Bible Flowers: On the Wildflower as a Visual Aid
Bible Flowers: On the Wildflower as a Visual Aid.
Spring flowers are unfolding in the fields. The season of glad songs has come, the cooing of the turtledoves is heard in the land. The fig tree is forming its first figs, and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance. Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come away with me.” (Song of Songs 2:12-13).
Every flower and blossom mentioned in Scripture has a story to tell. Bible flowers are planted in a context, and could be anything from an object lesson or sermon illustration, to a metaphor or a symbol, or perhaps simply a prime example of some of God’s creative genius. No matter what, when we study the flowers of the Bible, we will undoubtedly come to understand the Scriptures that much better,, whether we’re referring to the Henna blooms (Song of Songs 1:14) or the almond tree blossoms (Numbers 17:8); the Rose of Sharon (Song of Songs 2:1) or the hyssop flowers ( ); the Lily of the Valley (Song of Songs 2:1) or the Pomegranate blooms (Ex 28:33); the Crocus Saffron (Is. 35:1-2) or the myriads of wildflowers (Matt. 6:28-29); the Myrtle blooms or Willow blossoms (Ps. 137:1-2).
Is it true that everything physical points to something spiritual? That creation inevitably guides us back to the Creator? That physical realities in nature reflect spiritual realities in supernature? That God’s handiwork leads us to the Handiworker?
Beauty and Fragrance. Flowers are prime examples of how something that appeals to our physical senses can refer us to our spiritual senses. Let’s consider two wondrous qualities of flowers that help us praise the Maker at a deeper level: Beauty and Fragrance. Is there any doubt that only a beautiful God could have created the beauty we discover in flowers? Or that the sweet-smelling aroma of flowers serve to deepen our understanding of the Christian’s role in the world as the aroma of Christ? Because flowers lead the way in appealing to our natural senses, they are able to help us mere mortals to sense God in the full meaning of the term.
Senses and Symbols. Scripture loves to use our physical senses as symbols because if there’s one thing about us we can truly understand, it’s our senses. We may not truly understand our thoughts and actions, but we can understand our tangible senses. So the Bible uses our senses as reference points for how we can experience God more deeply. Our senses represent ways of participating in the Faith, of growing and knowing. Scripture encourages believers to use our senses both literally and spiritually in experiencing God. We can, with God’s help, sense God figuratively, using our physical senses as ideas that trigger a deeper understanding of the Faith.
“And Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Stop being overly anxious (“merimneo”). Don’t be distracted by so much worry about your life – what you’ll eat or drink; or about your body and what you will wear. For life (“psyche”) is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Think about the ravens! They neither plant nor harvest, they have neither storehouses nor barns, yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than birds? And consider the wildflowers in the meadow, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread. Yet, I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these. If this is how God clothes the grass, which is alive today in the field and thrown into the oven tomorrow, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little-faith (oligopistos)!” (Luke 12:22-34; also refer to Matthew 6:25-34).
Consider the Lilies by the Hemphills
Lilies of the Field. This term is most likely a general catch-all term used for the many wildflowers that were so abundant in Israel. Lilies were common wildflowers, and so were irises, narcissus, lupin, hyacinth, jonquil, chamomile, ranunculus, and the poppy.
Rabbi Jesus. It is fascinating that the teacher Jesus we find in the gospels nonetheless remained in the historic flow of Jewish tradition. He taught and preached and demonstrated and told His stories in ways that were accepted in rabbinic circles. Jesus taught like a Jew, He argued like a Jew, He reasoned like a Jew.
How Much More. One classic method of rabbinic teaching was called the “Kal v’Chomer (pronounced as it looks, except the c is silent).” This was a commonly used strategy of reasoning and persuasion used throughout the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition. Breaking down that Hebrew phrase, “kal” means “Of course, obviously Yes.” And “v’chomer” means “all the more so.” The Hebrew understating of this teaching strategy can be described in many ways: light to heavy; lesser to greater; simple to complex; minor to major; lenient to strict. The kal v’chomer is a strictly logical process used everywhere in Jewish culture, from the courtrooms to the corner conversations to the synagogues. It is used by a speaker when he or she wants the listener to logically arrive at an inescapable conclusion. If A is obviously true, then it stands to reason that B is true as well. This process is often spoken of as the “How much more” argument. If A is commonly accepted, then how much more is it likely that B should be accepted as well? In other words… Since we accept the truth of this fact, then we naturally must accept the truth of that fact. If this reality is commonly accepted as good, then how much more likely is that reality also true, and maybe even better!
