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Genesis 1:12 – The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (NIV)
In recent months, I have started eating an apple each evening. As I thought about this delightful experience, a Google search broadened my knowledge.
- Though the forbidden fruit of Eden in the Book of Genesis is not identified, popular Christian tradition has held that it was an apple that Eve coaxed Adam to share with her. The origin of the popular identification with a fruit unknown in the Middle East in biblical times is found in confusion between the Latin words mālum (an apple) and mălum (an evil), each of which is normally written malum. The tree of the forbidden fruit is called "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in Genesis 2:17, and the Latin for "good and evil" is bonum et malum.
Renaissance painters may also have been influenced by the story of the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides. As a result, in the story of Adam and Eve, the apple became a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man into sin, and sin itself. The larynx in the human throat has been called the "Adam's apple" because of a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit remaining in the throat of Adam. The apple as symbol of sexual seduction has been used to imply human sexuality, possibly in an ironic vein.
The proverb, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", addressing the supposed health benefits of the fruit, has been traced to 19th-century Wales, where the original phrase was "Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread". In the 19th century and early 20th, the phrase evolved to "an apple a day, no doctor to pay" and "an apple a day sends the doctor away"; the phrasing now commonly used was first recorded in 1922. Despite the proverb, there is no evidence that eating an apple daily has any significant health effects.
While these are interesting facts, the exterior skin and the delightful pulp or flesh have taught me two lessons. Firstly, just like apples, every person is different on the outside. Each person is a different colour or shape or size or whatever. I am always amazed how God has created billions of people who may be similar in some ways but always different in others.
Secondly, although the exterior is helpful, much more important is the pulp or flesh that we enjoy after taking a bite of the apple. That enjoyment is normally a highlight of my evening ritual. Sadly, however, one evening, the bite was unpleasant. Even though the exterior was pleasing, the pulp was bad!
For both apples and humans, much money and time is expended to change and improve the appearance. However, I have never heard of anyone able to change the pulp of a bad apple.
Fortunately, for humans, the forgiveness of sins that Jesus bought for us through His death on the cross means that even bad interiors can be made whole again!
Psalm 32:5 – Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" — and you forgave the guilt of my sin. (NIV)
Prayer: Father, help us to recognize the need to have our sinful nature cleansed by Jesus. Amen.
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Thanks for the insights, Vince.
Wonderful insight Vincent. Blessings.
Lovely devotional. Insightful. Thanks.
Greetings Vince,
Thank you for this devotional today.
Thanks for a good bite today, Vincent.
Blessings.
Thank you, Vincent, for that very interesting information about the apple. It gave me something to think about.
Thanks for your great research and sharing on this simple subject, Vincent! Good reminders that help me today.
Thank you .This was very interesting and the comparison of apples to people very original. Thank you for sharing.
Vince – thanks for your devotionals which I read with anticipation. An Interesting thought came to me – a bad apple always makes other good apples bad if left in close relationships, but the good apples never make the bad apples good! As you stated, even though we try to create a good atmosphere around us, only in Christ can the “bad pulp” become “good”. I guess that’s why we tried to influence our children to have good Christ-like companions!
Blessings of Shalom!
Good Morning, Walter,
An interesting analogy, Thank you. Might you also look at it from the flip side….that just as the exterior of an apple may be bruised, the pulp inside can be clear, sweet, and edible, so too, is it with humans. Consider the homeless living in squalor, the downtrodden, those who do misdeeds, the seemingly unruly youth — when you “peel” away the “bruised”, exterior, there is more often than not, a person of loving kindness and a faith that just needs to be rekindled … with love, trust, and support.
Enjoy the rest of the week. Keep writing and Stay Healthy.
God Bless and Best of the New Year to you and all your loved ones.
Good morning, Vince,
All the information is great and most of it I have never heard before. I have heard that we do not know what the fruit was, and it is fascinating about the word “malum” and the slight difference in writing the word changes the meaning completely.
I am reminded of my dad because he ate an apple a day. My parents would buy a couple of bushels of apples and keep them in the back porch where it was cool and helped keep them. If it was going to be really cold one night, they would bring the bushels into the kitchen. They would still be wrapped up in blankets to keep the heat out of them.
It is so true that when is accept Jesus as our Saviour, we are changed, and it is a miracle. It is also a new beginning which can change our outlook and our life in so many ways.
Thank you for sharing this information which helps us understand a little more about His Word. May you enjoy your apples and all the different tastes of the many varieties. Blessings.
Read this devotional again today and was truly blessed Thank you, again, for sharing it! Blessings.