Fruit and Nuts – Apples and Solomon

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This edition of Fruit and Nuts pairs apples and Solomon; this works well because most of the mentions of apples was made by Solomon in Proverbs and the Song of Songs. Just for the record, I do not think the medieval artists were right in making the forbidden fruit in the Garden an apple.

Apples – Yes, there were apples in the Levant during Bible times, they seem to have come from the Persia area. I have read several references that suggest that term has more to do with the shape of the fruit than a specific species. No, they were not like what we think of as apples in this modern era. This reference mentions that the pome order of plants may have also been given that title. Strong’s Hebrew: 8598. תַּפּ֫וּחַ (tappuach) — apple tree, apples The smell of the blossoms was important and highly prized in gardens.

The phrase ‘apple of the eye’ is used several times in the Bible and refers to the bulging, rounded shape of our eye. It is connected to how sensitive the eye is and how we protect it by blinking to keep it moist and closing our eye lids when something flies at it.

Apples and apple trees are connected to God’s protection for His people and His love towards them (Song of Songs). Even the verse of Joel 1:12 has that idea when it talks about those trees drying up, when they were doing good it was a blessing. This is one reason I do not think the forbidden fruit was an apple.

Solomon – The fruits of his life are a mixed bushel of apples. Some were very good and he made some so bad that they should/could not be eaten; like the figs in Jeremiah 24. His behavior after a good start is what got him the nut portion of this post.

Honestly, Solomon has always puzzled me. He had parents who loved him. God loved him, 2 Samuel 12:24, and gave him wisdom and wealth, he built the temple that was used for several hundred years, plus he wrote books of the Bible. But he went off base and angered God.

His journey is recorded in 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles; the Books of Proverbs and Song of Songs also give us incite to his life. He had some of his many psalms be used in the Book of Psalm; he wrote more but we do not know where they went. He started strong, but his decline is well documented and references several times.

His legacy is seen in a few other spots in the Bible. Hezekiah’s men collected some of his proverbs and included them with the others. Any mention of the temple should bring him to mind; that may be one reason Herod named part of the temple he built as Solomon’s Colonnade. Most of the times you find his named used is in connection to things he made for the temple or families of people he had serving in the temple. Jesus is quoted by Matthew and Luke about the wisdom given him; plus, there are references to Proverbs in prophetic books and in the New Testament. So, it is not like he was forgotten, but he sure does not compare with the memory of David. You may have noticed I did not mention Ecclesiastes; he only identified himself as ‘the Teacher son of David’. I hope that this book was written at the end of his life and maybe he returned to the Lord.

As I pondered all of this, I came up with this idea; please humor an old man as he straddles the edge of ‘the box’. David is a Messiah-figure in the beautiful song I call the Old Testament. Solomon was the favored child of David and was given many things and did many things for God and still went bad. Jesus is the Messiah and ‘birthed’ the Church. Have we ‘The Church’ followed in the footsteps of Solomon? We have acquired wealth/gold and show it off, been consumed with wisdom and knowledge, and have married ourselves to 1,000 different things other than Jesus and His Gospel and the Father’s Kingdom that is to come.

In the early days of kings of Israel, the Levant and the Middle East had many things happening. International trade, international terrorism, and the weather created change in the region. One country that was always present was Egypt. One of the first things Solomon did was marry an Egyptian princess; that may have been good politics, but God had commanded not to go back to Egypt for help. That was the beginning of Solomon going off base.

These verses are from Bible Gateway and are in the NIV. They really are not in any order.

  •  2 Samuel 12:24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him;
  • 1 Kings 10:23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.
  • 1 Kings 3:3 Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
  • 1 Kings 9:24 After Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.
  • 2 Chronicles 30:26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.
  • 1 Kings 11:11  and 14  So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.
  • 1 Kings 11:1 all of chapter 11 is a list problems
  • 2 Kings 23:13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the people of Ammon.
  • Nehemiah 13:26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women.

The Sheep Detectives

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Hi, this is Influence Pas coming to you from a meeting of The Flock Folk where we are talking to Roi Poimena. He will be sharing his thoughts on the cinematic sensation, The Sheep Detectives. Please Mr. Poimena, share your thoughts about this celebrated movie.  

Roi Poimena – Thank you Influence, the critics and the studio’s spin-doctors have it right, it is a fun move to watch. It is a solid mystery movie that keeps you interested till the credits roll. There is enough comedy and slapstick in the movie to make it an enjoyable watch. The animation is excellent with the sheep, dogs, and clouds carrying the story. The human actors were great, and they brought wonderful performances to this movie. The secondary themes and social comments were added beautifully in the script and blended into the mystery flawlessly.  

