Sometimes the Holy Spirit draws my attention to a phrase in\nScripture and blows a trumpet. This happened recently with the phrase \u201copen\nflowers\u201d in the description of the temple Solomon built. Usually I would blow\nright past this phrase, even though it is used four times in chapter six of I\nKings. We are told that carved into the cedar walls (v.18) and the olive wood\ndoors (v. 32) are cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout Scripture and especially in Ezekiel, the cherubim\nrepresent the awesome power of God: both his omniscience and omnipotence. The palm\ntree in the middle east represents rest, water, and if a date palm, even food.\nThe sight of palm trees indicates the presence of fruitfulness, water, and\nshade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What intrigued me were the open flowers. Israel is famous\nfor its wildflowers\u2014thus the honey that flows in this land. But spring is short,\nand the heat quickly withers the flowers. Psalm 103:15 uses the flowers to\nexpress the brevity of life: \u201cAs for man, his days are like grass\u2014he blooms\nlike a flower of the field; when the wind passes over, it vanishes and its\nplace remembers it no more.\u201d<\/em> As I age and spend more time reading my friends\u2019\nobituaries, the swift passage of life is always present. There is a wintry melancholy\nas I contemplate all that is lost and all that is gone. Grandchildren sprout\nup, things you just painted need repainting, memories fade, and so much is\nunfinished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet in the presence of God we are forever open flowers. In His presence nothing that is truly good\nfades. God remembers every expression of love for Him and others\u2014nothing is\nforgotten, nothing lost. Like the flowers carved in the cedar walls of the temple,\nwe are golden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is significant that here in God\u2019s presence, the flowers\nare open. Here it is safe to bloom. We can open ourselves to God. We can just\nbe and leave behind all worries as to whether we have done enough or become\nenough. All the competing narratives surrounding our identity and value are\nsilenced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We value flowers for their beauty and joy, not their utility.\nThe Spirit\u2019s invitation to be an open flower before God is an invitation to\nenter God\u2019s sabbath rest and to walk with God in the cool of day. Here I need only bloom, not calculate how\nuseful or useless I have been to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In God\u2019s presence, I am perfectly known, understood, and loved.\nBecause we are created in God\u2019s image, and recreated by the lavish grace of\nChrist, we are open flowers\u2014full of beauty and goodness. In God\u2019s presence we not\nonly open our hearts in praise and adoration, we bask in His love and delight\nin us. We receive the gentle rain of His Spirit and the radiance of His glory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, in His temple there are powerful cherubim and useful\npalm trees. But I am grateful God included the open flowers. These too are the\nglory of God. As David declared (Psalm 29:9): In His temple everything says, \u201cGlory!\u201d\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes the Holy Spirit draws my attention to a phrase in Scripture and blows a trumpet. This happened recently with the phrase \u201copen flowers\u201d in the description of the temple Solomon built. Usually I would blow right past this phrase, … Continue reading