God labors patiently on our behalf. Even though we may appear at first to be unresponsive to His invitations, He doesn’t give up on us. That’s Jacob’s message in chapters 5-7 of his book.
The Allegory of the Olive Tree (Jacob 5-6)
In response to the question, “How can people who have rejected the truth ever build on a firm foundation?” Jacob quotes and comments on a lengthy allegory by the prophet Zenos. Here is my summary of that allegory:
The Allegory of the Olive Tree – Jacob 5
Here is an overview of Jacob’s message to us in these chapters:
Jacob’s Sermon on the Allegory of the Olive Trees – Jacob 4-6
Here are some other blog posts about the allegory and Jacob’s commentary:
- Leadership Principles from Jacob 5
- Counsel Me Not – Jacob 5:21-22
- He Pruned It, and Digged About It, and Nourished It – Jacob 5:4-5
- O Be Wise, What Can I Say More? – Jacob 6:12
- What Is Wisdom?
Sherem (Chapter 7)
After sharing the allegory, Jacob turns to a specific case study: a man named Sherem who rejected the gospel and attacked him as the leader of the church. Could Sherem ever be redeemed?
Blog posts about Sherem:
- I Could Not Be Shaken – Jacob 7:5
- He Was Learned – Jacob 7:4-5
- What Is the Ministering of Angels?
- It Has Been Made Manifest Unto Me – Jacob 7:10-12
- What’s Wrong with Seeking Signs?
- They Searched the Scriptures – Jacob 7:23
- What Does It Mean to Search the Scriptures?
Blog Posts: March 17-22
“It Grieveth Me That I Should Lose This Tree” – Jacob 5:7
Eight times during the allegory of the olive tree, the Lord of the vineyard says something similar to, “It grieveth me that I should lose this tree” (Jacob 5:7, 11, 13, 32, 46, 47, 51, 66). What is the significance of this statement? It testifies of his enduring love, and it clarifies why he keeps…
Innovation Lessons from the Allegory of the Olive Tree – Jacob 5
As I listened to Jacob 5 this morning, it occurred to me that Zenos’s allegory of the olive tree teaches us how to innovate successfully. Here are some of the principles I noticed: Don’t expect your first idea to work. In the allegory, the master of the vineyard sees an olive tree beginning to decay…
“Cleave unto God as He Cleaveth unto You” – Jacob 6:5
There are multiple ways to read the allegory of the olive tree. You can read with a global perspective: as a symbolic representation of the history and future of the house of Israel. But you can also read it on a very personal level, as a reminder of God’s love and patience toward us. After…
“Ye Shall Have Joy” – Jacob 5:71, 75
At the end of the allegory of the olive tree, the Lord of the vineyard implements a massive plan to recover his olive trees. He and his servant, who have been working alone, recruit more people to help with the work (Jacob 5:61). As he instructs the new recruits, the Lord of the vineyard makes…
“The Lord God Poured in His Spirit” – Jacob 7:8
Last week, I wrote about Jacob’s recurring testimony that his faith was strong because of the many revelations he had received. Consistently receiving personal revelation strengthens our faith, because it gives us strong evidence of the hand of God in our lives which we can rely on in times of uncertainty. I think this is…
Sherem – Rhetoric vs. Reality
Today, as I read the story of Sherem in Jacob 7, I was struck by Sherem’s reliance on his own persuasive abilities. In contrast Jacob was focused on “things as they really are and…as they really will be” (Jacob 4:13). Jacob introduces Sherem as a person who “had a perfect knowledge of the language of…
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