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The good land is a land of pomegranates, typifying the fullness of life, the abundance and beauty of life, and the expression of the riches of life—Deut. 8:8; Exo. 28:33-34; 1 Kings 7:18-20:
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Pomegranates and golden bells were on the bottom part of the high priest’s robe, which signifies the church—Exo. 28:33-34.
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The church should be full of life in her humanity; this is the significance of pomegranates made of linen.
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The church has humanity for the expression of the fullness of life and also divinity for the sounding of the golden bells:
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The fullness of life is expressed in the church’s humanity, but the voice of warning is expressed in the church’s divinity (the golden bells)—v. 35.
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We first have the expression of the fullness of life and then the sounding of the golden bells, that is, the speaking from the divinity of the church.
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The beauty of life expressed in our humanity and the divine sounding from the golden bells are signs of a proper church life.
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The two hundred pomegranates surrounding the capitals at the top of the pillars in the temple signify the expression of the riches of life—1 Kings 7:18-20; 2 Chron. 3:15-16; Jer. 52:22-23; Rev. 3:12:
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Those who judge themselves (bronze) and regard themselves as nothing will be able to bear responsibility in full in the midst of an intermixed and complicated situation (nets of checker work and wreaths of chain work) because they live not by themselves but by faith in God (lily work); thus, they express the riches of life two hundredfold (pomegranates)—1 Kings 7:15-22.
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Out of every one hundred pomegranates, ninety-six were exposed to the open air, and four were covered—Jer. 52:22-23:
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The expression of the riches of life is eternally complete, in the freshness of resurrection, and in the Spirit.
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The fact that four of every one hundred pomegranates were hidden indicates that our natural being, our natural life, and our self must be concealed.
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When our natural being disappears, we have the ninety-six pomegranates, the rich expression of the life of Christ in the reality of the spiritual air.
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The good land is a land of olive trees, typifying Christ as the One who was filled and anointed with the Spirit—Deut. 8:8; Zech. 4:12:
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The olive tree’s oil, typifying the Holy Spirit, is used to honor God and man—Judg. 9:9; cf. 1 Sam. 2:30:
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We cannot serve the Lord or help others without the Holy Spirit—Acts 6:3.
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In order to serve the Lord and help others, we must be filled with the Spirit; only when we are filled with the Spirit can we honor God and honor others.
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When we minister Christ to others, supplying them with oil, we are supplying them with God (gold)—Zech. 4:11-12:
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We all should be olive trees emptying God from ourselves into others.
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In this way oil will be provided to the needy ones by those who are olive trees out of which God is flowing.
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As Christians, we are olive trees, not in the sense of being separate trees but in the sense of being branches of Christ, the unique olive tree—vv. 11-12:
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Although Christ is the unique olive tree, out from Him many branches, many shoots, have issued forth; these branches, or shoots, are the many olive trees on earth today.
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As branches of Christ, the unique olive tree, we need to supply others with oil, that is, with the Spirit, so that they may be enlivened for God’s unique testimony.
Morning Nourishment
Judg. 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, Shall I leave my fatness, because of which God and men are honored by me, and go to wave over the trees?Zech. 4:12 And I answered…and said to him, What are the two olive branches that are by the side of the two golden spouts, which empty the gold from themselves?
14 And he said, These are the two sons of oil, who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
The olive tree, we know, is the tree that produces olive oil. This is the last item of the foods that we may classify as vegetables. Why has the Spirit put this one last? We have read Zechariah 4:12-14. In that passage there are two olive trees before the Lord, which, the Lord explains, are the two sons of oil. We must realize that Christ is the Son of oil; Christ is the man anointed with the Holy Spirit of God. God poured upon Him the oil of gladness. He is a man who is full of the Holy Spirit; He is the olive tree, the Son of oil. If we enjoy Him as the wheat, as the barley, as the vine, as the fig tree, and as the pomegranate, we will certainly enjoy Him as the olive tree, which means that we will be filled with the Spirit. We will be full of oil, and we will become an olive tree. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 243-244)
Today’s Reading
For what purpose is the oil of the olive tree used? We are told in Judges 9:9 that it is used to honor God and honor man. If we would honor God or man, we must do it by the olive oil. This simply means that if we would serve the Lord, if we would help others, we must do it by the Holy Spirit. We must be a man filled with the Spirit, an olive tree, a son of oil. We can never serve the Lord or help others without the Holy Spirit. But praise Him, if we enjoy Him as the wheat, the barley, the vine, the fig tree, and the pomegranate, we will surely have the oil. We will be filled with the Holy Spirit. We will be truly able to honor God and others.I like the word honor. We must not only honor God but also honor others. Do not think it is a light or superficial matter. Do you realize that whenever you go to contact a brother or a sister, you are going to honor him? By what will you honor him?—by your self, by your natural life, by your old man, by your worldly knowledge? You can honor him only by the Holy Spirit. But you have to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You have to be a son of oil. You have to experience Christ as the olive tree. Now you can realize why the Holy Spirit has made the olive tree the last item. When you have experienced Christ as all the other items and have reached this point, then you are full of the Holy Spirit. Then you can honor God, and you can honor others.
If anyone comes to fellowship with you in the Holy Spirit, you are truly honored by that one. That person through the Holy Spirit bestows true honor upon you. Only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit can we honor others. Otherwise, whatever we say, whatever we do, will simply dishonor them. If we can talk with them only about the world situation and about this and that, we are heaping dishonor upon them. In all your contacts with others, can you say that by the Lord’s mercy and grace and by the Holy Spirit you honor them? Or do you dishonor them with so many things? To honor others, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Whether or not we are filled with the Spirit to honor God and others depends very much upon how we enjoy and experience Christ day by day as the wheat, the barley, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and then the olive tree. If we pass the first five items, we will surely come to the sixth, the olive tree. We will be a son of oil, a saint full of the Holy Spirit. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 244-245)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” ch. 6