Influence Pas – Well Mr. Poimena, what themes and social comments did you see and how were they blended into the story?

Roi Poimena – Since you seem surprised at that statement, that tells me how good of a job they did, and that their presentation was not totally in-your-face as many films lately have been. It is always better to introduce activism slowly, even it if takes a long time to get what you want. This first one is mild and open to debated, but it could be important. Do the sheep represent a family or a community? I would say a community, but that leads to the reading question that is so important to the story. Does the daily reading represent parents reading to their children or equal education to all? Then there is the delightful way that stereotypes were portrayed and used in the flock and human population; one slip here and people would be bleating foul.

Influence Pas – Surely, education and exposing stereotypes are important.

Roi Poimena – I will come back to that, but some of the charm of this movie is the incorporation of facts; like orf, that is a real disease and a problem for sheep. Then did you question the sheep’s ability to see color? They do see some colors, specifically blue, green, and yellow; red is the color that is an issue. Winter lambs are a major part of this movie, but are they a problem? Of course, that depends on who you talk to, some shepherds want lambs in winter, but they can present problems if they are in the wrong environment.

Another charming idea is that all sheep become clouds; it is a reoccurring theme and allows for several views to be exploited. It was interesting that sheep become clouds, but their shepherd had a ghost. This is just one of several religious themes that run through this movie. But Sabastian being a cloud was a nice symbolic end for him.   

Influence Pas – What is wrong with a happy ending?

Roi Poimena – Nothing, but is that how the story handles it, or is the cloud issue used to show a flaw in the flock’s belief system? Sabastian’s death is important in the story and has a huge effect on the naive members of the flock. When Lily tries to share death with the flock, they chose to pull wool over their eyes, forget, and continue as before. Know how you would explain this serious subject to a grieving child.

Influence Pas – Well, since Sabastian is so important to the story, enlighten us with your thoughts on that character.

Roi Poimena – Sabastian is the ‘George’ of the flock. He is a mixed bag of metaphors, but to remove one of them would not go well in the story line. His ‘black sheep’ characterization runs deeper than color. Initially, he is the loner who is looking down on the flock; he is tolerated/accepted but does not consider himself part of the flock. The two ‘murders’ don’t like him, but they don’t like George either. As the story progresses, he is revealed as a winter lamb who has grown up with the hurt, and that rejection led to his abuse. The winter lamb label may connect him to Jesus, but the self-sacrifice certainly makes him a savior-figure.

Influence Pas – Why bring Jesus and religion into this movie; it is such a nice movie?

Roi Poimena – The writers included Sabastian and Lily’s conversation in the graveyard about church. Sabastian’s part includes many comments that have been used to question and mock Christianity; most of them are part of Christian belief. Unfortunately, many Christians still do not know how to talk about these thoughts. They never mention the name of Jesus in the movie, and I am not sure about the phrase good shepherd. Lily’s statements/questions are really the social comments here: “What is church?” and “Poor God!”.

George’s character has contempt against the church and pastor which is plain in his timing to pay his debt. His offense with the church started when he used it to tend to his little lambs. Then the pastor in the village did wrong because of the money and became a bad shepherd, but he appears to have had a change of heart. We know George offered the money and the pastor justified the bribe. The congregation was a sore spot and filled with everyone who became a suspect named in his will.

Influence Pas – Where do you get the idea that the pastor changed his mind?

Roi Poimena – There were two rolls of cash in the cupboard, the first one was never spent, but not returned. That will speak to George’s two children.

Influence Pas – Mr. Poimena, what do you make of George being a vegan?

Roi Poimena – Ms. Pas, George was not a vegan but a vegetarian. It seems he earned his living from the wool before he developed his cure and became wealthy. Two stereotypes are revealed in the angry words that George and the butcher share for each other.

Influence Pas – Okay, do you have anything to say about George’s daughter?

Roi Poimena – The movie starts and ends with Rebecca, who was a shepherdess in the Bible, and something written by George. She is a winter lamb because of her life in America. Her grand entrance at the end invokes thoughts of Little Bo Peep. I do have to wonder just how much they are alike?

Both the nursey rhyme and the movie are sweet and charming, but what are the hidden messages that may not match what we see.

Influence Pas – Thank you Mr. Poimena for your time and the, uh thought provoking responses. This is Influence Pas at The Flock Folk meeting.

