1. Faith without the works of the Holy Spirit is a “Dead Faith”
2. The fruit of light
3. The Messiah King is depicted as an Olive Tree
4. A land of Olive Oil
5. A three-fold Developmental Process
6. Truth (Emet)
7. Righteousness (Tzedek)
8. Goodness (Tuv)
9. Our Heavenly Father’s Developmental Plan
10. The focus on Mature Adulthood

Faith without the works of the Holy Spirit is a “Dead Faith:”

Double-minded: The Etrog is double minded. It is dual-natured. It is a mixture of good and evil.

False: Justification by works of “Self”: The Olive Tree (in contrast) is single minded. It is single-natured. There is no mixture. It is good throughout. The Etrog symbolizes the curse of our own self-reliance mixed together with the blessing of reliance solely upon the works of the heavenly Father. This ‘mixture’ leads to the false belief of justification by works of the Self that is imperfect and a futile effort that only leads to a life of enmity with the Holy One.

True: Justification by works of God “alone”:  Like father Abraham we are justified by our faith in righteous works of God alone. God’s righteous works He accomplishes through His Messiah and Spirit alone are what saves us—credits to us a righteous standing before God. We only have God our Father to thank for that. Not ourselves or anyone else. “Let him who boasts boast in Adonai.”

Total Reliance on God!  The Olive Tree symbolizes the blessedness (ashrei) of living a life of total reliance on the gracious and pure (sinless) works of the heavenly Father (Avinu Shebashamayim).

Outside looks good; Inside corrupt:  Practicing the traditions of men, our own works of self-righteousness that originate from our own self-centered vanity, will only lead to the appearance of our looking good on the outside (pious behavior); while the inner corrupt core of our minds, souls, and spirits remains corrupt (evil mixed in with good).

Changed from the Inside-out:  Faith (emunah) without exercising complete reliance on the works of the Holy Spirit (symbolized in the Olives) is a dead faith (symbolized in the Etrog). Therefore, only the new life of Ruach Elohim Chayim that is symbolized in the Olive Tree can change humankind from the Inside-out. Only the life of the Spirit of God will ever restore us (redeemed) humankind back to our original state of ‘perfect’ moral innocence and physical-spiritual purity.

The fruit of light:

The Spirit of Wisdom: Olive oil is a symbol for the work of Ruach Ha-Chokmah. One who is anointed in oil is a person who is empowered by the Spirit to walk in goodness, righteousness and truth. In Zechariah 4:1-14, HaShem’s invisible tree covering for the Golden Lampstand (a type of the Tree of Life) is clearly revealed to be the Olive Tree.

Eternal High Priest and King: God’s covering of His glorious indwelling Presence by a redeemed, regenerated (holy) new humanity will be accomplished by the two offices of Messiah. These are: the offices of High Priest and King symbolized by the “two olive trees” in Zechariah’s vision..

We serve God too: The Spirit of the Holy One is building up a “nation” of kings and priests (plural) to produce His fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth. The ministry of this international nation, composed of both redeemed Jews (Israel) and Gentiles (Commonwealth of Israel) serves as a true covering for Adonai in this age of good and evil (cf. the history behind the special blessing that was bestowed upon Shem and Yafet in Genesis 9:18-27).

The true beautiful tree that “covers” (whose fruit anoints) the Messiah our Great High Priest and King is—-the Olive Tree.

Sourced in the “Life of the Spirit”: It is the fruit of the Olive Tree that is sourced in the Life of the Spirit that is used to accomplish the royal activity of glorifying (anointing) the life of Messiah. This fruit of the Spirit that is grown, harvested, processed, and used to anoint the Messiah is produced in the fertile ground of our lives.

The One who Glorified Adonai Avinu: It is the will of God our Father that our lives become the means by which our Redeemer and Savior is glorified. This is so because as the Son has glorified the Father, it has also been the will of the Father to glorify His Beloved Son; our Messiah ben Yosef.

