The
Pomegranate is mentioned frequently throughout the Old
Testament:
| Exodus 28:33-34; 39:24-26 |
Numbers 13:23; 20:5; 33:19-20 |
| Deuteronomy 8:8 |
Joshua 15:32; 19:7,13 |
| Judges 20:45 |
I Samuel 14:2 |
| II Samuel 4:2 |
I Kings 6:32; 7:18,20 |
| II Kings 5:18; 25:17 |
II Chronicles 3:16; 4:13 |
| Songs 4:3,13; 6:7,11; 7:12; 8:2 |
Joel 1:12 |
| Haggai 2:19 |
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The Hebrew word in the Old
Testament passages is "rimmôn". The
consensus amongst scholars, historians, and botanists is that this
word, translated, means pomegranate.
 The Pomegranate tree, punica granatum, is a small tree
reaching a height of 20 to 30 feet. The bell-like flowers are
red, yellow, or white (see photo). The flowers of
the pomegranate likely served as the design for both the
"golden bells" and "open flowers"
embroidered on the robes worn by the high priest. The fruit also adorned the sash of the
high priest and
was carved into the walls and pillars of the Solomon's temple. The
pointed lobes of the fruit served as the inspiration for
Solomon's crown and for all crowns since then.
In early times the pomegranate was a sacred plant and as a symbol of fertility or
fruitfulness due to the large number of seeds. Early Christians
believed that the pomegranate tree was the "tree of life" in
the garden of Eden and later it became the symbol of eternal
life in their art. The pomegranate was used as an ornament on the walls
of the Jewish temple at Capernaum in which Jesus preached and,
you
still see pomegranate adornments in Christian
Churches today as a symbol of the eternal life given to us
through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said:
17For God so
loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him - John 3:16,17 (NIV)
Further, it is written:
9God showed how
much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that
we might have eternal life through him. - 1 John 4:9
Truly, the greatest gift ever given is the gift of eternal life that God
gave us through his Son. If you would like to know more about how you can
know Jesus Christ and receive His free gift of eternal life,
please feel free to contact me, or visit the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association web site
at http://www.billygraham.org.
From now on, for my personal "spiritual green
card", I will be carrying a pomegranate wood pen as a
physical reminder to me of the awesome gift of salvation and eternal life that was given
so freely to me and you.
In Christ,
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