GOOD

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What does an excited teenager describing something, me talking about my blood pressure, and a lukewarm conversion about a movie have in common? Well, good could have been used in all of those moments. (The teenager used slang that in my old mind does not fit.) Then I thought how God describes things and Genesis, especially Chapter 1, took over. This will help you in your own study. Hebrew Concordance: ṭō·wḇ — 271 Occurrences   Strong’s Hebrew: 2896. טוֹב (towb) — Good, pleasant, agreeable, beneficial, beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, fair, favor, fine, glad, goodly, graciously, joyful, kindly, loving, merry, pleasant, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, well-favored

In Genesis 1 God uses the word tov. God bless translators. As you can see the base-word for tov is used in many applications. If you look in a thesaurus or dictionary, in English, there are many listings for good; add in adjectives that go above ‘good’ and the compound words of good, the idea is huge. In Hebrew those jots and tittles, and prefixes and suffixes are used by the translators to help us out. I am finding that the ‘occurrences’ list helps me with the understanding of specific uses of a word. Back to Genesis.

I have taken classes, read, and studied the first part of Genesis many times. So, I may have seen this before, but I do not remember it. Tov surprised me with its various forms, and where it was absent in the first three chapters.

Day 1 and 7, according to the Bible app/Englishmen’s Concordance that I use is ט֑וֹב. The sky/expanse is not called tov, at this time. Day 3 through the animals in Day 6 are called tov, but it is written טֽוֹב׃; the best explanation I found for those two dots was it may be a pronunciation mark. In Day 6 man got blessed but not called tov. Day 7 pronounces everything very tov, and God rest; Day 1 is light. I have more questions than answers at this point, but now maybe a time to keep silent. The only thought I had about Day 2, and the air was in Ephesians 2:2.

Chapter 2 – the food from the trees was a form of tov, but spelled וְט֣וֹב. The ‘good’ used with the Tree of Knowledge is ט֥וֹב. Hebrew Concordance: wə·ṭō·wḇ — 15 Occurrences

All of these words are tov. So, why did the Holy Spirit use these different forms of tov? The easy and possible explanation is grammar and tenses, but I find the associations of these various forms of tov in Scripture interesting.

With all that said, I now have no problem calling something tov without trying to beef up my comment using many adjectives or ‘better’ words.  

Fruit and Nuts – Date Palms and Israel

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This post has grown from my repeat reading of Psalms and Isaiah. Dates and especially palm trees are mentioned with several important places and practices in Israel. Please, do not get your metaphorical hackles raised because of my choosing Israel as the ‘nuts’ in this post; it is not about all of the Children of Jacob.

Once again, I am telling on myself. I was comfortable with the level of study I had done on dates; can’t say Father God was. So, with the Small Voice in my heart, I dived into the subject like I should have done at first.

The Fruit – Dates and the Palm Trees

  • The Hebrew words connected with palms are Strong’s H8558 to H8561. H8558 is the main root word, more on that later.
  • Dates as consumable food is mentioned twice in the Bible and the references tell the same story. The occasion is when David brought the Ark of God to Jerusalem: 2 Samuel 6:19 and 1 Chronicles 16:3. He gave a date cake and a raisin cake to every man and woman who joined in the party. I would guess it was to make sure the people had food on the trip back to their houses. That act of concern reminds me of Jesus feeding the multitudes after teaching them in the wilderness. That had to be a lot of dates and raisins. Given the archeology and historical evidence, I find it unusual that there are not more references to them as food. Strong’s Hebrew: 829. אֶשְׁפָּר (eshpar) — Finger joint, knuckle date rolls or cakes. 2 Samuel 6:19 Hebrew Text Analysis men and women got a set.
  • In Song of Songs 7:7+8 it talks about palm trees and then it seems to switch to grape vines and clusters of grapes; actually, it is ‘clusters on the vine’. As I have looked at Hebrew words and their roots, the great imaginations that formed them are amazing.    Song of Solomon 7:8 Hebrew Text Analysis  Judean date palm – Wikipedia The fruit on the tree has a draping quality that could resemble a cluster of grapes hanging on a vine, the stem looks like a vine. You will need to find a picture of a date palm in fruit:) Many translations could be better because they just assumed it was grapes.
  • Tamar is the name of several women in the Bible. It comes from the palm tree’s quality of standing tall and erect. Find these women’s stories in the Bible, one is grandmother of Jesus.
  • There is an associated word that connects the upright quality of Palms to buildings. The art work in the Solomon’s Temple is rooted in this word. He put palm trees as decorations on the panels of the Temple, 1 King 7:36. Strong’s Hebrew: 8561. תִּמֹרִים (timorah) — Palm tree, column, pillar
  • Date and Palm Trees – Yes, there were other types of palms in the Levant, but the date palm was the most abundant, it seems okay to think of all references to palms as date palms. (Think H8558) Strong’s Hebrew: 8558. תָּמָר (tamar) — palm trees, palm, palm tree The first use of this word is the comforting oasis in Exodus 15:27 and Numbers 33:9; it was a green spot with flowing water in the middle of a sand-sea. The last use of this word is in Joel 1:12 where locusts are ravishing the land. That thought is a good segway into the ‘Nut’ portion of this post.
  • Jericho needs to added into the ‘first’ list for palms. Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world. The name places it as an oasis with palms trees. So, the Children met palms when they left Egypt and when they entered the Promise Land; a good place to compare and contrast for teaching purposes.
  • Branches from these trees are included in two customs in the Bible. With a connection to the oasis, the Festival of Booths (Day of Atonement) encourages the building of their booths using palm branches. The second custom is welcoming the king by laying down palm branches in his path, that would include David and Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem. A practical aspect here is to cut down on dust.
  • Isaiah 9:14 uses palm branches as a metaphor for the elders and prominent men of Judah, the ‘head of society’; while the false prophets are portrayed as reeds or the tail of society for teaching lies.

