Honey from the Rock

As I seek to kickstart the year 2020 in the right direction, I have my mind on one thing—honey! You might ask how this sticky substance could possibly fill my thoughts, especially considering all of the pressing matters of life. Like you I have family responsibilities, urgent decisions in my work, goals that I seek to achieve, and expectations which are yet to be realized. This year poses challenges which will require nothing less than all of my attention and effort. So, why would I be thinking about honey? Of course, I could respond by asking why I shouldn’t be thinking of honey. I can’t think of a moment in my life in which some honey in my mouth would not have made things better. (I might just go get some from our pantry at any time now!) And while you probably enjoy a good spoonful of honey as much as I do, there is a reason other than its sweet taste that it is on my mind. In Deuteronomy 32:13 and in Psalm 81:16, the phrase “honey out of the rock” and “honey from the rock” is used. In each passage, the imagery is one of God’s abundant provision to His people. If God’s people would seek and obey Him wholeheartedly, then God would surely fulfill their deepest longings. The imagery of honey is particularly picturesque since nearly everyone is familiar with its delicacies. By faith, the needs of God’s people would be met—abundantly from God’s delicious supply! This imagery helps us to understand that God intends to satisfy our souls with His plentiful goodness.

Obviously, each of these passages points the reader to Jesus Christ. Ultimately, He is the Rock of our Salvation (Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalm 18:2; 1 Peter 2:4-7). God’s provision for His people during their years of wandering in the Old Testament serves as a foreshadowing to God’s provision for the follower of Christ now. He meets our needs and He lavishes us with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3). While God can and does meet our physical needs, our greatest hope is in knowing that He satisfies our souls with His salvation and that He is preparing a place for us in Heaven which is beyond our imagination. His presence with us is the honey to our souls!

Yet, what I find rather perplexing about these passages is how Moses and Asaph each explain that God’s lavish goodness toward His people would come from such a cold and hard substance as a rock. What etymologists (insect scientists) have come to know is that bees will oftentimes lodge their hive in tight natural spaces. These may include tree stumps or even cracks in a rock. So, Middle Eastern archaeology has uncovered that ancient cultures would at times discover the lucrative resource of honey even in the most unlikely and barren of places. Of course, we find many examples of this principle in Scripture. In one such an instance, Paul implores believers to “rejoice in suffering” because through difficulty God produces “endurance…character…and hope” (Romans 5:3-5).

However, this is not the only type of “rock” we might encounter that can produce honey. If your experience in following Christ is similar to mine, then you know the struggles of daily pursuing fellowship with Christ. Our closeness to Him is intricately connected to our consistency and devotion in His Word. Yet, the daily reading and study of the Bible is fraught with difficulty. Much of Scripture can seem like a barren wasteland of irrelevancy and confusion. With so much responsibility in our lives, how can anyone possibly add to their day several minutes in the reading of Scripture? The Bible is so overwhelming, how can anyone possibly read it all, or much less, gain enrichment from so many difficult passages?

While battling these same struggles, I have made it my frequent practice to use an acronym in prayer for better understanding and appreciating a daily reading of the Bible. I first discovered it in Reading the Bible Supernaturally by John Piper. It has helped me immensely in my pursuit to stay faithful to knowing God in His Word.

1. I—Incline my heart to Your Word (Psalm 119:36)

Reading the Bible for all that it is worth does not come naturally. It is a struggle for us all. Yet, just like the psalmist, we can and should make it our prayer for God to give us a greater desire for His Word. He will surely answer this request.

2. O—Open my eyes to the wonders of Your Word (Psalm 119:18)

God’s Word is truly more wonderful than any of us could possibly imagine. Unfortunately, our eyes are too often focused on other things, drowning out the wonders of God’s Word. Yet, God will open our eyes to His wonders as we ask and seek.

3. U—Unite my heart to obey Your Word (Psalm 86:11)

Due to sin’s effects, our hearts are too often scattered in its pursuits. Yet, we are designed and saved by Christ to pursue Him wholeheartedly. As we make this our prayer in reading His word, He unifies the pursuit of our souls toward Him alone so that we would not only read and understand it, but so that we would do what it says.

4. S—Satisfy me in Your Word (Psalm 90:14)

How foolish we are to think that anything but Christ could satisfy our souls! Yet, daily we falsely believe that anything else is better than Christ. As we make this our prayer in reading God’s Word, we will come to grow more and more satisfied with a daily pursuit of Christ in the Scriptures.

As you start this new year, I pray that you would find the honey from the rock that God will supply! It is most certainly found in His Word. I challenge you to make these prayers your own and begin to systematically read through God’s Word every day.

Jason