The Olive Tree | Teaching by Guy Cohen, Katzir Asher in Acco

  Guy Cohen leads the Acco, Israel congregation Harvest of Asher.

Acco is located in the land allocated by God for the tribe of Asher. The Hebrew word for Harvest is Katzir. Guy was born and raised in a religious rabbinic family line in the city of Acco where he now leads a Messianic congregation discipling believers in the faith of the Israeli Messiah, Yeshua.

As we approach Tu Bishvat the festival of trees I felt drawn to teach about a tree that stands from generation to generation from kingdom to kingdom. Not a tree of one season or one empire but a tree that remains while borders change rulers rise and fall and cultures come and go. For those from the nations who have come to faith in the Messiah this season invites reflection not only on nature but on roots. The olive tree does not hurry to prove its worth. It simply stays rooted in the land witnessing history without trying to control it. In a world of constant change the olive tree offers a different kind of testimony continuity rather than conquest faithfulness rather than force and life that persists quietly across centuries.

The olive tree is far more than a fruit tree. It carries character. A quiet and resilient character that is not measured by speed or force but by the ability to sustain time meaning and identity. The olive tree does not impress at first glance. Its trunk is cracked its leaves are small and its fruit is bitter. Yet precisely from this modest appearance emerges one of the deepest connections between nature faith and leadership a connection that appears both in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament.

The olive tree moves at a different pace. It is often planted by hands that will never see its fruit yet it continues to yield for generations after. It is a tree of continuity. It teaches a view of life that is not measured only by personal achievement but by long term faithfulness. When a person plants an olive tree he declares that he is part of a story larger than himself.

Even when the olive tree is damaged it does not disappear. Its trunk may crack twist or even become hollow but from the root new shoots will grow. Identity is preserved even when form changes. The olive tree does not cling to the past yet it does not detach from it. It renews itself from the root not instead of it.

This quality stands at the heart of Jotham’s parable in the Book of Judges chapter 9. The trees seek to appoint a king and their first appeal is to the olive tree. Not to the thorn bush not to a useless shrub but to the one that gives oil light and benefit. Yet the olive tree refuses. It says that it will not cease producing its rich oil by which God and people are honored in order to go and rule over the trees. This refusal is profound not merely political but ethical. The olive tree does not reject leadership because it is unworthy but because it understands that true leadership is not necessarily rule.

The message is sharp. One who seeks power is not necessarily fit to lead. And one who gives life light and healing to others is not always available for struggles over authority. Jotham’s parable presents the olive tree as a model of influence that does not pursue control. It influences through purpose not through position.

That same olive tree appears again in a different yet complementary context in Romans chapter 11. Here Paul the apostle uses the olive tree as a model for understanding the relationship between Israel and the nations within faith in the Messiah. The olive tree is described as a cultivated tree with an ancient root. Some of its branches were broken off and wild olive branches were grafted in their place. Yet Paul emphasizes a principle that cannot be misunderstood. The branches do not support the root. The root supports the branches.

This is a parable that neither cancels Israel nor replaces one identity with another. On the contrary it establishes that Messianic faith is rooted in the covenants the patriarchs the Torah and the prophets. The nations do not begin a new story but are joined to an existing one. Grafting is not ownership but grace.

Paul also warns against spiritual arrogance. A grafted branch can also be cut off if it becomes disconnected from the root. Faith does not exist in a detached spiritual vacuum but within a historical story a people a language and time.

Here the depth of the olive tree as a shared symbol is revealed. In Jotham’s parable the olive tree refuses to rule because it is faithful to its purpose. In Romans 11 the olive tree refuses to be replaced. In both cases the olive tree teaches humility. It does not exalt itself does not claim ownership and does not erase the other. It simply stands gives and holds the root.

It is a tree that teaches that true leadership is not domination and true identity is not erasure. In faith as in nature there is one root yet there can be many branches. Diversity is not a threat as long as it remains connected to the source of life.

From the olive tree oil is produced and oil does not emerge without pressure. Yet this pressure is measured wise and gradual. Not violence but process. From the crushed fruit comes light. In the ancient world olive oil was light food medicine and holiness. The same substance lit a lamp healed a wound and nourished a household.

Here lies another virtue of the olive tree. The ability to transform difficulty into light. Not a blinding light but a steady one. The olive tree teaches that breaking is not necessarily destruction. Sometimes it is a stage on the way to meaning.

In the story of the flood the dove returns with an olive leaf in its beak. Not a large branch not a dramatic declaration but a small sign that life can return. The olive tree symbolizes peace that is not naive. Peace that acknowledges destruction yet does not surrender to it. Peace that is built gradually.

The olive tree connects past and future identity and renewal root and branch. It does not ask who came first but who is connected. It reminds us that faith like the tree is not tested in moments of peak experience but in quiet faithfulness over time.

In the end the olive tree does not demand attention. It simply teaches. Those who are willing to observe it discover that it is possible to live differently. To be rooted rather than loud. To influence without controlling. And to be part of a greater story without trying to replace the root from which all life flows.

Blessings

Guy Cohen