17. How was what Jehovah did “contrary to nature”?

¹⁷ Jehovah did something that many would view as totally unexpected. Paul describes what happened as “contrary to nature.” (Rom. 11:24) How was this so? Well, it would seem unusual, even unnatural, to graft a wild branch onto a cultivated tree; yet, that is what some farmers did in the first century.b In a similar way, Jehovah did something extraordinary. From a Jewish viewpoint, Gentiles were incapable of producing acceptable fruitage. However, Jehovah made these very ones part of “a nation” that produced Kingdom fruitage. (Matt. 21:43)

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Grafting Wild Olive Branches​—Why?

▪ Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella was a Roman soldier and farmer who lived in the first century C.E. He is best known for the 12 books that he wrote on country life and farming.

In his fifth book, he quotes this ancient proverb: “He who ploughs the olive-grove, asks it for fruit; he who manures it, begs for fruit; he who lops it, forces it to yield fruit.”

After describing trees that are thriving and yet fail to bear fruit, he recommends the following procedure: “It is a good plan to bore them with a Gallic auger and to put tightly into the hole a green slip taken from a wild olive-tree; the result is that the tree, being as it were impregnated with fruitful offspring, becomes more productive.”