Nuts

Bible Reading:  Song of Solomon 6

Key Verse: Verse 11 – "“I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.”

Key Words: the garden of nuts 

Most scholars agree that the nuts referred to in our text are pistachio nuts.  Did you know that the pistachio nut is full of nutrition?  It is said that the pistachio nut may help reduce the risk of heart disease.  The nut also helps to calm acute stress.  It is also believed that the pistachio can help in the area of weight management.  It is also filled with fiber and vitamins.  I enjoy eating pistachio nuts simply because I think they are delicious.

According to Genesis 43:11, they were also used as a prized gift.

When my wife and I were in Israel, our Israeli tour guide for some reason connected with the two of us.  One day to our great amazement, he gave us a gift.  To my wife, he gave an expensive piece of jewelry; and I received a container of pistachio nuts.  Now, on the surface it appears as though my wife got the better gift; but according to the custom of the Middle East, a gift of jewelry for the women is the highest form of a compliment; and for men – you guessed it – either ointment, fruit, or pistachio nuts.

If you buy pistachio nuts fresh in the Middle East, they are quite expensive:  around $20.00 a pound.  Their high price is doubtless one of the reasons they are considered such a great gift.

I am reminded of another gift that came at a high price.  That gift is our salvation; and the price is the blood of Jesus Christ.  So the next time you see or hear of a pistachio nut, remember what Jesus did for you on Calvary.

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Every time you think of the pistachio, let it remind you of what we have through Jesus Christ: everlasting life. 

The Fig and Israel

Bible Reading:  Mark 13:14-37

Key Verse: Verse 28– " Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:”

Key Words: Now learn the parable of the fig tree    

I have had the privilege of visiting Israel on two occasions.  It was during those visits that it became very obvious to me that the fig was one of, if not the most, favorite article of food there.

The fig tree differs from almost all other fruit trees in that its fruit is green and inconspicuous.  It is concealed among the leaves until the time of ripening.

As you study God’s Word, you will find that God often uses the fig as an illustration.  For example, it is used to illustrate the nation of Israel in Isaiah 34, and it is used to illustrate the second coming in Matthew 24.

Ah, the fig tree!  Have you ever eaten a fig?  Ok, Ok…so figs are not the most exotic of the fruits; but I like them, especially in the form of jelly, or even better yet, cookies…you know, the Fig Newton Bar.  I know, calories galore!  Fat gram city!  But they are still good.

Figs can be healthy.  They are known for their restorative power.  Pliny, the Roman Naturalist, wrote, “Figs are restorative and the best of the fruits that can be used by those who are brought low by sickness.”  Figs provide energy and vitality because of their sugar content.  If you do not drink milk, add figs to your diet; they are a good source of calcium.

Did you know that figs are the first fruit mentioned in the Bible?  Remember how Adam and Eve covered their nakedness with fig leaves?

Ah, the fig!  You cannot think about it without thinking about the nation of Israel (Mark 13:28).  So the next time you see or eat a fig, think about and pray for the nation of Israel.

                                                                                         Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember, the fig, above all other fruits symbolizes Israel; so when you see a fig, remember to pray for Israel.

Grapes of Blessing

Bible Reading:  Numbers 13:17-25

Key Verse: Verse 23- " And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.”

Key Words: a branch with one cluster of grapes 

If you will notice from our text, the cluster of grapes that was cut down was of such a size and weight that it took two men to carry it.

Grapes are often used symbolically in the Bible.  For example, Israel’s sin is compared to wild grapes in Isaiah 5:2.  The sins of the rebellious world are judged in “the great winepress of God’s wrath” (Revelation 14:18-20).

Yet grapes are most often used in a positive way in the Bible.  Grapes symbolize abundance and prosperity (Numbers 13:23).  They also symbolize the divine blessings of God in the ages to come (Amos 9:13).

In my study for this devotion, I was surprised to learn that there are over 6,000 varieties of grapes world-wide, but only fifty of these varieties are commercially important.  In America, the two most popular types of grapes would be the Concord (it is your large purple grape) and the Thompson seedless grape.  This one is the most popular grape (by sales) in America.  Its light green skin is tart in taste, but the juicy sweet meat is most of the taste.

Grapes are the number one selling fruit in the world, sometimes dried for raisins, or crushed for juice, or canned for jelly and fruit cocktail.  They are used in salads, desserts, pies, etc.  Eaten alone they provide a low-calorie snack.

Like all fruit, grapes are good for your health.  They help to detoxify the body and help build iron-rich blood.  Grapes taste good and are good for you.

Grapes remind us of the blessings of God.  So the next time you eat a grape, let it be a reminder to you of God’s blessings in your life  

                                                                                   Dr. Mike Rouse                                          

What to do:

✞When you see grapes, remember the blessings of God. 

The Apple

Bible Reading:  Song of Solomon 7

Key Verse: Verse 8 - " I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;”

Key Words: smell of thy nose like apples 

The apple is a favorite fruit in the Middle East, and though they do not grow any of the fine variety of apples of which we are accustomed to eating, they still grow several varieties of apples.

