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Monday April 21, 2008
Monday April 21, 2008
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Bible plants in our garden
(1) ALMOND BLOSSOM TREE: This is one of the most ancient cultivated trees mentioned many times in the Bible. It also grows wild throughout the Holy Land. Ecclesiastes 12:5 – ‘….. and the almond tree shall flourish……’ Jeremiah 1:11 – ‘Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said I see a rod of an almond tree’ Exodus 25:33,34 – ‘….Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick…..’ (2) STAR OF BETHLEHEM (otherwise known as Dove’s Dung): These bulbs are in flower in early summer. The bulb was valued in times of famine because it was dug up, dried, roasted and was eaten like chestnuts after roasting or cooking. 2 Kings 6:25 – ‘….And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the forth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.’ (3) WILLOW TREE: Ezekiel 17:5 – ‘…He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field: he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.’ Psalm 137:1,2 – ‘By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.’ (4) ROSE: : Isaiah 35:1 – ‘The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.’ (5) LILY: There are many references to the lily throughout the Bible as it was used as a general name for many plants such as the Tulip, Iris, Gladiolus, Hyacinth, Crocus and Narcissus as well as the Lily. We have samples of all these as well as Lily – of – the – Valley in the garden, although most are bulbs that appear in Spring. Song of Soloman 2:1 – ‘I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys.’ Hosea 14:5 – ‘I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.’ Matthew 6:28 – ‘….Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do the spin.’ (6) VINE: A bit of ‘poetic licence’ has been used here meantime, as the sample we have is actually a Russian Vine rather than a grape vine as referred to in the Bible. Hopefully a grape vine will be included at a later date. John 15:1 – ‘I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman.’ Micah 4:4 – ‘But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree: and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it’ (7) HOLLY & IVY: This is the start of a ‘Christmas Corner’ with plants referred to in carols or hymns, rather than in the Bible. (8) BOX TREE: Isaiah 41:19 – ‘….I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together.’ (9) PINE TREE: Isaiah 60:13 – ‘The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.’ (10) MINT: Mint was well known as being used for flavouring food as it is today. It was often used in temple offerings. Bible experts say mint was among the ‘bitter herbs’ mentioned in the Bible, along with endive, chicory, lettuce, watercress, sorrel and dandelions. Matthew 23:23 – ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of law, judgement, mercy and faith.’ Luke 11:42 – ‘But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgement and the love of God.’ (11) OLIVE TREE: This was the most important fruit and oil tree of Palestine in Biblical times. It still grows in the Holy Land, both wild and cultivated, as it did then. God commanded that olive oil was to be used in kindling the light of menorah because it provided the brightest and steadiest flame. Exodus 27:20 – ‘And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.’ Job 15:33 – ‘He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.’ (12) MUSTARD: Matthew 13:31,32 – ‘Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.’ (13) HOLLYHOCK & LUPIN: These plants have been included in the garden because it is generally thought that many of the general references to flowers in the Bible refer to either or both of these plants as they were and still are abundant in the fields of the Holy Land.
(14) GRASS: Psalm 103:15 – ‘As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.’ 1 Peter 1:24 – ‘For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.’ Isaiah 40:8 – ‘The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.’
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Contact InformationPeterhead Old Parish Church, Erroll Street, Peterhead AB42 2PU Our Minister is Rev Pauline Thomson MA BD, The Manse, 1 Hawthorn Road, Peterhead AB42 2DW Tel: 01779 472618
Electronic
mail can be sent via the
message page or to
john@mucklekirk.co.uk
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Last modified: 21-04-08
