“THE OLIVE AND THE WILD OLIVE OF SUCCOT” By: Cathy Hargett

“THE OLIVE AND THE WILD OLIVE OF SUCCOT”

By: Cathy Hargett

October 26, 2025

 

The Feast of Succot was the first Feast celebrated after the return from Babylon (Ezra 3:4). This, in itself, is very exciting, as Succot is the Feast of His Coming. How awesome that this would be the Feast they celebrated. In Judaism and in Messianic Faith, it is well known that the Feast of Tabernacles or Succot, is a Messianic Feast. Israel will know their Messiah Yeshua.

This year, as I studied the Feast, I was so blessed as the Ruach taught me some things about the “how-to” of building the succa and the connection of Jew and Gentile even in this ancient account. The succa was to be built with branches from both the olive and the wild olive trees. Throughout the Bible, we see that the Olive Tree is Israel. The Wild Olive represents the believers in the nations. We see Israel and the nations right here in Nehemiah 8:15:

“Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters…”

(Nehemiah 8:15)

In other places, the mention of gathering the four species to make a lulav does not talk about using them to build the succa. In those passages, it tells us to use the lulav as we dance and rejoice. But in Nehemiah, it is clear that the branches were also used to make the succa itself, the temporary dwelling. No doubt, this was also to be done with joy. The succot, or booths, were meant to commemorate the days Israel wandered in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt while living in tents.

The emphasis that the tent or the succa is temporary is part of the big lesson of Succot. Even in the temporariness of life on planet earth, God provides and takes care of His people. As human beings who carry His Spirit, we are also a type of succot. We understand the temporariness of our earthly bodies, a succa, now on planet earth, carrying His Presence, but destined for glory and a new forever spiritual body.

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

(I Corinthians 3:16)

There is coming a day when God will dwell among us forever as one people, the Olive and the Wild Olive, as One New Man, Jew and Gentile.  All the nations of the earth will know that the God of Israel is the one true God. Both trees are destined to become one tree:

“After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!”

(Romans 11:24)

Jew and Gentile, Olive and Wild Olive, who have come to Messiah, are both being grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel, into Yeshua. They are grafted in together to the Root of Jesse, Israel’s tree.

These are the two branches mentioned in Nehemiah 8:15. Both of these olive branches, one wild and the other cultivated, are used to build the succa, the dwelling. God’s plan has always been that through Israel, through the Messiah of Israel, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

The most compelling revelation of this story is that Jew and Gentile will become One New Man, which is His great desire (Ephesians 2:14-15). They themselves, together, will build and become the Dwelling Place for God. They will become the permanent, not temporary, succa, for the God of Israel. We must, together, lift our eyes to see Him, and to serve Him.

Messiah is not coming until Israel says the words He longs to hear (Matthew 23:39), and this is not going to happen until we are One/Echad, both of us having come into our fullness. But it will happen (Romans 11:26). The fullness of the Gentiles will come in – this means that the Gentiles, the nations, must recognize the identity of Israel and know that Israel’s God is the one true God. And the fullness of Israel will also come in (Romans 11:12) as they know and worship their Messiah Yeshua.

All those millennium ago, the Lord made sure we could trace His plan for us and for Him back to the beginning. He wants us to know this. He has been revealing Himself through Torah and His appointed Feasts up until this very moment. Each time the exiles returned to Him, Israel celebrated the Feasts. And today, as One New Man rises, even the Gentiles are celebrating the Feasts with believing Israel, as Yeshua the Messiah is glorified. These are the Gentiles who have come out of exile where they were taught that “the church has replaced Israel”.

At the Day of the Lord, every nation will go up to celebrate Succot (Zechariah 14). How blessed are we to understand the relevance of the Feast even in our day?

The Jews, and the Gentiles who have joined themselves with Israel, are being given the revelation that we, together, will become His house, His permanent house, not His temporary dwelling.

“Shout and be glad, Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you, declares the Lord. Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become My people. I will live among you…”

(Zechariah 2:10)

The Olive and the Wild Olive will be one. They will build His house, living stones, a spiritual house for His presence:

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.”

(I Peter 2:5)

The truth of Succot will be fulfilled – it is the Feast of our Joy, of His Joy – all sorrow and sadness will flee away (Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 51:11; Revelation 21:4-5):

“I have told you this that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

(John 15:11)

“..This Day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

(Nehemiah 8:10)

We will see the unity and the undivided house of God together – and He will dwell among us forever.

“..I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

(Revelation 21:3)

 Cathy Hargett

Highway to Zion Ministries

http://www.highwaytozion.org

Jerusalem, Israel olive tree grove (Photo by Steve Martin 2022)