We’ve entered the part of the fruit basket that is a little less popular than the grape and not nearly as sexy as the pomegranate, the date. With such a terrible name, is there any hope for something succulent and delectable? Let’s find out.
These particular treats are tiny nuggets of nutritional gold and would have been extremely valuable to a biblical culture where 24/7 grocery stores or grocery delivery didn’t yet exist. Food wasn’t always readily available nor easily preserved and nourishment was very critical for a society on the move.
Most scholars think the “date palm” or “palm trees” we read about in scripture were speaking of the ones that produce this little sweetness.
There’s a story in the Old Testament where King David blesses ALL the people in the nation of Israel and part of this blessing was some of this fruit.
The Ark of the Covenant has just been brought into its own special tent of a more permanent residence and David wants to celebrate. He first offered burnt offerings to the LORD and worshipped God for all the success and growth he was experiencing as king as well as what Israel was having as a nation.
After worshipping God by offering sacrifices, David gave date cakes (you can thank King David for your terrible fruit cakes you have received as gifts) as gifts to every man and woman under his care, along with a portion of meat and raisin cakes.
The date is full of nutritionally valuable properties, but it is a very high-glycemic food. It is like 60%+ sugar, although in glucose and fructose forms, which are usable by the body, which makes for an excellent energy source for our muscles. The dried variation would keep for a very long time making it a perfect travel snack for folks of nomadic lifestyles.
Too many and you’ll be on a sugar high comparable to that of a Halloween candy bowl purging (although not near as good as a bowl of Reese’s peanut butter variations). But the dates was a wealth of nourishment and luxury.
So, we have this symbol of prosperity and royalty being given by the king himself to every man and woman. And scripture says David does this to BLESS THE PEOPLE IN THE NAME OF THE LORD (1 Chronicles 16:2).
A little deeper look and we see that David is forever a name of divine nature and heavenly connection that the Jews would hold dear, especially for the early Christians who called Jesus, “the Son of David.” This was so crucial because Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of a delivering king in the ancestral line of David alluding to God’s salvation and the Heavenly Kingdom.
In this act, therefore, David is blessing the people with divine royal victory! And I need you to hear that you, too, are a recipient of that blessing and bearer of that truth.
Whatever you are facing, you can have victory in Jesus. Whatever your current status is, you can find a treasury of peace and joy through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
Go, have a date, and as you chew through its gooey sweetness, remember that you are a champion heir in a kingdom of life without end. Eat up!!!
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Brett
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