Pomegranates
Pomegranates as a Symbol of God’s Glory
Around the time that Moses went up onto Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, Moses was told to have the wise-hearted make holy garments for Aaron (Moses’ brother) for glory and beauty—so that Aaron would be consecrated and would minister unto the LORD in the holy place. It was instructed that upon the hem of Aaron’s blue robe there would be golden bells and pomegranates interspersed round about—a golden bell, a pomegranate, a golden bell, a pomegranate, all the way around the hem. And the pomegranates would be of blue, of purple, and of scarlet. Holy garments were likewise made for Aaron’s sons. (Exodus 28:33-34)
Also, there were pomegranates on the upper section of bronze pillars that were made for Solomon’s temple by Hiram from Tyre. Each of two pillars was 18 cubits high and 12 cubits in circumference. Two decorative capitals were made of molten bronze and placed on top of the two pillars—each capital being five cubits in height and having nets of checker-work and twisted threads of chain-work. On the 5-cubit-high capitals of the bronze pillars there were pomegranates, two hundred pomegranates on each capital, for a total of four hundred pomegranates. And on the 4-cubit-high capitals of the pillars that went on the porch, there was lily work by contrast (1 Kings 7). If my understanding of the layout is correct, then the lilies were in a place of distinction in the construction of God’s house (Solomon’s temple), and the pomegranates were closer yet to the temple’s holy place and therefore even more in a place of distinction—not that the lilies or pomegranates were distinguished in and of themselves, but rather that these both conveyed some aspect of God’s eternal power and divine nature (Godhead). The pomegranates were in vast number (400), were on a larger capital (5-cubits-high) than were the lilies, and were apparently closer to the temple’s holy place. Therefore, the pomegranates would seem to be particularly apt at conveying some aspect of God’s glory. Clearly, the most distinctive feature of the pomegranate is its vast number of seeds. Perhaps the numerous seeds are a picture of the vast seeds that would flow from Abram: “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” (Genesis 13:14-17, KJV)
Before the “most holy house” (KJV), also known as “the room of the holy of holies” (NASB), Solomon put two 35-cubit-high pillars; each pillar had a 5-cubit-high capital that was adorned with chains, and 100 pomegranates were made and put on the chains (apparently 50 pomegranates on the chainwork at the top of each pillar). (2 Chronicles 3)
Given the strong association between pomegranates and the temple which Solomon built (and by extension, between pomegranates and the KING of kings), it is interesting to note that the LORD saved Israel while King Saul tarried under a pomegranate tree (Jonathan, son of Saul, and his armor-bearer vanquished twenty of the enemy after Jonathan took the enemies’ invitation to fight as a sign from God that the Hebrews would be victorious that day). (1 Samuel 14:2, 6, 9-15, 23) Given that God has associated His pomegranates with His house of worship (Solomon’s temple) and with His glory, it would seem natural, then, that the LORD God of Israel would save Israel while the Hebrew king was enjoying the shade of a pomegranate tree! Sometimes creation research reveals some amazing things! Suddenly pomegranates don’t seem as ordinary anymore—but then again, they never were ordinary, because like the orange and the apple and the fig, they have always reflected some aspect of the eternal power and divine nature of their Maker. Some may say it was a mere coincidence that King Saul tarried under a pomegranate tree while some of his men wrought a victory, but I think not. Surely, the Hebrews were under and amidst all kinds of trees during their campaigns, but here in 1 Samuel 14 we have an instance where the LORD wanted to note the kind of tree, I believe, to make a point. Some say, Don’t mess with Texas, and I’m all for that too, but I think the point of 1 Samuel 14 (pomegranates and all) is, Don’t trifle with Israel. Surely, Israel has great responsibilities, but she also has great blessings. We are reminded of Genesis 12:1-3: “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (KJV)
Pomegranates as a Symbol of Gladness and Joy
In Song of Solomon 8:2-3, we have the account of a woman envisioning how it would be if she would meet her lover. She says, “I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.” (KJV) The sexual overtones are unmistakable, and lest one think that the Song of Solomon is above sensuality, we also have this in Song of Solomon 8:10: “I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.” (KJV) Moreover, in Song of Solomon 7:3, we see the perspective of a man admiring his lover: “Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.” (KJV) I believe that if breasts are fondly referred to as towers or roes, then they are probably being referred to again as succulent pomegranates in Verse 2. Again, in Song of Solomon 6:7, 10-11, we see a similar description of a man pining for his lover: “As a piece of pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. . . . Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.” (KJV)
For a nation is come up upon my land, stong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion . . . . He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. . . . The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. . . . Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. . . . The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: and the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? . . . Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth to his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send yiou corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make ykou a reproach among the heathen: But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. . . . And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. (Joel 1:6a, 7, 10-12, 15-20; 2:1-3, 10-11, 15-22, 27-32, KJV)
Joel 3 notes that the LORD will gather all nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat; He will recompense Tyre, Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine for what those places have done to the LORD; the LORD will sell the children of Tyre/Zidon/Palestine coasts to the children of Judah, who in turn will sell them to the Sabeans, a people far off; and the LORD will gather the heathen to the valley of Jehoshaphat (the valley of decision) where He will judge them. All of this to say that the pomegranate trees, and other trees, will wither away when the joy of men departs (i.e during time of war).
The context provided throughout the book of Joel, as we just read, shows that the God of Israel will defend Israel in the horrendous attack led by the northern army—apparently the same attack that is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39, a.k.a. the Gog/Magog battle—and He will likewise defend Israel in the horrendous attacks launched by the heathen nations at the Battle of Armageddon in the valley of Jehoshaphat. The good news is that the LORD will roar (as the Lion of Judah) out of Zion—uttering His voice from Jerusalem, giving strength to the children of Israel, dwelling in Zion Himself, making Jerusalem holy, making the land and the waters of Judah healthy again (Joel 3), and no doubt making the pomegranate trees to bud again!
We see a similar message in Haggai 2:19, 22: “Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. . . . And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.” (KJV) Once again, we see that the pomegranate trees come back after the smoke (of the fighting) clears.
Pomegranates as a Sign of Good Fare
By way of the wilderness, the LORD was bringing the sons of Israel into a good land:
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statues which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He has led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.” But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. (Deuteronomy 8:7-19, NASB)
Pomegranates were a sign of good living conditions in a good land. The reward of good food was something to look forward to in the promised land of Canaan, which the sons of Israel hoped to see after the arduous years of roaming about the dry desert. The desert roaming was intended to refine the sons of Israel spiritually, so that they would come to rely on their God and remember Him once they reached their new land. Needless to say, during their time in the wilderness of Zin, the sons of Israel complained about the rigors of stark living conditions: “Why then have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” (Numbers 20:4-5, NASB) The distinctive and tasty pomegranates, as well as other better-living amenities, were sorely missed by the sons of Israel during their privation in the wilderness.