The Messiah King is depicted as an Olive Tree:

וְיִרְא֖וּ צַדִּיקִ֥ים וְיִירָ֗אוּ וְעָלָ֥יו יִשְׂחָֽקוּ׃

We are in Abraham and Messiah One Great Olive Tree: “But as for me, I am like a Green Olive Tree in the house of God; I trust in the loving-kindness of God forever and ever” (Psalm 52:8).

A land of Olive Oil:

Mosheh called Israel the land of olive oil.

Spiritual Shelter to all nations: Moses called Israel a “land of Olive Oil” (Deuteronomy 8:8). Israel is to be a nation of priests and kings who produce in abundance the pure, righteous works of the Spirit of the Holy One. Israel is to be a nation that provides spiritual shelter to all the nations of the world. In accord with the Almighty One’s promises to Father Abraham, Israel is to be a source of spiritual and material blessing to all the nations of the world (Genesis 22:17-18):

כי־ברך אברכך והרבה ארבה את־זרעך ככוכבי השמים וכחול אשר על־שפת הים וירש זרעך את שער איביו׃ והתברכו בזרעך כל גויי הארץ עקב אשר שמעת בקלי׃

כִּֽי־בָרֵךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ וְהַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ כְּכֹוכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכַחֹול אֲשֶׁר עַל־שְׂפַת הַיָּם וְיִרַשׁ זַרְעֲךָ אֵת שַׁעַר אֹיְבָֽיו׃ וְהִתְבָּרֲכוּ בְזַרְעֲךָ כֹּל גֹּויֵי הָאָרֶץ עֵקֶב אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקֹלִֽי׃

“Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My Voice.” (1, 2)

A three-fold developmental process:

וְנָחָ֥ה עָלָ֖יו ר֣וּחַ ה’ ר֧וּחַ חָכְמָ֣ה וּבִינָ֗ה ר֤וּחַ עֵצָה֙ וּגְבוּרָ֔ה ר֥וּחַ דַּ֖עַת וְיִרְאַ֥ת ה’׃

“And the spirit of Adonai shall rest upon him—a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of Adonai.”

The Fruit of Light #1.  Spirit of wisdom and understanding (רוח חכמה ובינה),
The Fruit of LIght #2.  Spirit of counsel and valor, strength (רוח עצה וגבורה),
The Fruit of Light #3.  Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Adonai ה’) רוח דעת ויראת).

The Lampstand, Root-Stem, and 6 Branches: The prophet Isaiah developmentally organized the fruit emanating from the six branches of the golden lampstand into three couplets of Divinely inspired maturation. The seventh component of the prophet Isaiah’s Light is the stem and three roots that represent the Spirit of the LORD who supplies God’s life throughout His *Tree of Life and Light. Similarly, the fruit of the ministry of the Tree of Life is divided into three couplets, with each couplet of branches manifesting two attributes (i.e. a total of six branches):

*A type of the Tree of Life in Gan Eden: The Golden Lampstand that dwells in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle (מקום קודש המשכן) is the Tree of God’s Life and Light.

Highest Two Branches: The highest couplet, the mature adult, is the spirit of wisdom (chokma, chokhmah) and understanding (binah) that indicates the fruit of light that is Goodness (tuv, tov).

Middle Two Branches: The middle couplet, the young adult, is the spirit of counsel (etza) and valor, strength (gevurah) that gives forth the fruit of light that is righteousness; literally to be straight (tzadak).

Lowest Two Branches: The lowest couplet, the child, is the spirit of knowledge (da’at) and the fear of God (veyirat Adonai) that gives forth the fruit of light that is truth (emet).

Truth (Emet-אֱמֶת):

Lowest Couplet (Spiritual Child): Since trees go through a developmental process it appears chronologically that the first developmental stage represented in the first couplet of branches grown out of the Spirit of God is the lowest couplet of the fruit of truth that produces the Fear of God and the Spirit of knowledge. In Proverb 9:10 we read:

Reverent Trust and Gratitude: The fear of God (veyirat Adonai) is the beginning of wisdom. The beginning of a believing person’s developmental journey is spent reverencing the Holy One – fear in this context is a reverent trust – in acquiring the knowledge (experience) of God. Initially we discover that God is our Father in heaven and that if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us of all our unrighteousness. In reverent gratitude for all that God has done for us we  learn to obey His will by being instructed in His Word which is Truth.

