Recently, a friend brought to my attention a very unique flower.
Here in Louisville, at the YEW DELL Botanical Gardens, they displayed an Amorphophallus konjac–aka the Voodoo Lilly, also known as the corpse flower. The flower evokes a horrid smell and an unusual bloom for 2 to 3 days and is native to China. When the plant blooms, it stinks worse than a rotting carcass, and multiple photographs resemble a man’s member. ( a smelly seed?)
Multiple lessons ran through my mind as I read the article and watched men from our police department wearing a gas mask while inspecting the flower.
Photo and blog on the plant–HERE.
It just so happened that the same day my friend sent the article, I read the following definition.
“The name Jericho, according to Jones’ dictionary, may mean the City Of The Moon. Norse Study Bible Name List defines it as a Place Of Fragrance.
If the name Jericho is indicative of the meanings above, what a lovely place to be. Of course, the people in Jericho were worshiping the moon, but we also know that the Father placed that big night light in the sky! “Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road” (Mark 10:46, NASB).
The Bible describes this blind beggar in Mark like this,
“He was the son of Timaeus.”
He needs the Son of David.
“The name Bartimaeus means Son Of Timaeus. . . Timaeus means Highly Prized, the name Bartimaeus means Son Of He Who’s Highly Prized, or Son Of honor.
Spiros Zodhiates (The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary) circumvents this conundrum by deriving the second part of the name Bartimaeus from the Hebrew verb טמא (tame), the regular Hebrew word for to be or become unclean. That would render the name Bartimaeus the meaning of “Son of the Unclean One, or Son Of Uncleanness. . .” Abarim Publication.
Sometimes what the world regards as highly prized is actually unclean. Sometimes a flower doesn’t have a sweet aroma. When we read about various forms of sickness in our Bibles, many have a hidden message with nothing to do with physical ailments. Bartimaeus’s father’s name meant “highly valued” as in wealth or goods. These goods could represent knowledge or prophetic gifting, or material wealth and esteem. He was known due to his father’s honor of great wealth or of having great goods, but he’s a beggar. His father’s name also meant “unclean.” He was the son of the unclean wealthy man, and he was “blind.”
‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,” (Rev. 3:17).
Miserable. What picture does that word evoke?
When we read the previous story in the book of Mark, chapter 10, we read about a rich young ruler who was righteous and had kept all the commandments since his youth, but Yeshua told him that he lacked in one area. He told the man to sell everything he owned and give it to the poor and follow Him. The man left sad.
What’s this have to do with Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus? Much.
Bartimaeus is blind, and he is crying out. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18: 38-39, NASB). His father isn’t blind physically. If he is, we don’t read that, but what we do learn is that he is unclean. “For no one who has a defect shall approach: a blind man, or a lame man (the man laid at the gate beautiful), or he who has a disfigured face, or any deformed limb,. . .” (Lev. 21:18, NASB).
The list continues.
Just like the woman with the issue of blood:
“Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. ‘Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and everything on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. ‘Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ‘When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean.” (Lev. 15:25-28).
Each story is about a greater awakening and healing.
So Yeshua asked the blind man a curious question: “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). It seems like a bizarre question to ask a blind beggar. Isn’t it apparent that he would want to see? Do we want to see? Do we have an unclean area that needs to be healed? Are we crying out in the midst of the crowds around us who are yelling (be quiet)?
Do we see His beautiful moon, can we smell His fragrant flower.
Bartimaeus says, “Yeshua, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
He was begging alms. Alms is the word for mercy.
I need mercy!
Inkfish has an interesting article on sight and smell. Can you smell the moon?
And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God” (Luke 18:41-43).
Both stories deal with spiritual blindness.
Who is our Father?
How does His title differ from Timeaus?
What good things does He offer?
May we cry out to the Son of David to heal our sight and smell and to allow Him to crush us to the point a beautiful aroma comes forth that is pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 2:15 ESV) “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. . .” (Song of Solomon 2:13 ESV) “The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”
In the book of Mark, chapter 8, there is a blind man, and Yeshua spits on his eyes. He sees men as trees.
In Parashat Shoftim, we learn that men are as trees.
“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, making war against it to capture it, you are not to destroy its trees by swinging an axe at them. For from them you may eat, so you shall not chop them down. For is the tree of the field human, that it should enter the siege before you? 20 You may destroy and chop down only the trees that you know are not trees for food, so that you may build siege equipment against the city that is making war with you until its downfall” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20, TLV). When translated it says, “For man is a tree of the field.” We, as trees, are known by our fruit.
An interesting tidbit was shared with me by my sister. We recently bought a house, and the owners told us we had a persimmon tree on the property. My sister said, “You can cut open their seeds and inside will be a knife, a fork, or a spoon.” What? Yes, and it’s supposed to inform us of how bad of a winter we will have. The folklore says that a spoon pattern inside the seeds indicates there will be lots of snow to shovel, a fork pattern inside the seeds indicates the winter will be mild with good eating, and a knife pattern inside the seeds indicates the winter will be cold with cutting winds. My point is, our fruit has a seed inside. It’s either good or bad. The fruit of the spirit is 9 items. Just as it takes 9 months for a baby to develop in the womb, these 9 are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
May The KING of GLORY spit on our eyes. May he lay His nail-scarred hands over our vision. May our candles be scented like sweet perfume in a dark world. May our trees have fruit so bountiful that our branches are weighed down to the ground! May His Holy Spirit blow away any scent of a corpse! I’m going to wrap this up with a passage from Isaiah that makes my mouth water and my eyes see something glorious in the distance.
Is it not yet just a little while
Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.
The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD,
And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 29:17-19).