112. "They Shall Still Bring Forth Fruit in Old Age; They Shall Be Fat and Flourishing"

"They Shall Still Bring Forth Fruit in Old Age; They Shall Be Fat and Flourishing"

(Psalms 92:14) The olive tree, mentioned forty times in the Old Testament, is one of the very first trees named in the Bible. An olive leaf was brought to Noah’s ark (Genesis 8:11). The olive is the most common cultivated tree in Palestine, producing abundant fruit and oil. One tree often furnishes from ten to fifteen gallons of oil.

Olives and bread constitute a large part of the food of the peasants. Olive oil was and is today used very much for lighting. In the service of the tabernacle, besides being used for light, it was one of the ingredients of the "Holy anointing oil" (Exodus 25:6; Exodus 30:24).

Olive oil was used in treating wounds (Luke 10:34). It was used for the head (Psalms 23:5), as an act of courtesy (Luke 7:46), as well as to anoint priests, kings, and prophets for service (Leviticus 8:12; 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Kings 19:16). Many references in Leviticus show how much use was made of oil in connection with offerings. The olive tree has small white flowers in May, which fall readily (Job 15:33.) The fruit is gathered by beating (Deuteronomy 24:20) or shaking the tree (Isaiah 17:6). The olive tree grows slowly, very often lives to a very, very great age, and bears fruit till the last, even when the trunk is nothing but a shell.

"The righteous shall still bring forth fruit in old age."