The Teacher. Like all effective rabbis, Jesus used this traditional strategy of argument when He read the room and believed that His audience was up to a logical argument. He would say, ‘If something is true in a minor matter, then how much more true will this major matter be?’ Jesus made successful use of Kal v’Chomer in His public ministry. ‘If this is obviously good, then that must be good as well.’ This is a commonsense type of reasoning that Jesus used many times in His speaking. There are at least eight different times He used this ‘lesser to greater’ approach to persuasion. In fact, because St. Paul loved to use this type of argument, and was probably taught it by the Master Rabbi Gamaliel, the New Testament has well over twenty different passages that include Kal v’Chomer reasoning.
Don’t Fret. Here in this picturesque passage in the Sermon on the Mount (in Matthew) and in front of an immense throng of people (in Luke), Jesus used a telling term for “anxiety.” He is apparently acknowledging that anxiety is a matter of degrees. It is a fact of human life that all of us experience anxiety to a degree. Everyone has at least minor league concerns from one day to the next. But Jesus used a Greek term, “merimneo,” which puts worries into the major leagues. Merimneo is a term that specifically means being overly anxious, when worry has become too much of a presence in one’s life. Merimneo has been described as being perpetually distracted with fretfulness; preoccupied with concern; to remain deeply troubled and unsettled; to operate a disquieted soul (psyche); to have one’s mind divided, unable to focus single-mindedly on trusting the Lord.
No worries. Jesus is declaring here that if God cares so well for the less valuable things in nature like birds, wildflowers and grass, how much more will He care for the masterpiece of creation, human beings made in His image! So, Jesus is saying, don’t be consumed with worry about simple life-maintenance things like what you eat and what you wear. Isn’t your sacred life that has divine dignity more valuable than these other concerns that take up so much attention in the lives of pagans who have no faith in God? As the Message interestingly puts it, “There is more to your inner life than the food that you put in your stomach. And there’s more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.”
Little-Faith. Rabbi Jesus then begins to conclude one section of this teaching with, “O you of little-faith.” The Greek term He used here is a word that Jesus invented, “little-faith,” “oligopistos.” New Testament scholars report that this word refers here to those who are dull to hearing God’s voice, disinterested in having a closer walk with their Master. Those with “little-faith” lacked the confident trust in God to take care of their daily basic needs. Those who are described as oligopistos lack the more mature faith He is looking for. “Pistos” is the Greek term most used for faith, and is described this way… reliance upon Christ; loyal faithfulness to God; confident belief in the truths of Jesus; earnest trust in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; being firmly persuaded that the Christian way of life is true; the trust in God that finds its complete fulfillment in demonstrating agape love (Galations 5:6). Faith is that kind of lifestyle that is best expressed in its language of divine love. Jesus wants to help us grow from being “little-faith” to “much-faith.”
Seek First. And now for Christ’s antidote to being overly anxious… “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Jesus suggested that the key to avoiding high anxiety and meager trust is to grow in single-minded focus on God’s Kingdom (Luke 12:31). In other words, seek His Kingship over us at all costs; chase after His Kingdom realm in our daily life; trust the King of Creation to take care of you; pattern our lives on the character of the King; live into our loyalty to the King by serving His interests and obeying His wishes without hesitation. We can afford to be carefree when we trust in God’s care for us. The grace of the Father-King will not only provide what we need but also throw in His Kingdom as well! Another pearl of wisdom from Jesus, in Matthew 6:34, “So don’t be consumed with worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough trouble already!” Don’t become overly fearful,” He says, for you are worth much more in His grand scheme of creation than birds, wildflowers and grass, as wonderful as they are.