The Willow
Another one of the trees whose foliage was used to construct the booths to dwell in.
The willow (Hebrew: arabim) is used 5 times in the Old Testament, it is always plural and is always by a watercourse—a most significant point which we shall come to later. Gesenius says it comes from a prime root: to be whitish, silver as a willow, more particularly the weeping willow. Because of its pendulous foliage it is the symbol of grief and mourning. Compare Psa. 137:1-2: “By the rivers of Babylon . . .. we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.” Under Babylon for the Israelites there was no rejoicing and so their instruments hung unused upon the symbol of Sorrow And Suffering. The suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ is foretold in Psa. 110:7: “He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up (exalt) the head.”
Israel as Cedar, Willow and Branch
In Ezek. 17:1-10 Babylon is pictured as a great eagle taking Israel, “the highest branch of the cedar,” vs. 3, into captivity and setting her “as a willow tree”, vs. 5. In captivity the nation ‘grew,” vs. 6 (or branched), but the desolation of Israel is foretold by the prophet in vs. 9 where we read: “it shall wither (no longer green) in all the leaves of her spring (Heb. tsemach or branch)” and again in verse 10 “it shall wither in the furrows where it grew (again, branched).”
Here we see Israel as the glory of Lebanon (the cedar) suffering and sorrowing in captivity (the willow) and failing as the light of the LORD (the branch withers).
The Branch and the Willow
Isa 44:3-4: “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring.
And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.”
In this inspirational passage the prophet paints a beautiful picture of the righteous receiving the blessing of God in the gift of immortality by the pouring out of the Spirit. If we have suffered and sorrowed (the willow) in the wilderness of life and yet have continued to drink freely of the water of life (the Word) we have this promise of association with He who is the Branch when He comes with healing in His wings.
The Palm and the Willow
In commenting upon the 144,000 in Rev. 7:9: “a great multitude . . . stood before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and palms in their hand,” Bro. Thomas writes concerning the Feast of Tabernacles, in Vol. II, page 141 (Dawn version) :
“But, before they could figure as stately palm trees in the concourse of nations, they had to ‘drink of the brook by the way.’ In this relation of things they were ‘willows of the brook’; and this is the reason why afterwards, they exalt their heads above the peoples in this great Feast of Tabernacles, as lofty palms. The Captain of their salvation who leads them to glory, was himself once ‘a willow of the brook’ — a weeping willow — ‘a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief’. As the Christ-Spirit in David predicted in Psa. 110:7, concerning David’s Son and Lord, so it was verified of Jesus: ‘he drank of the brook by the way, Therefore he shall exalt the head’; ‘He was obedient unto death, Therefore he was crowned with glory and honour.’ But, in the scene before us, though like their chief, they had been ‘willows of the brook’, John did not see them bearing willow boughs. He saw them only with ‘palms in their hands’. Had he seen willows in their hands instead of palms, it would have indicated that they were still a suffering community.”
We see, then, a community bearing willow suffering community; a community bearing palms is a triumphant community.
The Olive Tree
This is the last one for us to consider of the trees mentioned in Neh. 8:15. “Olive” comes from a root in the Old Testament which signifies to illuminate, hence the very interesting comment which follows by Bro. Roberts.
The tree lives to a great age, bears in the 7th year and achieves a good crop in the 15th year; it will bear for several hundred years. In harvesting the trees are shaken or beaten, the berries collected and trodden or crushed underfoot to extract the oil. Pure, beaten olive oil is of the finest quality and was burned in the lampstand in the tabernacle. It was supplied for the lampstand twice daily (Ex. 27:20, Lev. 24:2) and represented nothing but the best for God from the people. If the cultivation of a good, fruitful, olive tree is neglected, the tree deteriorates and becomes wild. The oil was used for illumination, for the meal offering, and for anointing kings, priests and the tabernacle and its furnishings.
The olive tree represents natural Israel and the wild olive the Gentiles (Rom. 11, Zech. 4). The olive was a symbol of beauty and strength, of prosperity and divine blessing.
Olive oil is a symbol of the spirit of God—that which illuminates. In this regard Bro. Robert Roberts has an appropriate comment in the Law of Moses:
“The only light we can have at present is the light of illuminated brains, and this is not a fixed light, but a light that requires constant renewal by daily supplies of oil of the word . . .. nothing less than the daily reading of the word can answer this type. The light of the truth burns steadily under such a process . . . It emphasizes the declaration of David: ‘The entrance of thy words giveth light’ “..
Bro. Roberts goes on to write that the oil-word was delivered in much affliction —beaten for the light. Hence the importance of study for the individual brother and sister.
The ecclesia is the light-bearing community of the present age (Mth. 5:14, 16), called by the apostle Paul “the general assembly and ecclesia of the firstborn ones” (Heb. 12 :23-Diaglott). It was the privilege of the Levitical priesthood, which was separated from the nation and replaced the first born (Num. 3:12) to convey the prepared oil of the nation to the golden lampstand in the Tabernacle (2 Chr. 13:10-11). This privilege will be restored to the “firstborn” (James 1:18) in the age to come, who as a royal priesthood will bring all nations to Christ and Yahweh (see the “Prophecy of Zechariah” by Bro. H. P. Mansfield, and his notes on Zech. 4).
From the foregoing we see that the olive tree represents first born ones manifesting light to the world.
Goodly Trees
The best known passage regarding the Feast of Tabernacles is, of course, Lev. 23:40 where we read: “ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees . .” “Goodly” is the Hebrew word hadar which elsewhere is translated honour, beauty, majesty. It is also used in the phrase “the beauty (hadar) of holiness” five times in the Old Testament, for example, Psa. 110.3. The “beauty of holiness” spells out the moral perfection of a character of holiness which is an essential attribute of worship before our God. And so in celebration of the great ingathering in the Kingdom of God, Israel dwelt in booths made from the boughs of trees which were “goodly” trees— trees of righteousness typifying the attributes of saints called to a high and holy calling: the manifestation of the name of their God in the moral perfection of a character of holiness.
There were five trees (the number of grace!) used for the booths: three trees for beauty: the myrtle, the pine (or oil) tree, and the olive. To these were added the palm and the willow. We can summarize their significance as follows:
Myrtle: an Evergreen, representing immortality, peace and restoration in the Kingdom.
Pine or Oil Tree: the symbol of fruitfulness and fertility.
Olive Tree: the first-born, illuminated by the word of God, bearing the fruit of beauty and strength, of prosperity and divine blessing.
Palm Tree: triumphant in victory.
Willow Tree: the pendulous branches stressing the anguish and suffering of this life experienced by those who yet drink of the water of life.
In conclusion, we see in the trees of righteousness, a suffering community (willow), an ecclesia of first-born ones (olive), feeding on the word of God (living water), worshiping their God in the moral perfection of holiness of character (goodly trees), rejoicing in the hope they have of immortality (myrtle) in the Kingdom of God. A time when they shall be triumphant (palm); over sin, a time when they shall experience the peace of restoration to complete fellowship with the Father; a time when they shall be fruitful and fertile (oil tree) as they bring the nations of the world to Christ; a time of great rejoicing typified by the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One