“I Will Liken Thee O House of Israel, Like Unto a Tame Olive Tree”

Ed J. Pinegar, Richard J. Allen

Verses 29–37: Scene 1—The roots are overrun.

Verses 38–60: Scene 2—Loftiness brings about destruction.

“I Will Liken Thee O House of Israel, Like Unto a Tame Olive– Tree”

Verses 15–18: Scene 1—The natural tree bears fruit.

Verses 19–28: Scene 2—The transplanted branches bear fruit.

“I Will Liken Thee O House of Israel, Like Unto a Tame Olive– Tree”

Verses 4–6: Scene 1—The initial strategy of the Lord: nurturing.

Verses 7–14: Scene 2—Subsequent strategies: grafting, transplanting, burning.

“I Will Liken Thee O House of Israel, Like Unto a Tame Olive Tree”

Verses 61–72: Scene 1—The master strategy: restoration and balance.

Verses 73–75: Scene 2—Resolution: all is accomplished.

Verses 76–77: Postlude—Looking to the future and the end.

By experiencing the allegory of Zenos as an epic play, one can often more readily relate to the principal players, including the servant advocate (“Spare it a little longer”—verse 50) and Lord of the vineyard himself (“What could I have done more for my vineyard?”—verse 41; “For it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard”—verse 66).

By likening scriptures such as these unto ourselves, as Nephi counseled (see 1 Nephi 19:23–24), we can gain perspective on how to magnify our offices and callings in the vineyard of the Lord, trimming away the nonproductive growth from our lives, and cultivating vitality of spirit and fruitfulness of service.

The vineyard of the Lord is the venue of miracles. The transformation that comes from living the gospel as part of the vineyard service is a miracle. (Richard J. Allen)

“O House of Israel Like Unto a Tame Olive Tree”

The allegory of Zenos derives its symbolic meaning from the well-established olive horticulture tradition of the Middle East. Carefully managed and nourished olive trees bear fruit for centuries, and the root system of such trees can retain vitality for millennia. The analogy with the enduring blessings of the gospel and the abiding sanctity of God’s covenant relationship with His children is appropriate. The olive branch itself is a long-standing symbol for peace. The dove returning to Noah’s ark bore an olive leaf in its beak—a powerful image for the restoration of peace to the earth (see Genesis 8:11). Peace comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Savior said, “I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman” (John 15:1). Nephi was fully oriented to the power of such imagery through his grand vision of the unfolding of Israel’s destiny (see 1 Nephi 11–14). He explained to his hard-hearted older brothers the essence of the simile:

And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed—
And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.
And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?
Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive-tree, into the true olive-tree. (1 Nephi 15:13–16).

What did Joseph Smith know of the traditions of the olive culture that figures so prominently in the allegory of Zenos? The young Joseph Smith, instrument in the hands of the Lord and inspired translator of the Book of Mormon, residing as he did in the forested American Northeast, could not have been familiar with the details of olive culture of the Mediterranean. In Jacob 5, the extended allegory of the olive tree—with its complex and realistic unfolding of the process of production and harvesting of fruit—is strikingly consistent with what we learn from ancient treatises on olive cultivation. (See Echoes, 198.)

I Will Liken Thee, O House of Israel, Like Unto a Tame Olive-tree

The allegory of the olive tree, which Jacob preserves on the plates of gold, is about us—and how we can participate in the glorious unfolding of the Lord’s plan for the redemption of Israel and all those of the Gentiles who, through faith and obedience, confess His hand and are adopted into the fold. This allegory is a symbolic history of the Lord’s dealings with His sons and daughters of the second estate—the mortal probationary phase of existence that gives us the opportunity to prosper spiritually and magnify our place in the covenant circle.

Among Jacob’s inventory of gospel resources is the record of his family’s experiences, including the prophecies of Lehi and Nephi, and the brass plates of Laban, containing the sacred writings from the beginning of prophetic history. It is among the latter records that he finds the words of Zenos, a prophet of ancient times about whom we know very little—except that he is a martyr for the truth (see Helaman 8:19)—and whose elegant and powerful witness has been lost from our current Old Testament compilation. Like his predecessors, Jacob is consumed by a desire to see that his posterity and future readers have a clear understanding of their place in the Lord’s plan of covenant redemption. Thus he turns to Zenos to convey the meticulous design of the Lord in guiding His people through mortality. Zenos’ allegory and Jacob’s commentary confirm that the mighty promises made by the Lord to Abraham and the seed of Israel will be fulfilled on behalf of the whole world concerning the establishment of His gospel and kingdom here upon the earth.

President Joseph Fielding Smith provides a wonderful framework in which to view and interpret the allegory, or parable, as he calls it:

The parable of Zenos, recorded by Jacob in chapter five of his book, is one of the greatest parables ever recorded. This parable in and of itself stamps the Book of Mormon with convincing truth. No mortal man, without the inspiration of the Lord, could have written such a parable. It is a pity that too many of those who read the Book of Mormon pass over and slight the truths which it conveys in relation to the history, scattering, and final gathering of Israel. Such members of the Church unto whom attention has been called to the great significance of this parable have said they fail to comprehend it. It is simple and very clear to the minds of those who earnestly seek to know the truth. No man without divine inspiration could have written such a parable as this.
In brief, it records the history of Israel down through the ages, the scattering of the tribes to all parts of the earth; their mingling with, or being grafted in, the wild olive trees, or in other words the mixing of the blood of Israel among the Gentiles by which the great blessings and promises of the Lord to Abraham are fulfilled. After Abraham had been proved even to the extent of being willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, the Lord blessed him with the greatest of blessings, and said to him:
… By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice (Genesis 22:16–18).
This remarkable parable portrays how, as branches of the olive tree (Israelites) were carried to all parts of the earth (the Lord’s vineyard) and grafted into the wild olive trees (the Gentile nations). Thus they are fulfilling the promise that the Lord had made.
Today Latter-day Saints are going to all parts of the world as servants in the vineyard to gather this fruit and lay it in store for the time of the coming of the Master. This parable is one of the most enlightening and interesting in the Book of Mormon. How can any person read it without feeling the inspiration of this ancient prophet? (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957–1966], 4:141–142)

Commentaries and Insights on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1

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