BibleGateway – Keyword Search: palm

The Nuts – Israel

This “nut” was not picked lightly and has been hard for me to crack. To break this one open and see the meat inside has proven difficult. I will extend the metaphor a little further; part of any nut is not edible, but even the non-edible part can be useful. The Father has always reserved part of Abraham and Sarah’s children for Himself, even as most of them fell from the faith-tree that this couple planted and rolled after other gods. Spiritual Israel this might be a good time to check your stock in this family tree.

Israel started out as Jacob and the use of both names needs to be considered as part of any lesson where both appears. Many will break them apart as a function of history, but it is a good time to “be still and know God”. As northern Israel and southern Judah cracked apart, they still shared the rootstock of Jacob/Israel, so, look a little deeper.

I picked these talking points from the withered, dead nuts that choose to drop from the faith-tree. You may have others or even call them something different, I am okay with that. Were they the root problem or the bad fruit? I may think about that for a while.

  • Eye Candy – This problem showed up as Israel camped under the Cloud in front of Mt. Sinai and reappeared in Judges all the way through to the Assyrian/Babylonian exiles. The People wanted a god they could see and party around; the nations that surrounded them had idols, a physical thing they could touch, kiss, and make. Psalm 106 (a historical psalm) is a good reference, but they are mentioned in many Books of the Old Testament. Psalm 106:19,20 talks about the golden calf and verses 35 to 39 add references to continued unfaithfulness by making gods.
  • Prostitution – Along with the ‘eye candy’ came burning incense and sex. It may have been in the high places, sacred groves and gardens, or pagan temples, male and female prostitutes were part of demon worship; they even made it in to the Temple in Jerusalem under some of the bad kings. Judah, son of Jacob, worshipped with a shrine prostitute, or so he thought in Genesis 38:13; it was Tamar his daughter-in-law (you still need to find the others). Isaiah 2:6-8 and 65:1-12 also talk about this prostitution. Christians like to spiritualize this subject, and Father God also accuses Israel of spiritual prostitution. Unfortunately, some churches and denominations have placed worldly agends over Jesus’ Resurrection and the work of the Holy Spirit. Also see 2 Kings 17:9. John in the Book of Revelation quotes Jesus confronting this problem in His church at Thyatira with a woman who claims to be important, Jezebel. I see no reason to believe that this was just a “spiritual prostitution”. Please, note that not all in that church were led astray.
  • Greed – Another topic that may not get a lot of pulpit-time. Did ancient Israel have a problem with greed? Yes, and with the rest of humanity God gave us the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20; the last few cover the subject very well. Jesus in Matthew 19:16-22 covers the topic again for us with the rich young ruler. If you need a reference in between those check out Isaiah 3:14-15 and read Proverbs, Solomon does talk about things connected to being greedy.

The relationship between Israel and God has had its problems, just read Kings and Chronicles. But they are God’s chosen people through Abraham and some always look to the Father; Elijah thought he was alone but God had 7,000 that had not worshipped Baal, the servant girl who bragged on Him to Naaman, Nehemiah and Ezra, Esther, and the Prophets, the list is long. The seven Christian churches in Revelation tell a very similar story; some had problems, some did not. There is good inside that hard outer shell.

Jacob/Israel and his family are this study. I try to study this name change and how it is used many times in Scripture, when it shows up in another study. This time, I found connecting words and stories in Genesis 32:22-31 and Hosea 12:3. I found the words in these two passages very interesting.

Nazirite, Nazareth, and Grapevines

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When studies and thoughts collide! The collision of Nazirite, Nazareth, and Grapevines is more like three different musical instruments, all contributing three different sounds but are in harmony with the whole of the composition, not a hitting of two cars.

