Twenty-fourth Sunday of Pentecost

Alone like a Hut in an Cucumber Field

Isaiah 1: 8

Numbers 11: 5

Some of the foods of Bible times are quite different from those we know today - others are exactly the same.

When the Israelites left Egypt, they missed the cucumbers they had left behind - and right on the list behind them were melons.

In some parts of the world today, cucumbers, cantaloupe, onions, red bell peppers, and cracked black pepper with a simple cream or yogurt dressing, make a refreshing salad.

Northern Europeans often dress sliced cucumbers with sweet cream and vinegar (or you could use sour cream.)

Although we know and like the kosher dill pickle of Jewish delicatessens, that pickle is probably an adaptation of the pickles of Northern Europe - pickles are never mentioned in the Bible.

For the people of Isaiah's time, cucumbers were probably eaten fresh from the field, sliced or cubed in yogurt, wonderfully refreshing in the hot summer. But the season was truly over when winter came, without even one slice of cucumber to remind the Israelites of the cool treat of summer.

Ask your class to help you make (and eat) a simple cucumber salad.

And give thanks to a God who gives us such great variety in the food we eat.

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