In the Middle East, they habitually smell an apple to revive them when they feel faint (Song of Solomon 2:5). 

During Solomon’s day, it was a rare fruit and greatly loved (Solomon 2:3, and 8:5).

When it comes to the apple, did you know that there are over 7,200 varieties worldwide; and they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors?

Apples spread across America, thanks to an itinerant preacher by the name of John Chapman.  Chapman spread apple seeds all across his property.  As the trees grew, he began to sell the apples or even give them away, whichever suited his fancy.  Chapman began spreading apple seeds everywhere he went.  His desire was for others to enjoy the fruit as much as he did.  You probably know John Chapman better as Johnny Appleseed.

Apples have many health benefits.  Their fibrous juicy nature helps to clean our teeth and exercise our gums.  Apples are said to remove impurities from the liver.  It is said that, if eaten daily, the apple can help prevent skin disease, arthritis and liver problems.

The apple reminds us of God’s Word.  John 15:7 says, “Now ye are clean through the words which I have spoken unto you.”

Just as the apple removes impurities from the body, God’s Word removes impurities from the soul.  So I will let you decide if you need an apple a day, but we all need a daily bite from God’s Word. 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Eat daily from God’s Word.  It is sweet and refreshing to the soul.  

Rarity

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 31

Key Verse: Verse 10 - “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.”

Key Words: Who can find a virtuous woman 

Finding a virtuous woman is not impossible, but it is a rarity.  As you scan the pages of God’s Word, you only find two women whom God called virtuous.

First of all, there is Ruth, found in Ruth 3:11,  “And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requires: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.”

Secondly, some time back our family went to the Smoky Mountains for a vacation.  We came across a sign that read, “Ruby Mines – 2 Miles Ahead on the Right.”  My wife and the girls just insisted that we stop by the Ruby Mines to see if we could find some rubies.  When we arrived I found out that you actually buy a five-pound bag of dirt and you go and pan for rubies from the bag of dirt you buy.  Before I bought the bags of dirt – five pounds for $20.00 – I asked the man running the mines if anyone had ever “found” a ruby, and he assured me they had.  So the five of us took our five bags of dirt and began our panning.  Well, ten bags and $40.00 later, we were still “ruby-less.”  On the way out, I asked again, “Are you sure rubies have come out of this mine?”  He again answered, “Yes.”  So I asked how many and he said, “I have worked at the mines for over five years, and have seen two genuine rubies.”  Then I said, “Two!”  He looked at me, smiled, and said, “They are a rarity, you know.”

“Who can find a virtuous woman?  for her price is far above rubies.”

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

            ✞Live the truth, walk in truth, be extraordinary!

 

A Buttermilk Bath

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 30

Key Verse: Verse 33- “Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.”

Key Words: Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter 

I recently saw an ad in the newspaper which brought back a flood of memories.

It was an old-fashioned butter churn.  Maybe you remember them.  This one was a tall wooden vessel with a hole in the cover, through which a round handle protruded with paddles on the lower end.  By patient, hard work – plunging the paddles up and down in the cream – you can make butter provided the temperature is right.  How well I remember – it seemed like hours before the butter would separate!  But Aunt Sarah would always say, “if you’ll only keep on, it will come sooner or later.”  Yes, the secret was in keeping on – not giving up.  Butter comes only from churning and churning.  To stop is to fail!

The story is told of two frogs that fell into a tub of cream.  The one looked at the high sides of the tub which were too difficult to crawl over and said, ‘It is hopeless.”  So he resigned himself to death, relaxed, and sank to th e bottom!  The other frog determined to keep on swimming as long as he could.  “Something might happen,” he said – and sure enough it did!  He kept kicking, kicking, churning, churning, and finally, “Eureka!” He found himself on a solid platform of butter, floating on top of his buttermilk bath.  He hopped out safely, and only because he would not give up.  Paul wrote, “And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, If…” (Galatians 6:9).  You finish the verse.

The moral of the story is do not ever, ever give up.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞Give up and lose, or…

✞Keep going, and praying, and believing, and churning awy – and make some butter thast will butter up your life.

 

Needless Fear

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 29

Key Verse: Verse 25 - “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”

Key Words: The fear of man bringeth a snare 

There are three types of fear mentioned in God’s Word.  There is sudden fear or startling fear.  There is the fear of God, a reverential fear.  And then there is trembling fear.  That’s the fear we find in our text verse, verse 25.  I have found that this is the fear that Satan will use to keep us from carrying out God’s will.  But I have also found that it is a useless and senseless fear.  As a child of God, I have the continual watch care of God over me.

The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves.  On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test.  He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone.  Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and tribe.  But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away.  When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of thick woods, and he was terrified.  Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce.  After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest.  Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of a path.  Then to his utter astonishment, he beheld a figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with bow and arrow.  It was his father.  He had been there all night long.

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Move forward doing the will of God in spite of your fear.

✞The more we give in to our fears, the more victories can be accomplished by Satan.

✞trust in God and you’ll never be afer.