent the adoption of Judah by the free grace of God, as its oil is the image of richness (compare Psa 23:5; Psa 104:15).
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with . . . noise of . . . tumult--or, "at the noise," &c., namely, at the tumult of the invading army (Isa 13:4) [MAURER]. Or, rather, "with the sound of a mighty voice," namely, that of God, that is, the thunder; thus there is no confusion of metaphors. The tree stricken with lightning has "fire kindled upon it, and the branches are broken," at one and the same time [HOUBIGANT].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Green olive tree — As in Psa_52:8; Psa_128:3;…
16. Green olive tree — As in Psa_52:8; Psa_128:3; Hos_14:6.
Tumult — Used besides only in Eze_1:24. CONSPIRACY OF THE MEN OF ANATHOTH, 18-23.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. Here also there are probably corruptions in MT.,…
16. Here also there are probably corruptions in MT., but R.V. gives the general sense.
called thy name] acknowledged thee to be worthy of comparison with.
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green] spreading, luxuriant. The Hebrew word does not in itself denote colour. For the figure cp. Psa_52:8; Hos_14:6.
tumult] lit. roaring, i.e. of the tempest.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) A green olive tree.—The parable is essentially the…
(16) A green olive tree.—The parable is essentially the same, though a different symbol is chosen, as that of the vine of Isa_5:1; Jer_2:21, or the fig-tree of Luk_13:6. The olive also was naturally a symbol of fertility and goodness, as in Psa_52:8; Hos_14:6; Zec_4:3; Zec_4:11. In the words “the Lord called thy name” we have the expression of the Divine purpose in the “calling and election” of Israel. This was what she was meant to be.
Fair, and of goodly fruit.—The words point, as before, to the ideal state of Israel. She had made no effort to attain that ideal, and therefore the thunderstorm of God’s wrath fell on it. The word for “tumult” is used in Eze_1:24 for the sound of an army on its march, and is probably used as combining the literal or figurative meaning.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain A green olive tree. The olive tree is "one…
A green olive tree. The olive tree is "one of the most thriving, hardy, and productive trees in the East", (it was the first tree elected king in the parable, Jud_1:9:8) and with its "foliage of a deep, perennial green," furnishes a striking symbol of healthful beauty. A psalmist, speaking in the character of the typical righteous man, compares himself to a "green olive tree in the house of God". (Psa_52:8) The word rendered "green "is one of those which are the despair of translators. (see Jer_2:20) It gives a picture in itself. We seem to see a flourishing, sappy tree, with abundance of pliant, gracefully moving, perennially green branches. With the noise of a great tumult. Either the tumult of the melee of battle is meant (the same uncommon word is used with such a reference in Eze_1:24) or the crashing of thunder. "With a rushing mighty sound" would be a more forcible rendering. (For the concluding figure, comp. Eze_31:12) He hath kindled fire, etc. There is no occasion to explain this as merely the perfect of prophetic certitude. It was literally true that the fire of war had already devastated the fairest portion of the Holy Land. Israel (expressly referred to in Ver. 17) had already been carried into captivity, and Judah was, to the prophetic eye, as good as destroyed. Here, no doubt, that wonderful perfect of faith does come in.
Vers. 16, 17. The olive struck by lightning.
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Under the image of an olive tree consumed by lightning fires the prophet portrays the devastation which will come upon Israel in spite of former prosperity. This is a type of the similar doom which may overtake the happy and prosperous.
I THE HAPPY PROSPERITY.
1. The olive tree was green perennially green. Prosperity may be constant and unbroken before the descent of judgment.
2. It was fair. Prosperity may come with much honor and gladness.
3. It was fruitful. The life may abound in good to others.
4. It was planted by God. (Ver. 17) All good comes from him, and it is a great good to be established in our way of life by God"s will and help. Yet none of these good things sufficed to avert a terrible doom. Present prosperity is no security against future adversity. The goodness of the past will be no safeguard against the punishment of sins of later years. The long-tried, honored, useful man who falls into sin at the end of his life must not delude himself into supposing that his earlier career will shield him from all troublesome consequences.
II THE FEARFUL DEVASTATION. The green and fair and fruitful tree was struck in the thunderstorm, and its branches consumed with fire.
1. The devastation was from above by fire from heaven. God who planted also destroyed. Punishment is sent by God.
2. It was sudden. The lightning flash is instantaneous. The terrible ruin of sin may fall in a moment.
3. It was irresistible. The tree is passive and helpless in the storm. Its very magnitude only invites the blow which will destroy it.
4. It was destructive. Fire consumed the branches. The fires of judgment are consuming fires they burn to destroy. (Mat_3:12)
Vers. 16, 17. The first last.
