LOOKING FOR THE HONEY
“Sweetness in Hard Times”
Psalm 81:16 “He should have
fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock
should I have satisfied thee.”
Most travelers who have
visited Palestine in summer have had their attention directed to the abundance
of honey, which the bees of the land have stored up in the hollows of trees and
in crevices of the rock. In localities where the bare rocks of the desert alone
break the sameness of the scene, and all around is suggestive of desolation and
death, the traveler has God's care of his chosen people vividly brought to
mind, as he sees the honey which the bees had treasured up beyond his reach,
trickling in shining drops down the face of the rock. John Duns.
You and I know that honey is
perhaps the sweetest thing that nature can produce; and a rock is one of the
hardest things in nature. So, here we
have sweetness coming out of hardness.
This is one of God’s promises, and you should claim it for
yourself. Warren W. Wiersbe pg 50
“The Bumps Are What You Climb On”
The psalm is of special
importance to the church now, as reminding it of its obligation from the past
mercies of God, and as showing what would be the consequences if it should be
wholly devoted to the service of God.
Albert Barnes’ Notes
I. HONEY
A. Palestine
abounded with bees, and honey was a favorite article of food. Much of that which was obtained was wild
honey, deposited by the bees in the hollows of trees, and as it would seem in
the caverns of the rocks. Much of it was gathered also from rocky regions, and
this was regarded as the most delicate and valuable. The meaning here is plain, that, if Israel had been
obedient to God, he would have blessed them with abundance — with the
richest and most coveted productions of the field. Pure religion — obedience to
God — morality — temperance, purity, honesty, and industry, such as religion
requires — are always eminently favorable to individual and national
prosperity; and if a man or a nation desired to be most prospered, most
successful in the lawful and proper objects of individual or national
existence, and most happy, nothing would tend more to conduce to it than those
virtues which piety enjoins and cultivates. Individuals and nations, even in
respect to temporal prosperity, are most unwise, as well as most wicked, when
they disregard the laws of God, and turn away from the precepts and the spirit
of religion. Albert Barnes’
Notes
B. Out Of The
Rock.
06697 tsuwr {tsoor} or tsur {tsoor} from
06696; TWOT - 1901a; n m AV - rock 64, strength 5, sharp 2, God 2, beauty 1, edge 1, stones 1,
mighty One 1, strong 1; 78
1) rock, cliff
1a)
rocky wall, cliff
1b)
rock (with flat surface)
1c)
block of stone, boulder
1d)
rock (specific)
1e) rock
(of God)
1f)
rock (of heathen gods) n pr dei
1g)
Rock
C. Found In
Difficult Places
1. In
the days when the Bible was written, bees made their homes in rocky places, and
sometimes the honey would
ooze out when the rocks got hot. Out of
the hard places in life, God gives us sweetness. www.honeygardens.com/redsea.html
2.
God extracts honey out of the rock—the sweetest springs and pleasures
from the hardness of afflictions; from
mount Calvary and the cross, the blessings that give greatest delight; whereas
the world makes from
the fountains of pleasure stones and rocks of torment. Thomas Le Blanc.
D. Satisfies
07646 saba` {saw-bah'} or sabea`
{saw-bay'-ah} a primitive root; TWOT - 2231; v AV - satisfy 47, fill 25, full 15, plenty 2, enough 2, satiate
1, sufficed 1, unsatiable 1, weary 1; 95
1) to be
satisfied, be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited
1a)
(Qal)
1a1)
to be sated (with food)
1a2)
to be sated, be satisfied with, be fulfilled, be filled, have one's fill of (have
desire satisfied)
1a3)
to have in excess, be surfeited, be surfeited with
1a3a)
to be weary of (fig)
1b)
(Piel) to satisfy
1c)
(Hiphil)
1c1)
to satisfy
1c2)
to enrich
1c3)
to sate, glut (with the undesired)
E. A Promise
Famine would have been an unknown word, they
would have been fed on the best of the best food, and have had abundance of it as their every
day diet.
II. FINDING THE HONEY
A. Naturally:
Place something sweet in an area that you
suspect the bees might be.
Watch diligently until the bees arrive.
Follow the bees as far as possible.
Put out something sweet again.
Follow the bees again.
Repeat until the beehive is located.
B. Spiritually
When you find yourself in a difficult
situation, quit thinking about yourself and do an act of sweetness.
Pray, worship and continue to work for God.
Watch for God to work for you.
Continue doing acts of sweetness until God
directs you to the honey in the rock.
C. A Daily
Challenge
1.
Honey was forbidden in meat offerings, for it soon turns sour and was
used for making vinegar (Pliny, 21:48).
It produces fermentation, which is a symbol of the working of corruption in the
heart. Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Leviticus 2:11 “No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD,
shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any
honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.”
