I am regularly -- almost daily -- asked if I would like copies of books so that I can review them on my Lion Lamb blog. Sometimes I politely reply but I generally ignore the requests because they are unsolicited and they tend to reflect a theological outlook to which I don't subscribe. In more than a decade of these offers I figure I've said yes a total of three or four times.
Recently I had a copy of a book called In the Garden: An Illustrated Guide to the Plants of the Bible sent my way. I'm a leafy, outdoorsy kinda guy, so it intrigued me. In the introduction there is the explanation that "rather than being a dictionary of the plants mentioned in the Bible, In the Garden, with its original illustrations and plant descriptions, is meant to spark the reader's spiritual imagination." I'd say that the book does so quite well.
I really appreciate the lovely illustrations by Becky Speer which include flowers, edible and medicinal plants and trees. The book could be used through the season of Lent as a daily reflection guide.
The text includes corresponding scripture verses and explanations which are helpful. I struggle a bit with the places where an attempt is made to interpret passages as foretelling the coming of the Christ in the Hebrew scriptures. They seem forced at times, a theological agenda which doesn't really fit the purpose of the book in my estimation.
That said, I've come back to In the Garden a number of times just to savour the beauty of the illustrations. I would agree with the description that "these plants, as with all of God's good creation, call out to us to worship our Creator anew. I appreciate that Whitaker House press offered this book to me.
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