Who would believe this small, shapely tree with its painted dark green leaves and silvery undersides, grown for thousands of years for its fruits and oil, has fascinating and exciting things to tell us?

Have you ever wondered why there are so many signs and symbols of olive branches and doves and why the name Olive Wood sounds so special? Did you know for instance, two olive trees are used in both the Old (Kings 6:23-28) as well as the New (Rev. 11:4) Testaments in a most profound and significant way to symbolize a special pair of golden guardians and witnesses standing before God? Did you also know two golden cherubim and the two golden doors to the first temple of Solomon’s day were made of Olive Wood? (Kings 6:31-34) Oh, if this beautiful little tree could speak, here are some of the wonderful secrets she would share with us:

I first am mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 8:6-13 when Noah, the friend of God, sent a dove forth to see if the waters had abated after the flood. The dove returned to him as it found no resting place. Seven days later, Noah again sent forth the dove and this time, around evening, Lo, it returned carrying an olive branch, so Noah knew that the waters were receding from the face of the earth. This perhaps is my most famous symbol and recognized universally as a sign of peace, as God promised Noah when He gave him the rainbow as a sign of this covenant with him and his descendants. (Gen. 11:17)
Throughout the Old Testament, God honoured me in many additional ways by using me as a symbol for the different things He wanted to express such as: Celebration and Prosperity, Neh. 8:15, Psalm 128:3, Hag. 2:19; Angelic Visitation, Zech. 4:1-14, Trust, Mercy, Beauty and Faithfulness, Psalm 52:8, Hos. 14:6; Judgement, Charity, Wealth and Prosperity, Ex. 23:11, Deut,. 6:11, Neh. 5:11. Altogether, I am mentioned over 37 times in the Bible.
However, it is in the New Testament I am truly fulfilled when Jesus himself sat many times under my lovely branches or the Mt. of Olives which rises up handsomely across the Kidron Valley from the City of Jerusalem. Here in my shade he rested and taught his followers about God. Here he answered their questions, developed their thoughts and ideas, helped their understanding and taught them the LordÕs Prayer. And it was across these slopes where I grew on the Mount of Olives that my beautiful Jesus Came riding the small donkey from Bethphage on that first Palm Sunday when multitudes of the people and the Disciples, full of the spirit of the Lord, broke off palm branches and my olive branches, and waved and shouted their praises to Him who came in the name of the Lord. It was a very happy occasion for me. Here too, Jesus paused and wept over his city that day. (Luke 19:28-48; Matt. 21; John 12:12-15).

But the saddest time of my life was the night I witnessed Jesus praying and experiencing his agony of blood over the Sins of Mankind, beneath my branches in the Garden of Gethsemane. This was the night he was betrayed and arrested by the servants of the high priest and led away to prison. The earth shuddered and trembled over the events of the next 24 hours. It was from this painful agony he underwent in my Garden, I acquired my symbol for healing.

But my glory was soon to come not long afterward, when I witnessed, along with a multitude of others, His glorious Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven. (Luke 24:50) It is said He is to return the same way!

Today, many of these same trees are still standing in the Garden of Gethsemane, visited yearly by thousands of pilgrims and visitors. Recently, when the roots of two old trees which had just died were removed, the Carbon 14 dating process was used and verified the fact these two and the other eight, which are still standing, are over 2300 years old!
Now it my pleasure to have my branches pruned and trimmed regularly (it keeps me looking young and growing vigorously and to be fashioned into many beautiful objects for people to buy and enjoy. Most of the trees from which the wood is pruned, grow in and around the areas of Bethlehem.