Honey
Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
(This is in a Psalm where every verse but three, speak of HIs Word, precepts, testimonies, statutes, judgements.)
His Word is sweet to my taste! Taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8)
Many years ago, when I was a young girl, my Grandmother received a gift from her son in California. It was a gift set of honey….little bottles of orange honey, clover honey, buckwheat honey, and another I can not remember.
She thought it was wonderful….she loved honey…nature’s sweetener. And she used it sparingly….savoring every mouthful.
Now it struck me the other day, about the Word of God. How is it to us?
Psalm 19:9-10 “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”
We think of the great promises of the Word of God, and savor everyone….but His Word is a goldmine of knowledge and instruction for us Christians,…as we journey to heaven. (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
And HIs Word to us….whether in correction, or comfort and mercy….comes to us in His love….is as sweet as honey. (Hebrews 12:11…we are like Samson, getting honey from the lion Judges 14:5-9)
Sometimes it is as sweet as honey, as we receive it…..but bitter in our “belly”, our lives, for we will be mocked for following it,…and for warning people with it. (Ezekiel 3:3, Revelation 10:10)
And our gifts and callings….what do we think of them?
Exodus 3:8 “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with mild and honey;…”
(There are twenty-one times….the promised land is spoken of as “a land flowing with milk and honey”)
That was their inheritance that the Lord promised them….and gave them.
What do we think of the many blessings in Christ Jesus that we have been given?
Ephesians 1:3, 18-20 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
And what the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,
Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.”
Our blessings come with His mighty power, by the Holy Spirit in us….do we love Him?
And our daily portion from the Lord….the daily grace and exhortation we receive….how do we receive it?
Do we consider that….like the manna, which tasted of honey (Exodus16:31)….which was given to the Israelites all the way to the Promised Land….on the ground outside their tents…
…..that this grace can be gathered and used…..or walked upon!
Honey has a lot of health benefits…..it is naturally anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial….if sealed it does not spoil. You can use it to treat coughs and sore throats (my Grandma’s favorite)….upper tract infections in children…..and you can put it on burns and wounds to promote healing.
The prophesy of Christ speaks of honey….which is again a type of the sweetness and healthiness of the Word of God….
Isaiah 7:14-15 “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Butter and honey shall He eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.”
Jesus ate honeycomb before HIs disciples after HIs resurrection, (to show that He was not a spirit, but a glorified man)…..preparing them to speak HIs Word about HIs death and resurrection.
Luke 24:40-47 “And when He had thus spoken, He shewed them His hands and His feet.
And while they yet believed…., He said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
And He took it, and did eat before them…..
Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
It is our privilege to have the sweetness that the Bible gives us.
Yes, it requires reading, and searching, and praying……but like the inheritance of Israel….it is more than worth it.
Hebrews 6:10-12 “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward His Name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
And ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Jesus Christ has sweetness for us in Himself and His Word to us….let us get it.
Oh my brother (and sister),do you know the Savior, who is wondrous , kind and true….He’s the Rock of your salvation….there is honey in the Rock for you.
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious? Do you walk in the way that’s new? Have you drunk from the living fountain? There is honey in the Rock for you.
Oh there is honey in the Rock my brother (and sister), there is honey in the Rock for you. Leave your sins for the blood to cover, there is honey in the Rock for you.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 