46 And now, behold,
notwithstanding all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees
thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit; and these I
had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit thereof against the season, unto
mine own self. But, behold, they have
become like unto the wild olive-tree, and they are of no worth but to be hewn
down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me that I should lose them.
47 But what could I
have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened
mine hand, that I have not nourished it?
Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned
it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the
day long, and the end draweth nigh. And
it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast
them into the fire that they should be burned.
Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?
48 And it came to pass
that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard
– have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the
roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking
strength unto themselves. Behold, I say,
is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?
49 And it came to pass
that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Let us go to and hew down
the trees of the vineyard and cast them into the fire, that they shall not
cumber the ground of my vineyard, for I have done all. What could I have done more for my vineyard?
Jacob 5:46-49
The Lord of the vineyard continued his lament. In spite of all the care he had given the
vineyard, “the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good
fruit.” Remember, as we read this, we are reading about the house of Israel,
represented by the tree bringing forth corrupted fruit. John the Baptist preached, “And now also the
axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Luke 3:9).
He had hoped to preserve this tree, but it has become like
the wild olive trees. They are of no
worth and should be cast into the fire, though “it grieveth [the Lord] that I
should lose them.”
When preaching to the Nephites, the Savior told them, “But
if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon
the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for
a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into
the fire, from whence there is no return” (3 Nephi 27:11).
Alma2 would also use this analogy, no doubt
referring back to Jacob’s writings. “And
again I say unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ax is laid at the root of
the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn
down and cast into the fire, yea, a fire which cannot be consumed, even an
unquenchable fire. Behold, and remember,
the Holy One hath spoken it” (Alma 5:52).
Paul Hoskisson looks at how this relates to the
Apostasy.
“The allegory leaves no doubt that God attempted everything
in his power to prevent the Apostasy. When God came to inspect the world after
the Apostasy had taken place and ‘all creeds [of the Apostasy had become] an
abomination in [God’s] sight’ (Joseph Smith – History 1:19), God asked the
servant in the allegory, ‘What could I have done more for my vineyard’ to have
prevented the Apostasy (Jacob 5:41)? The answer to this rhetorical question was
that there was nothing he could have done more. He did not slacken his hand in
creating the right environment and the necessary conditions for the gospel to
flourish and produce fruit (Jacob 5:47). As explained in Jacob 5:28, ‘The Lord
of the vineyard and the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did nourish all the
fruit of the vineyard.’ But, as Jacob 5:46 explains, ‘Notwithstanding
all the care which we [for example, the Lord and his servant] have taken of my
vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no
good fruit.’ In short, it was not lack of effort on God’s part that allowed the
Apostasy to occur.”[1]
The Lord rhetorically asks, “[C]ould I have done more in my
vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand,
that I have not nourished it?” He then
answers his own question. No, he
says. I have done all I could. I have nourished it, pruned it, fertilized
it, and dug around it. He is grieved to
had to cut down all the trees in the vineyard and burn them.
He asks, “Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?”
M. Catherine Thomas explains verse 47 means that God will
never give up on us. It is we who gives
up on him.
“If God is seeking access to his children continually, what
is the meaning of the periods of divine absence in the allegory? The Lord
declares, “I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long”
(Jacob 5:47). Jacob drops the word almost when he reiterates: ‘He
stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long. . . . Come with
full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. . . . For
why will ye die? . . . For behold, . . . ye have been nourished by the good
word of God all the day long’ (Jacob 6:4 – 7). Cleave is
atonement language. It is not God who has ceased to cleave, but man who has
rejected God’s love. These periods in which we do not see divine activity
signify not so much the Master’s absence, but rather Israel’s voluntary
withdrawal from the true olive tree.”[2]
The servant replied to his master. ‘Is it not the loftiness of the vineyard-have
not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good?’ Here we see that it was pride that plagued
the house of Israel. Paul Hoskisson explains:
“What then caused the Apostasy? The Lord of the vineyard
himself asked that question at the end of Jacob 5:47, ‘Who is it that has
corrupted my vineyard,’ that is, who has caused the Apostasy? In Jacob
5:48 the servant answered his Lord, ‘Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard,’
pride, that caused the Apostasy? The servant further noted, in explaining the
process of the Apostasy, ‘Have not the branches overcome the roots thereof,
behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto
themselves.’ The Israelite and Gentile branches on the tame olive trees,
through pride and haughtiness, took strength unto themselves. That is, rather
than relying on their scriptural heritage for strength and nourishment, they
relied on their own strength and abilities, thus nullifying the influence of
the scriptural heritage from which they could have received direction and
guidance. And by acting on their own in their pride they deemed themselves
strong and grew in directions that were not appropriate, ending in apostasy.”[3]
The Lord warned Joseph Smith, “We have learned by sad
experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as
they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to
exercise unrighteous dominion” (D&C 121:39).
The branches had overcome the roots, but the roots were
good. Might this be the reason the
vineyard had become corrupted.
Matthew Roper writes:
“So the Lehite ‘tree’ of the allegory consists of a
population geographically ‘transplanted’ from the original Israelite promised
land and ‘grafted’ onto a wild root – or joined with non-Israelite people. Note
that the Lord considers the new root to be ‘good’ despite its being wild (Jacob
5:48). This allegorical description requires that a non-Israelite root – other
peoples, in terms of this discussion – already be present on the scene where
the ‘young and tender branch,’ Lehi’s group, would be merged with them.”[4]
The Lord told the servant to cut down the trees and
burn. He had done all he could have
done. “What could I have done more for
my vineyard?”
This begs the question, why would the Lord burn down his
vineyard?
It has been known since ancient times that olive groves
destroyed by fire sprout vigorously. The Lord appears ready to burn his entire
vineyard and start over in verse 49, but the servant persuades him to work with
the existing trees a little longer (Jacob 5:50).
“Groves are sometimes burned deliberately to reconstitute
them. When reconstituting an olive tree by burning, the tree is taken up,
leaving only the large roots. The bases are either burned or ripped up with a
tractor. The new shoots are vigorous, but they do not grow in the same spot as
the original tree, which complicates cultivation. Three of the main shoots are
selected about a meter from each other. They are trimmed leaving three
small-rooted bases, which are covered with soil…
“Thus, burning an olive grove is a symbol of rebirth. The
Lord’s efforts throughout the allegory represent the last effort, leading to
the ‘last time’ that he will graft and plant as he does to rejuvenate the old
tree in his vineyard (Jacob 5:62 – 64, 71, 75 – 77), but the image of burning
in the end is not one of destruction. It conveys botanically the idea of
starting over. It reminds us that the Lord had preserved the roots of the young
shoots planted in the nethermost parts for an unstated future purpose (Jacob
5:54). After the vineyard is burned, the old stump will be removed and the
young roots will shoot forth new growth carrying forth the favorable genetic
[material].”[5]
[1]
The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute.
[2]
Jacob's Allegory: The Mystery of Christ, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute.
[3]
Ibid.
[4]
Nephi's Neighbors: Book of Mormon Peoples and Pre-Columbian Populations,
Matthew Roper, Maxwell Institute.
[5]
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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