Many, indeed, are the instances in which those who were placed first in opportunity have been found last in attainment. Privilege, favor, education, help of all kinds, have been at their disposal, and yet the results which had been designed for them, and which so surely should have been theirs, they have missed (cf. Matthew 11, "Woe unto thee, Bethsaida!" etc.). And in ordinary life, as well as in the records of the Bible, may we learn how frequently, not the strong and mighty, but "the lame take the prey." The first are last and the last first. Now, of such sad and shameful failures these verses supply a notable instance. Under the imagery of a green olive tree, fair and of goodly fruit, the prophet pictures the condition and prospects of the people of God when he first planted them. No similitude could more strikingly convey to the mind of the inhabitant of Judah and Jerusalem the idea of happy and sure prosperity. But, next, the prophet portrays a far different scene that same tree, but black and charred, its trunk riven, its fruit and foliage all gone, and its branches broken down; for the thunderbolt and the scathing lightning, the wild tempest and the fierce wind, have all done their deadly work upon it, and now it stands a mere blackened stump, instead of the beauteous and fruitful tree it once was. From that height of favor to that depth of disaster were Judah and Jerusalem to fall. They who had been first should be last.
I THEY WERE FIRST. The imagery employed by the prophet tells in what respects.
1. In the favor of God. The olive was a favorite tree, held in highest esteem by the people of the lands where it grew; hence it is used here and elsewhere as an emblem of those whom God favors and has pleasure in. (cf. "I am like a green olive tree in the house of my God," Psa_52:8) The Bible seems to love the tree. It is the first named of any known tree, (Gen_8:11) and is the subject of the first parable. (Jud_1:9:8) It is everywhere spoken of as precious; hence, when Judah and Jerusalem are thus named, we regard it as a name of endearment, telling how precious they were in God"s sight. This is borne out by direct statements and by the recorded deeds of God, which show the esteem in which he held them.
2. In beauty. No doubt the beauty of the olive tree exists partly in the eyes of the beholder, who looks upon it with affection for all the service it renders him. But to others also there is unquestionable beauty in the olive which, with its "noble groves, covered with foliage the whole year round, spreading like a silver sea along the base of the hills and climbing their ascending terraces, speaks loudly of peace and plenty, food and gladness" (see Ruskin," Stones of Venice," vol. 3. pp. 175-177). And without doubt it was beautiful in the eyes of those to whom the prophet wrote. But there is a moral beauty as well as that which is material, and of which the material is a fit symbol. And, compared with the disorder, the violence, the foulness, the wickedness of all kinds, in which the rest of the world was sunk, Israel was as a garden of the Lord a green olive tree, fair" and comely to look upon. In them that which was lovely and of good report, that which had virtue and praise, were found as nowhere else. Love to God and love to man, justice, truth, and piety were held in esteem amongst them as amongst none others.
3. In usefulness. The olive tree was not merely fair, but "of goodly fruit." From that fruit came one of the commonest and most essential articles of the Eastern"s food. Its oil was employed in connection with almost everything that they ate. Its berries gave flavor to the peasant"s bread. The evening lamp was kindled with the oil pressed from it. And that same oil was used to anoint their priests and kings, for the lamp in the holy place, and to mingle with many of their sacrifices. To "anoint the head with oil" was deemed most delightful and refreshing. (Ps 42) Wounds were dressed with it, (Luk_10:34) and the sick were anointed with it. (Mar_6:13 Jam_5:4) The wood of the tree was employed in the sacred furniture of the temple, and there seemed to be no part of the tree which did not in some way render service to man. Now, such was the purpose of God in regard to his people, that in them "should all the nations of the earth be blest." They were to be the channel of blessing to all people. Through them God"s saving health" should be known "amongst all nations.
4. And in permanence. Their blessedness was to abide. The "greenness" of the tree spoken of here refers to its perpetuity and strength. The olive is known to live to a great age. It is not improbable (see Kitto) that some of the olive trees now on the Mount of Olives are contemporaneous with our Lord. The tax paid on them is that which was assigned to such trees when first the Turks became masters of Palestine. All trees planted since are taxed far more heavily. But of the great age to which the olive tree attains there can be no doubt. It brings forth fruit in old age, and its leaf doth not wither (Psalm 50). It was, therefore, a fit emblem of permanent prosperity and strength. Such was the Divine intent in regard to his people. Their blessedness was to abide. Thus in all these and yet other ways were they first. But
II THEY BECAME LAST. See the terrible similitude employed the charred and shattered tree. But not more terrible than true. The smoldering ruins, the devastated city, the desolate land, which a few years afterwards the prophet looked upon, showed how true his word had been. They had become last indeed. Exalted to heaven, they had been thrust down to hell. None can avoid inquiring
III THE CAUSE OF ALL THIS. It is declared to be threefold.
1. The evil of the people themselves. (Ver. 17) Their persistence in idolatry in spite of all remonstrance, warning, and every inducement which should have withdrawn them from their sin. "Do not the abominable thing which I hate" had in every variety of manner been said to them by God, but in vain. He hated it because it was the root of so many other sins, and the destroyer of all the good he had purposed both for and through them.
