Honey

For whatever reason, I have always loved honey. I can't explain why, other than from my early childhood, I hold memories of the "honey bear" dispenser we had in my childhood home. We used that bear so much, all of his painted facial features were long worn off and only his snout and little "bear (not beer) belly" identified him as a bear at all.

Part of what I love about honey is that it is natural. One can walk right up to a hive, if you dare to, and take a swipe (seems like Winnie the Pooh was something of an authority on the subject). You don't have to wait for the processing and all that... just grab some honey and go.

Largely under-rated in the sweetening community, I actually prefer honey to any other sweetener (natural or laboratory-animal-tested). Honey on cereal has to be one of the all time great eating experiences and given the choice between ice cream or cereal with honey, I'm choosing the cereal every time. Additionally, I'm such a fan of honey, that I'll actually take those little single honey packets, rip it open and just suck the honey right out of it. (Beware of a particularly famous fried chicken retailer that deceptively serves "100% honey syrup" for their flaky biscuits that isn't real honey... it is 100% honey flavored "goo").

There must be something to this whole honey thing. God has a tendency to reference honey quite a bit. There are some 60 references to honey in scripture and well over 20 specifically for "milk and honey." (Maybe in addition to "cleanliness," perhaps eating honey in your cereal is "next to godliness," too?).

"Milk and honey" originates in the Hebrew Bible in God's description of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, namely, Canaan. It is first described as "a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Ex. 3:8)— and this description becomes a frequent reference for God to motivate His people to move there. I don't think He would have to twist my arm!

Apparently I am not the only one who highly values honey. An interesting part of honey's legacy in Jewish culture is that, as a testament to the high value put on this particular food, Jewish dietary laws made a consolation for it. Rabbis taught that biblical laws reflect the general principle that anything taken from any "unclean" animals is forbidden. Bees would have fit the description as as "unclean" .

Early rabbinical literature declares that bees do not produce honey, but simply transport the nectar of flowers and store it as honey in their hives. Therefore, since they didn't "make" the honey, then it was acceptable for the Israelites to eat it. Modern science, however, recognizes that bees actually do produce it, processing nectar in their bodies with enzymes. To argue for honey's acceptance, God's description of Canaan was used as argument that it was acceptable to eat it.

The Psalmist suggests a beautifully sweet word picture, "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (119:103 also see Ps. 19:10). I love the thought of that! God's word being a sweet to me as pouring that wonderful golden nectar on my corn flakes? Can it get much better than that? That truly is a sweet sound to my ears!

Even if it as brief as a hit off a plastic packet of cheap coffee shop honey, I want each occasion I read the word of God to hit my spirit with sweetness and delight. For many Christ-followers, we can sometimes come to God's word as a routine, forgetting what it is (God-breathed) and just how wonderfully sweet it can be for changing our lives for the better. Even if it is one small taste per day, go ahead and step up to "the hive." There is a blessing in it waiting for you!