KEY SCRIPTURE:
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7)

I love chickadees because they live life with gusto. They’re small, fragile, and vulnerable—especially to the hawks that love to visit my birdfeeder every winter, pursuing sparrows and juncos into the shrubs with such vigor that snow cascades down on prowler and prey alike. After the threat has passed, which are the first to arrive back at the feeder? The chickadees—even while feathers are still flying!

Their boldness is a wonder—a boldness my oldest son and I experienced at a camp a couple decades ago. Seeing a small flock of them in a pine tree nearby, I told Greg to pick a few peanut pieces out of his Snickers bar, place them in the palm of his hand, and walk slowly toward a low hanging bough. It was hardly a minute before one of the little birds landed on his hand to grab a treat. I had my camera with me, so I instructed Greg to hold really still so I could capture the event on film. Looking through the eyepiece, I saw one land again and then disappear before I could trip the shutter. But I held the camera still, thinking it would return soon—which it did, but not to my son’s hand: through the camera I saw Greg smiling and pointing toward me. I slowly lifted my head and found the bird perched on my telephoto lens! Neither of us will ever forget the joy of the wonderful feeling a human being has when he is trusted by vulnerable wild creatures.

Here’s my take on chickadees: Threats surround them everywhere. Most other birds outweigh them dramatically. If they had to stop and worry about all the risks and threats, life would be miserable for them; so they seem to say, “Darn the hawks. Full speed ahead!” They know life is a risk, but that’s not going to stop them from enjoying it. It seems that in their little spirits they have somehow heard these comforting words: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God” (Luke 12:6).

So as my retirement savings tick slowly downward, it’s probably good for me to go outdoors and be preached at by the chickadees.  And as we approach the ten-year mark after 9/11, it’s also good for us all to recall the oft-repeated biblical reminder: “God is still on the throne.”

When I was a kid, perhaps around 1950, my folks received a couple gifts from Scottish evangelist Gavin Hamilton who stayed with us when he came to speak at our small-town Baptist church. They were a KJV Bible with an olive wood cover and a bookmark decorated with dried and laminated Holy Land wildflowers.  He bought them on one of his trips to Israel—like thousands of Holy Land visitors still do.  Except that the bookmarks are now made up of pictures of wildflowers or significant plants mentioned in the Bible!  Israel’s wildflowers were being decimated by collectors.

Since that time, however, I’ve been fascinated with the natural history of the Holy Land—flowers, trees, birds, animals, and its geology and geography.  So it was a great joy for me to have the opportunity to travel with RBC to Israel in 1997—my first trip.  Later when I joined the staff of Day of Discovery I was privileged to visit many more times.  The first time I went with a DOD crew, I pestered our guide, Jane, with constant questions about this or that plant.  Fortunately, Jane was also a volunteer at the Botanical Gardens of Jerusalem and could provide most of the answers. (Unfortunately the website of the gardens is only in Hebrew.)

KEY SCRIPTURE:
[Solomon] spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:32-34).

Almond blossoms

Later when I was doing research at home I discovered many fascinating facts about the plants in Israel and the nations around it.  For instance, there is a sage plant (salvia; see photo above) that is shaped exactly like the Hebrew menorah.  Some have suggested that it was used as the model for the lampstand made for the tabernacle, but the design elements of it were actually spelled out by Jehovah, and the only natural forms mentioned for its design were almond buds and blossoms.

For me gaining knowledge of the plants of the Bible has enriched my understanding of the Scriptures and increased my pleasure in reading them.  When natural elements of the lands of the Bible are mentioned, I now have a clear picture in my mind to accompany the words: mustard, broom, hyssop, olive and acacia trees, cedar, and so forth.

There is a great resource on the Internet that I use often that you might appreciate as well: Lytton Musselman’s Bible Plants site on the Old Dominion University website.  Lytton is a good friend of RBC and was the host of the final Day of Discovery program on the wonder of a tree. On his site (which is also a link on the right sidebar) you can usually find several pictures of each plant listed along with an in-depth commentary with Scripture references by Lytton.  Some of this commentary and many of his photos are also part of his informative reference book:  Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh: Plants of the Bible and the Quran. I keep it near my Bible since there is still a lot I’d like to learn about the plants of the Bible.