Hyssop...what you were all dying to know

I was thinking about this plant today when I read that King Solomon, "knew all about plants, from the huge cedar that grows in Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows in the cracks of a wall." Geesh, I guess the guy did have wisdom, huh? I always thought of him as having the type of wisdom that made it easier to make decisions, not the kind of wisdom that made him a plant nerd. Guess he had both.

I thought it would be fun to see where else hyssop was mentioned in the Bible...I knew of a couple of instances, which is why, I assure you, I had any interest at all!

The first mention that I could find was in Exodus 12:22. God is instructing the Israelites how to perform the Passover and be spared from destruction. He tells them, "Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe." The hyssop was a 3-4 foot long bushy, minty herb that functioned nicely as a paintbrush to coat the doorframes with the blood of the lambs so that death would bypass their homes.

Hyssop was used as a common cleaning agent. It was also used for medicinal purposes...especially in healing cuts. It was great to use as a hedge or border. The plant's flowers can be blue, purple, white, or red...depending on the type. I will get back to what I think is awesome concerning the colors in a minute.

Hyssop was used for purification rites for the priests in Leviticus. It was also used for the cleansing of lepers and for those that had been in contact with a corpse. I am getting the impression that it was some sort of antiseptic/disinfectant.

Probably the most common reference to hyssop is when King David is pouring his heart out to God after a major sin. He is in dire need of cleansing and restoration. In Psalm 51:7, David cries, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." Hyssop was used in the washing of clothes...he knew laundry was beat and pounded in that day and he wanted the very desire for sin to be pounded away in a similar fashion.

Perhaps the most piercing mention of hyssop is in John 19:29. Our sweet Jesus in hanging on the cross. In order to fulfill scripture, he asks for a drink. He is offered some wine vinegar on a sponge. They get it to his mouth via a long hyssop branch. I read somewhere that said perhaps the sheer mention of hyssop at Calvary links Christ's death with the event that set the Israelites free from slavery (Passover)...his death now setting us free from death and sin (ultimate and final Passover.)

So, back to the colors of those flowers! In Exodus, God instructs Moses on what colors to use in the Tabernacle and the Priest's garments. They included scarlet (red), blue, and purple. The significance has something to do with this: blue represents heaven (Christ came down from Heaven)...scarlet represents the shed blood that brings us life...purple represents not only the fact that Jesus is royal, but that we are as well now that we have been washed in the blood. So in God's equation, in order to get "white" (purity), you must mix blue, scarlet and purple. Sounds good to me; I never understood the color wheel that well anyway. I am just in awe that those colors are the variant colors of the flowers!

Isaiah 53:5 says that, "...by his wounds we are healed." I couldn't help but get a visual of this as I read about Solomon (1 Kings 4:3) and the hyssop "that grows in the cracks of a wall." I instantly thought about the deep cracks left on Christ's back after he was beaten prior to the cross. It is the blood of Jesus that saves us, but I couldn't help but think of this healing remedy that pours forth from his stripes. Ready to make us clean. Ready to protect, as in a hedge or border around our lives. Ready to make us a chosen people and royal priesthood.

I think what impresses me the most is that if a plant called "ezob" in Hebrew and "hyssop" in English has such significance to the Lord, then how much more significant are we to Him...as beings created in His image?