Jacob said: “Carry . . . the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds.” Genesis 43:1111And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: (Genesis 43:11)
When Jacob sent his sons to Egypt, hoping to receive some favors there, it is interesting to note that the gifts he sent included almonds. This was a wise choice, since these tasty nuts contain minerals as well as vitamins and other nutrients. They were a valuable gift.
An orchard of almond trees is a beautiful sight in early spring when they are covered with fragrant, pinkish-white blossoms that open long before the shiny, pointed leaves come out. These blossoms soon develop into fruit that, in its first stage, looks something like a small, unripe peach. This fruit has a silvery-green rind (soft at first, but turning leathery and hard) which surrounds the nut that is forming inside. This hard outer covering, or hull, finally splits open when fully ripe, curling downward to let the nut drop out. The smooth, thin, inside shell, with which most of us are familiar, is easily broken open to get at the edible almond. This nut is actually the seed of the almond tree.
Almonds are enjoyed all over the world, whether they are eaten plain, toasted and salted, or used in desserts, candy and food products. They also provide oil for cooking purposes and another product which can be found in small bottles in grocery stores called “almond extract.” This is used for flavoring certain foods.
In addition to the sweet-almond trees of California and southern Europe, many bitter-almond trees are grown in the Mediterranean and tropical countries, mainly as shade trees. As the name suggests, these almonds are far too bitter to be eaten; however, the oil extracted from these nuts is used in making certain perfumes and cosmetics, as well as in cough syrups, soaps and other products.
These popular nuts remind us of the third day of creation when the Lord God created the first trees, which we read about in Genesis 1:1111And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. (Genesis 1:11). In verse 29 of that same chapter, God told Adam, “Behold, I have given you . . . every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat [food].” It was there that almond and all other trees got their start, and in God’s goodness they have continued to reproduce to our present time, providing nutritious food.
In Romans 8:3232He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32), we read, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Have you thanked Him for His goodness in creation and for the best gift of all, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Saviour of those who put their trust in Him?
ML-02/09/2014