Issue 1757 – Beautiful, but … – June 24, 2025
The common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) grows prolifically along the roadside here. This herbaceous biennial was introduced from Europe and Asia and has adapted well to conditions here.
The purple or white flowers are arranged in a showy, terminal, elongated cluster; each flower is tubular and pendent. That’s the fancy way of saying they hang on a stalk like bells. The inside of each bell is heavily spotted. They have an exotic beauty that reminds me of orchids.
This lovely garden flower is pretty to look at, but highly poisonous to ingest. It is the original source of the heart medicine digoxin (also called digitalis or digitalin).
Sin is like foxglove, beautiful but deadly. If it weren’t appealing to us somehow, we wouldn’t be tempted by it. If we truly saw our sin as God sees it, with all its ugliness and destruction, we would be repelled and run away from it rather than towards it.
Satan was the most beautiful of all the angels, but destructive beyond measure.
Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me:“Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: ‘You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created, they were prepared.You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. Ezekiel 28:11-17
Our Lord created many beautiful things to be enjoyed, but we must be careful not to be blinded by beauty and fall into the pit of sin.
Let’s enjoy the beauty, but beware the dark underside it might contain.
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
__________________________________________
Please like and share this post with your friends and those in your circle of influence. Feel free to comment.
Did you know that we have an email version? It offers the same great content but in a different format. This is ideal for when you don’t want to check your Facebook or share with friends who don’t use Facebook.
___________________________________________
All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”