Nazirite – This term started this study. I thought it referred ‘to just’ a person who separated themselves to God for a season. The terms of the vow in Numbers 6 are clearly listed, but I only saw ‘no wine and don’t cut your hair’.

Numbers 6, the way I read the requirements.

  • Choosing a special vow of separation (with requirements) to the Lord (v2), for a specific amount of time (v5). Following the rules was part of the vow.
  • No Fermented drinks – wine, beer, vinegar
  • No grapes or its parts, and no grapevines and its parts
  • No cutting your hair by razor (on purpose?)
  • No dead bodies
  • A final sacrifice to end the vow

Actually, looking at the base word and where it appears in Scripture is important.

Strong’s Hebrew: 5139. נָזִיר (nazir) — Nazirite, one who is consecrated or set apart

This list is from H5139.

  1. Joseph (2x)
  2. grapevines during the Sabbath year and Jubilee
  3. one who chooses to dedicate
  4. Samson’s mother that extended to him- Judges 13 (From birth.)
  5. Lamentations 4 and Amos 2 are talking about those who did take the vow.

Other references, some of these are only about not drinking wine. Much discussion could happen here, but for some of these we do not have enough information and there are contradictions. Wine, beer, and vinegar were important drinks for an Israelite.

  • The Children during the Wandering in the dessert. Deuteronomy 29:6
  • Rechabites, in Jeremiah, did not drink wine.
  • The Prophet Samuel, by Hannah’s prayer and legend.
  • John the Baptist – Luke 1:15 (From birth.)
  • Jesus – John 17
  • Paul from references in Acts 18 and 21 for a specific time.

NAZARITE – JewishEncyclopedia.com is a good study tool.

Numbers 6:2 Hebrew Text Analysis The vow could be taken by a man OR a woman. Vow = Hebrew Concordance: yap̄·li — 2 Occurrences

Nazareth –

Our translation of Nazarite, Nazarene, and Nazareth all begin with ‘nazar’; but in Hebrew they come from different root words. To add to this is Matthew 2:23 with its phrase of ‘so was fulfilled’ meaning there was a prophecy about this; it is not an easily apparent prophecy in the Old Testament. This is where the studies start bumping together; see The Root, The Branch, The Fruit. This is also very good. Nazarene | The amazing name Nazarene: meaning and etymology

Jesus calls Himself the True Vine (John 15:1) and us the branches. Paul uses an olive tree (a symbol of Israel) and talks about shoots or branches being taken off and grafted in; representing Gentile believers. Instead of dismissing Matthew 2:23, as many do, be a king or queen and search for its meaning.

Grapevines and Its Parts

There are websites that meld wine and grapes together; I choose not to do that. I know that I am in a minority of those who think the Etz of Knowledge of Good and Evil could have been a grapevine. See The Garden and Grapes. I appreciate some medieval art, but I believe they missed it on that subject. Why should it be a fruit that is not really referred to a lot in the Bible, knowledge is?

The etz of grapes and its products are mentioned frequently in Scripture. Those references are about good and evil things that come from that etz. So, my driving question was, “Why would Father God restrict grape products for someone wanting to separate themselves to know Him better?” All of those grape products are consumable as nourishment to the human body. In the Garden, the consumption of the Etz of Knowledge was forbidden, whereas the consumption of the Etz of Life was not forbidden.

Knowledge, like grapes, can be useful for good, or can be used for evil purposes. I see a very symbolic relationship here that put it as a requirement for this vow of separation. The woody stem (etz) is also very symbolic of knowledge; it is solid but sways and bends. The stem has its uses but building a chair or table from it is not one of them. My takeaway is: Stay away from pliable knowledge and go for the Tree of Life.

 These are notes, my thinking out loud to help form my thoughts.

  • No manmade fermented drinks. Alcohol, yeast, or man purposely changing the drink. These liquids played a big role in the lives of the people. Beer can be made into vinegar.
  • No Grapes – I take it as a symbol of the Tree of Knowledge. Seed and skin are single use words, but there are foods made from them. Grapes can be soaked and that liquid made into wine.
  • No razor – hair and bread? “hair of dedication” v19 BibleGateway – Keyword Search: razor
  • No dead bodies, ceremonially unclean v7
  • Final sacrifice – v13 This was expensive. You had to finish the sacrifice to return to “normal/drink wine v20,21”.
  • Most of these requirements are willing separation, but dead bodies are covered in length, even as an accident.
  • Psalm 53 is about those who seek God vs the fool, which was the reason for this vow. This connects to Amos.
  • Netzer (נֶצֶר), meaning “branch” or “shoot”