[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fgrapevines-and-olive-shoots":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fgrapevines-and-olive-shoots-surround":61},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":44,"date":45,"description":16,"extension":46,"image":47,"meta":48,"minRead":49,"navigation":50,"path":51,"postType":52,"publication":53,"publicationUrl":47,"seo":54,"stem":55,"topics":56,"__hash__":60},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fgrapevines-and-olive-shoots.md","Grapevines and Olive Shoots",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"Psalms",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":40},"minimark",[13,17,20,23,31,34,37],[14,15,16],"p",{},"My mother's big yellow bowl is legendary in my family. Now, the bowl is nothing fancy. It's probably about 40 years old, scratched and scraped after being filled with countless meals of homemade noodles, Spanish rice, and macaroni and cheese. Made of heavy-duty glass long before anyone dreamed of microwave ovens or disposable aluminum cooking trays, the bowl held enough stick-to-the-ribs homecooking to satisfy my farmer-father and three growing boys—a warm tribute to a mother's love.",[14,18,19],{},"An ancient Jewish songwriter observed, \"Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.\" Then he addressed a specific blessing to husbands and fathers: \"Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord\" (Psalm 128:1–4).",[14,21,22],{},"Why compare a faithful wife to a fruitful vine? A healthy green grapevine covered with clusters of red grapes is a picture of beauty and grace. But to the Jewish people, the grapevine meant more. It even became a symbol of the nation of Israel itself. Isaiah wrote, \"The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight\"—yet this garden didn't always produce good fruit (Isaiah 5:2, 7). To compare a wife to a fruitful vine is a noble analogy, though, for Jesus himself is the true vine and we bear fruit when we abide in him (John 15:1–8).",[14,24,25,26,30],{},"In ",[27,28,29],"em",{},"What a Way to Live!"," (Word, 1997), Tony Evans points out some other facts about a vine. A vine clings. \"The atmosphere in a home should be such that a wife can wrap her 'branches' around her husband for stability, security, and love,\" Evans says. A vine climbs. \"When a husband is providing the right kind of atmosphere, his wife can develop her strengths and abilities,\" Evans continues. \"She can grow, becoming a better woman than she ever was.\"",[14,32,33],{},"Why compare sons to olive shoots? Olive trees require about 15 years of patient labor before they produce fruit. They have to be nurtured by loosening the soil around them and providing them with adequate water. All the hard work is worth it, though, for once an olive shoot takes root and grows to maturity, the full-grown tree can produce olives for 40 years or more.",[14,35,36],{},"If it seems like an odd metaphor when the psalmist pictures sons growing like olive shoots around a table, consider this: The family table is a key place to shape a child's character. It's more than simply a place to eat or do homework. In many a godly home, the family table becomes a place where prayers are said, issues are discussed, and problems are solved. A place where values are shaped, tears are shed, and traditions are passed along. Where mischievous brothers and sisters somehow learn to get along, and parents model communication techniques their children will imitate for years to come.",[14,38,39],{},"In today's hurry-up world, homemade noodles sound like a thing of the past. Maybe so. But it seems to me that we need the love of godly mothers and fathers now more than ever. So today I'll say an extra prayer for my wife and my own three \"olive shoots.\" And thank the Lord for Mom and her big yellow bowl.",{"title":41,"searchDepth":42,"depth":42,"links":43},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","2000-05-14","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fgrapevines-and-olive-shoots","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":16},"articles\u002Fgrapevines-and-olive-shoots",[57,58,59],"Biblical Theology","Intergenerational Ministry","Spiritual Formation","VM_6D4Vow1tmULjsNKC1wu38XsKr6A3DrmHp0umdDa0",[62,67],{"title":63,"path":64,"stem":65,"description":66,"children":-1},"Good for Nothing","\u002Farticles\u002Fgood-for-nothing","articles\u002Fgood-for-nothing","Asaph nearly lost it. His faith, that is. In a remarkable Psalm he candidly admitted, “My feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold” (Psalm 73:2). Why? Because it looked like he had been good for nothing.",{"title":68,"path":69,"stem":70,"description":71,"children":-1},"Grateful in Strange Places","\u002Farticles\u002Fgrateful-in-strange-places","articles\u002Fgrateful-in-strange-places","Soldiers will eat turkey in Turkey this week, and pumpkin pie in Iraq. Men and women wearing bullet-proof vests will take off their helmets, bow their heads, and thank the Lord for their families back home."]