Why Is Olive Oil so Precious in the Bible?
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Another use of olive oil is to burn lamps. It is said that olive oil burns more effectively than other oils. This makes me think about Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” I think about how Jesus is the Light of the world, and we get to display Him to others. Olive oil reminds us to fuel our faith by the Word of God and by His Spirit. We can continually be cities on hills that shine and point to the Greater Light, who is Jesus.
Oil was used in the First Grain Harvest.
With all of these benefits, olive oil appears to be amazing. The process to get the benefits is very tedious though. “Villagers gathered olives and pressed them to be used for products.”
Have you ever wondered why olive oil costs so much at the grocery store? Gayle A. Alleman from How Stuff Works tells us, “Mediterranean olive trees must mature for several years before they produce olives. Careful pruning optimizes the number of olives a single tree will bear. A meticulous hand is necessary because it takes at least ten pounds of olives to produce one liter (about four cups) of olive oil.” “Back in the old days, processors used stone or granite wheels to crush the olives.” Afterwards, they become a paste and are mixed. After a long process, then the oil is refined. The refinement lessens acid and takes away bitterness.
Olive oil reminds us of the process we go through to be refined into the image of God. Sanctification is the journey of growing more like Christ through life. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
However you are being pressed today, I want to encourage you to think of olive oil. One of the most versatile concoctions that contains healing qualities, brings gladness, provides light, and is used in worship, goes through refinement. The olives would never become the oil without the challenging process. Walking with God is not always easy, but it is in those difficult moments when we are refined more into His image. May the Spirit remove any drop of sin in our lives and increase every ounce of Christ-likeness in us.
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