The Standard July 22, 2023
A popular worship song on Chistian radio sent my husband and me to the Bible to find a reference for an unusual expression. “Honey in the Rock” by Brooke Ligertwood, a singer-songwriter from New Zealand and Brandon Lake, a worship musician in the U.S., drives home the theme of God’s abundant provision even in our toughest times.
“There’s honey in the rock, water in the stone, manna on the ground, no matter where I go. I don’t need to worry now that I know, everything I need You’ve got. There’s honey in the rock. Praying for a miracle, thirsty for the living well, only You can satisfy. Sweetness at the mercy seat, now I’ve tasted, it’s not hard to see, only You can satisfy.” “Freedom where the Spirit is, bounty in the wilderness, You will always satisfy.”
A quick search on Bible Gateway and Bible Hub easily brings up two references. “He made him ride 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.” (Deuteronomy 32:13)
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So, I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock, I would satisfy you.” (Psalm 81:10-16)
In the crevices of rocks, the Israelites occasionally could find honeycomb for a sweet source of food and nourishment. It was rare and valuable.
God met Moses at the burning bush and introduced the Promised Land as a fertile place flowing with milk and honey. This description appears over 20 times in the Old Testament. “The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So, I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Exodus 3:7-8a)
As bee expert and Farmville native Harold Flanagan teaches, we should note the relative ease with which we can collect milk and honey. The goat, sheep, cow or bee does most of the work. We are fortunate when we get to enjoy what they produce. Through this picture we are reminded that God’s provision is abundant and good, especially that of forgiveness and life through Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation.
celiastone 