Recently, while on a retreat, I was eating honey peanut butter while I read my Bible. I
decided to do a study on honey in the Bible. Honey is mentioned 61 times in the Bible. As to the significance: it is a symbol of prosperity and desirable for good health. In my way of thinking, honey was probably one of the first forms of dessert. So to say that there was land flowing with… honey (Deuteronomy 31:20) in Bible times is like saying today: “there is a town full of gourmet chocolate!” The translation may fall a little flat, but you get the idea.
There are many interesting passages about honey in the Bible, including Judges 14, in which Samson kills a lion and bees make honey inside the carcass. What I found most interesting though, is this passage from Deuteronomy 32:3-4, 13:
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is He.
He made him to rise on the heights of the land
And fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock,
And with oil from the flinty crag.
Something about the thought of being able to suck honey out of a rock captivates me.
Such a word picture of richness and plenty. The Israelites should have no doubt that God was taking care of them, and should never fail to appreciate it. In the context, however, Moses is predicting that they wills turn their backs on God. Even after all He did for them, they still got their eyes on other things. It’s easy to look back and condemn them, but I am just as prone to
fall. I want to remember the gift, the honey, and remain true to Him.