19 And it came to pass
that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Come, let us go to the
nethermost part of the vineyard, and behold if the natural branches of the tree
have not brought forth much fruit also, that I may lay up of the fruit thereof
against the season, unto mine own self.
20 And it came to pass
that they went forth whither the master had hid the natural branches of the
tree, and he said unto the servant: Behold these; and he beheld the first that
it had brought forth much fruit; and he beheld also that it was good. And he said unto the servant: Take of the
fruit thereof, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto
mine own self; for behold, said he, this long time have I nourished it, and it
hath brought forth much fruit.
21 And it came to pass
that the servant said unto his master: How comest thou hither to plant this
tree, or this branch of the tree? For
behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.
22 And the Lord of the
vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of
ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and
thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.
23 And it came to pass
that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Look hither; behold I have
planted another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of
ground was poorer than the first. But,
behold the tree. I have nourished it
this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and
lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self.
Jacob 5:19-23
The Lord of the vineyard went to his servant. He wanted to go to the farthest part of the
vineyard to see if the natural branches grafted on to the tree in that part of
the vineyard was bearing fruit. If it
is, the Lord wanted to take the fruit and store it for himself.
The servant and the master went to the tree. Looking at the tree the master saw that it
had brought forth much good fruit. The
master ordered that it be preserved for himself.
Seeing the abundance of the fruit, the servant asked why
there was so much fruit. The tree was on
the poorest spot of land in the vineyard.
Can olives actually grow well on poor ground?
“Because of its underground root system, olives can obtain
water and nutrients in poor soils that receive little rainfall, provided the
physical properties of the soil meet certain minimum standards and that the
volume of soil is sufficient for each tree. The olive needs sufficient,
but not too much, water and is otherwise not particularly affected by soil
variations. It is a ‘rich plant for poor soils,’ provided adequate nutrients
are supplied. Even exceptionally poor soils can be used for the olive, but the
lower the nutrient supply in the soil, the greater the volume of soil
necessary. On poor soil, wide spacing is essential. The poorness of the site
must be compensated by intensive cultural technique, as is reflected in Jacob
5:22-23. Negligence of the least detail may jeopardize the trees. Olives need a
light, well‑drained soil and will not grow well on heavy or poorly‑drained
soils. They prefer loose, calcareous, fertile land mingled with stones.”[1]
The Lord of the vineyard told the servant, “Counsel me not.” He knew it was poor ground. Because of this, he spent much time
nourishing and taking care of the tree. That is why it brought forth so much
good fruit.
Noel Reynolds discusses Jacob’s words that we should not
seek to counsel the Lord.
“In chapter 4, Jacob teaches that people should ‘seek not to
counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand’ (Jacob 4:10). The doctrine
appears to be the same as the Lord’s injunction to his servant in the olive
allegory when he says, ‘Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of
ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and
thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit’ (Jacob 5:22).
“However, because the wording Jacob uses to develop the
concept (Jacob 5:8-10) is so similar to Paul’s treatment of the same subject
(Romans 11:33-36) in conjunction with his own reflections on the olive allegory
(Romans 11:14-25), one is led to wonder whether both might not be drawing on a
more extended statement by Zenos not preserved in either the Bible or the Book
of Mormon. Both passages refer to the creation, to the greatness of God’s wisdom and
the fact that his ways are not known to man, and that God’s judgments
or the depths of his mysteries are unsearchable. While there are some
similarities between Romans 11 and some of Isaiah’s references to the counsel
of the Lord (see especially Isaiah 11:2 and 28:9), none of these reflect the
broad similarities found in the comparison with Jacob, again, in double
connection with the Zenos allegory.”[2]
The Lord of the vineyard had planted another branch. This branch was planted in even poorer soil
than the first. It grew because the Lord
had “nourished it this long time.” This
is how it brought forth such good fruit.
“One of the branches was planted in ‘a poor spot of ground
. . . poorer than the first’ (Jacob 5:22-23). Nevertheless, this
plant thrived. Although olives sometimes do well in poor soils because of their
long maturing period and ability to tolerate considerable salinity, boron,
etc., it is only with much attention to cultural practices that productive
trees will grow on poor soil. When all of the important cultural factors are
carefully optimized, olive trees will grow and produce a crop on poor soil.
Accordingly, the unusual poorness of the soil in this part of the allegory
draws attention to the extraordinary care and power of the Lord of the
vineyard. The production of good fruit by the plant under these circumstances
is attributable exclusively to the fact that the Lord had ‘nourished it this
long time’ (Jacob 5:23).”[3]
[1]
Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel
Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute.
[2]
Nephite Uses and Interpretations of Zenos, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute.
[3]
Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel
Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute.
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