Honey in the Rock
In yesterday’s blog, I spoke about the natural craving we should have for God’s Word – like a baby craves his mama’s milk. His mama’s milk gives him the sustenance and nutrition he needs for life. How beautiful — God’s built-in mechanism for satisfying hunger.
And as we crave God’s Word, we receive the sustenance we need for living a victorious and overcoming life. I love the song “Honey in the Rock”, written by Brandon Lake and Brooke Ligertwood. They used words from Psalm 81:16: “”But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Honey was often a sign of God’s favor. It is mentioned 56 times in the Bible. Ezekiel was told to eat a roll (scroll), which represented God’s Word, and as he did, it was “sweetness to his mouth” (Ezekiel 3:1-4). David writes in Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are your words to my taste!”
In the time of Jesus on this earth, a child would begin his schooling at the synagogue around the age of six years old. The Talmud states, “Under the age of six we do not receive a child as a pupil, but from six upwards we accept him and stuff him (with Torah) like an ox!”
The Jews took the education of their children seriously, and that education centered on the Law, the Word of God. No wonder Jesus was hanging out in the temple when His parents found Him with the Jewish leaders when He was just 12-years-old. He was already “craving” God’s Word.
In the Jewish educational system, the first level of schooling was called “Bet Sefer” or “the house of the book” and was for children ages between 6 -10 years old. Often the Rabbi would provide an object lesson that the children would remember for the rest of their lives. He would offer them a taste of honey and would say: “May the words of God be like honey on your tongue.”
Honey was often rare and for many of the children, it was their first time tasting it. They didn’t have a candy store to frequent in their culture. We can only imagine the sweet taste in the children’s mouths, unlike anything they had ever had before. Honey was a treasure. It was a special treat.
The question to ponder is: “Do our tastebuds thrill in delight when we feed on God’s Word? Or has it become a ho-hum routine and the wonder is gone?”
I’ve read about couples who stop communicating and stop making time for each other and their passion and love starts to wane. And it is the same with our love relationship with God and His Word. The more we cultivate and delight in our sweethearts, the more in love we become. The more we delight in God’s Word, the more addicted we become to wanting it more.
It was the Rabbi’s desire to create a hunger for God’s Word in each child as they would eventually learn about and memorize the first five books of the Bible.
As I type this blog today, I realize I am hungry for the sweet taste of honey in the rock. I pray that the words of God are like honey on our tongues, in our hearts and minds. Sweet honey in the rock! That ROCK is Jesus and His Holy Word! I’m hungry! How about you?