Righteousness (Tzedek-צָדַק):

Middle Couplet (Young Spiritual Adult): The second developmental stage represented in the second couplet of the Tree of Life and Light involves the fruit of righteousness. This stage of spiritual growth involves appropriating the power of God to do His will. The power to do the will of our Father in heaven enables us to participate in a wider spectrum of knowing the Holy One, of walking in His counsel—walking in His Spirit.

Goodness (Tuv-טוּב):

Highest Couplet (Mature Spiritual Adult): It is the mature alone who possess reflexive skills of discernment (understanding) and wisdom. The third and final developmental stage of our maturation involves the fruit of goodness. This is the mature life of the Spirit. A spiritually mature person is skilled in understanding the will of God the Father sufficient to quickly recognize and oppose evil and just as swiftly recognize and reflexively embrace what is good.

The mature are not only discerning but they are also wise.

You know Him Who is from “The Beginning”: A spiritual young adult can see a part of the big picture of life, experience a vision (sectional view) but only the mature can perceive the horizon-to-horizon view of of God; that is only the spiritually mature can “dream dreams” (panoramic view).

Our Heavenly Father’s Developmental Plan:

Knowing Him Who is from the Beginning (Eternity).

Childhood: Similar to Isaiah the beloved talmid Yochanan ben Zebedyah presents a three-fold developmental process involving these: First, spiritual childhood when we come to understand that God is our Father and that as such He is the one who forgives us of all our sins.

Young Adult: Second, spiritual young adulthood when we overcome the evil one by abiding in God’s Word. This developmental stage occurs when our training in hearing, understanding, and obeying the D’var Adonai reaches a point where the world’s social conditioning is supplanted, “tripped-up” (overthrown) and permanently replaced with God’s Rule.

Spiritual Fathers and Mothers: Third, spiritually mature adulthood when one’s accumulated experience embracing the rule of God develops into a state of intimacy with God; Who is the Eternal One who is “from the beginning.”

The focus on mature adulthood:

כתבתי לכם, אבות, מיפני שהיכרתם אותו אשר הוא מראשית. פ

“I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.”

Like a laboring, nurturing Mother: Mature believers are like a laboring mother who is determined to give birth and then after bringing a new life into the world devotedly raises up her beloved child/children to full maturity. Those who are spiritually mature must help those who are spiritual infants so that they might developmentally move from the initial experience of exercising faith in our Messiah, receive the gift of the Spirit (Living Torah), and then grow in the knowledge of Avinu Shebashamaim.

כִּֽי־כֹ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר ה’ הִנְנִ֣י נֹטֶֽה־אֵ֠לֶיהָ כְּנָהָ֨ר שָׁל֜וֹם וּכְנַ֧חַל שׁוֹטֵ֛ף כְּב֥וֹד גּוֹיִ֖ם וִֽינַקְתֶּ֑ם עַל־צַד֙ תִּנָּשֵׂ֔אוּ וְעַל־בִּרְכַּ֖יִם תְּשָׁעֳשָֽׁעוּ׃ כְּאִ֕ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִמּ֖וֹ תְּנַחֲמֶ֑נּוּ כֵּ֤ן אָֽנֹכִי֙ אֲנַ֣חֶמְכֶ֔ם וּבִירֽוּשָׁלִַ֖ם תְּנֻחָֽמוּ׃

[Isaiah 66:12-13] For thus says Adonai: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and fondled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and in Jerusalem you shall be comforted.”

God is the Great Shepherd of us all. He  is the One who has sent us His Messiah (M’shico), forgiven us all our sins, given us His gift of eternal life, and appointed spiritual fathers and mothers to help us grow to mature spiritual adulthood. Blessed be your NAME!

Messiah in Sukkot Chapter 10 >>