Advent Series: A bush in the desert

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In today's Episode:

A Bush in the Desert

There's a plant mentioned in the Bible that is worth looking a little closer at. Here is what it says in Jeremiah 17:

This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD. That person will be like a bush in the desert; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives - Jeremiah 17:5-6

Today, we are going to talk about a plant in the desert that most modern English translations simply call a bush, but in Hebrew, it is understood to be a specific plant called an arara bush and is found in the Negev Desert of Israel. The area is barren, dry, and lifeless, but occasionally, travelers will come upon what looks to be a lush green plant that grows fruit the size of a softball. It's an arara bush. And if you happen to see it in the wilderness, you'll see that its fruit looks ripe and full of juice and like a welcome refreshment, but when you open it, it lets out a puff of hot air and dust because it's hollow and dry inside. The inside is only filled with stringy inedible webs. Opening the arara fruit would be a huge disappointment and frustration for thirsty travelers or desert dwellers. Something that looks so promising turns out to be a huge disappointment...

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Song: Would You Forgive, by Jorm @iamjorm

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