2. Their evil returning upon themselves. Ver. 17, "The evil.., which they have done against themselves." This is ever the way of sin. (Pro_8:36) It wrongs our entire nature. What a man sows he reaps. The reason is debased, conscience trampled on, the power of will prostrated, the soul imprisoned, the affections perverted, the imagination defiled, the body often diseased, character ruined, substance wasted, all the true springs of happiness poisoned or stopped. He has sown to the flesh, and of the flesh he has reaped corruption. Yes, sin is ever done against ourselves.
3. The woe which comes from the provoked anger of God. Besides these natural results of sin the reaping which is according to the sowing, and which are terrible enough in themselves there come the punitive inflictions of the wrath of God. History as well as the Bible is full of proofs of this on a large scale, and so are the experiences of individual trans gressors, though in more limited form. And wherever sin, the primary cause, is found, there sooner or later will come these other causes which together work so dread a doom.
CONCLUSION. What effect should the contemplation of facts like these and they are written and wrought for our learning have upon us? Should they not cause us to reject at once and forever all those suggestions which Satan is ever plying us with that sin will not be punished, and the transgressor may, after all, go free? In view of facts like these, how can that be believed? And should they not lead us to offer as our daily prayer the petition, "Give us a heart to love and dread thee, and diligently to live after thy commandments"? And not only to dread and deprecate the wrath which sin provokes, but to desire and seek after that preoccupation of the heart with the love of God which will bar out sin. Guard my first springs of thought and will, And with thyself my spirit fill. C.
Vers. 16, 17. The fated olive tree.
I GOD"S COMPARISON OF HIS PEOPLE TO THE OLIVE TREE. There would have been force in the comparison if applied to any flourishing and fruitful tree, but there was peculiar propriety in directing the thoughts of the people to the olive. The olive was already associated in sacred history with the return of hope after the Flood, and doubtless, in the times of Jeremiah, it was one of the most valuable of trees, as it still is, for the richness of its produce, and the variety of ways in which that produce meets the common wants of men. The extensive olive, groves, composed of trees that reach no great height, and unattractive to a mere casual glance, were yet more to the people than all the cedars of Lebanon. And as the people were led to consider these olive trees, full of vigor, abounding in blossoms, many of which never came to fruit, and yet, after all, left abundance of fruit behind, as they recollected all the use of the olive, for food, for light, for anointing, for soap making; the thoughtful among them would feel that God could have employed no better figure to suggest how full Israel was of productivity of the most practical sort. Mention is made in Hosea, (Hos_14:6) as well as here, of the beauty of the olive tree. In one sense the olive was not beautiful. As far as the picturesque was concerned, many trees excelled it. But, after all, the deepest beauty, the only beauty that will bear inspection, is that which comes from pleasant experiences and associations; and those who were rich in profits from the labor of the olive would see in it a beauty absent from many trees otherwise more attractive. The olive, to one seeing it for the first time, might seem a tree of small practical use. But experience proved that its performance was great, and so it became more and more a name of honor. And this tree, having in it such capabilities, God had planted. The olive tree needs a special soil to bring out all its capabilities. Dr. Thomson says, speaking of a certain plain full of olive-orchards, "The substratum of these plains is chalky marl, abounding in flint In such soil the tree flourishes best, both in the plains and upon the mountains. It delights to insinuate its roots into the clefts of the rocks and crevices of this flinty marl; and from thence it draws its richest stores of oil. If the overlying mould is so deep that its roots cannot reach the rock beneath, I am told that the tree languishes, and its berries are small and sapless." And so God planted his people, being such as they were in his eye, in a land promised and duly prepared. Nay, in a certain sense, they were planted even before they reached the land of promise. They were planted and became fruitful as soon as ever God took them in hand, fruitful even amid the pains of Egypt and the desolations of the wilderness.
II THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS OLIVE TREE. All the wealth that came from this olive tree was being used for bad purposes. The fatness of the soil went into the olive, but the fatness Of the olive did not come back to God in grateful and proportionate service. Nay, rather, it was used against him; and the harm it did was to some extent measurable by the good it might have done. The axe is laid, not only at the root of the tree that brings forth no fruit, but also at the root of the tree that brings forth its fruit to be used in hostility against him who planted the tree. Israel might say, "Is it not plain that God favors us, for are we not as the green, fair, fruitful olive? Why, then, should we believe threatenings that seem contradicted by these signs of favor?" These were signs of favor indeed, but they were also grounds of expectation. And when the expectation was utterly disappointed, and when the fruit of Jehovah"s gracious dealings was used to prop up the abominations of idolatry, it was time for him to work in all the severity of righteous judgment. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 11:16-17 At the time of the Exodus, the Lord…
11:16-17 At the time of the Exodus, the Lord regarded Israel as a thriving olive tree. King David likened himself to an olive tree (Ps 52:8), and the apostle Paul used this image when discussing how Gentiles could partake of the blessings of salvation (Rom 11:16-21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.