2.
Honey must be gather frequently and used quickly.
a. Manna READ Exodus 16: 15
- 20
b. Daily Bread Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”
c. You and I must have a daily experience with God.
Remembering yesterday may be an encouragement,
but we are living in today. We must
daily seek the honey out of the rock.
D. Requires
Obedience
God's people forfeited many blessings because of their
refusal to listen to His voice and obey Him. We cannot expect to experience the
blessings of God apart from obedience. Only
heaven will reveal to us the countless blessings we have forfeited because of
our disobedience. Omar C. Garcia
@ www.BibleTeachingNotes.com
III. SOME WHO FOUND THE HONEY
A. Joseph
1.
Despised by his brothers for his dreams, yet he dreamed again.
Gen. 37:5 “And Joseph dreamed a
dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.”
Gen. 37:9 “And he dreamed yet
another dream, and told it his brethren,”
2.
Sold into slavery by his brothers, yet made a ruling servant by God.
Gen. 37:28 “Then there passed by
Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the
pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they
brought Joseph into Egypt.”
Gen. 39:5 “And it came to pass
from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that
he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the
blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had
in the house, and in the field.”
3. Lied on and thrown into prison, yet God made
him the keeper of the jail.
Gen. 39:12 “And she caught him by
his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand,
and fled, and got him out.”
Gen. 39:20 “And Joseph’s master
took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners
were bound: and he was there in the prison.”
Gen. 39:22 And the keeper of the
prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison;
and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.”
4.
Meant to be destroyed by his brothers, yet God meant it for their good.
Gen. 41:40 “Thou shalt be over my
house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only
in the throne will I be greater than thou. 41:41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 41:42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his
hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed
him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;”
Gen. 45:3 “And Joseph said unto
his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could
not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.”
Gen. 45:7 “And God sent me before
you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives
by a great deliverance.”
B. David
Several of the Psalms that encourage our
hearts today were born out of David’s difficult experiences in life. Many of the Psalms are divided into
three sections: tears, trust, and
triumph. Warren W. Wiersbe
C. Paul and
Silas
Acts
16:23 “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into
prison, charging the jailor to keep
them safely:”
Acts 16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas
prayed, and sang praises unto God: and
the prisoners heard them.”
Acts 16:30
“And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 16:31 And
they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved, and thy house.”
The Devil intended it for their harm, but God
wanted to save a jailor and his family.
D. Frances
(Fanny) Jane Crosby (1820 - 1915)
Although blinded by an illness at the age of 6 weeks, she
never became bitter. One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I
think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He
showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you
know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been
that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised
clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever
gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"
Fanny Crosby was probably the most prolific hymnist in
history. Though blinded by an incompetent doctor at six weeks of age, she wrote
over 8,000 hymns (One source says over 9,000.). About her blindness, she said:
“It
seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my
life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were
offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the
praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things
about me.”
In her lifetime, Fanny Crosby was one of the best known
women in the United States. To this day, the vast majority of American hymnals
contain her work.
At the age of 95 Fanny Crosby passed on and on grave in
Bridgeport, Conn., there is a simple little headstone with the name "Aunt
Fanny," and these words:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is
mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.
E. Corrie ten
Boom
1.
Lived in Holland with family of watchmakers.
2.
Holland was invaded by the Germans.
3.
Jews suffered severe persecution and death.
4.
Corrie and family worked to hide (underground workers) as many Jews as
possible in a secret room.
“The Hiding Place” --> Book &
Movie
5.
Family arrested by Germans
a. Father was separated from Corrie and her sister Betsie.
b. Never saw their father again.
6.
Corrie and Betsie were sent to a German concentration (Ravensbruck) camp
and put to slave labor. 96,000 women did not survive the
camp.
7.
Corrie and Betsie secretly held devotions with the women.
8.
Betsie dies.
9.
Corrie maintains her integrity to God.
10.
Corrie tells her story and witnesses for Christ across the world. If you will maintain your integrity with God, God can use your struggles as a
great testimony to His love and workings.
F. John Bunyan
Started preaching in 1657 which later caused
him to be put into prison. “Pilgrims
Progress” was first published in 1678. It portrays, in an allegory format, the many things faced by a
Christian on his journey through this world into the next. It has been translated into hundreds of
languages.
G. Joni Erickson
Tada
Injured in a swimming accident and left
paralyzed from the neck down.
Speaks frequently on national radio. Known nationally for her faith and
perseverance.
Learned to paint holding a paintbrush in her
teeth.
CONCLUSION:
A. Everybody has
to have a system for handling the hard places in life. W. W. W. pg 52
1.
Some people try to ignore them and pretend that they don’t exist, and,
of course, this only makes the hard places
harder.
2.
Other people just give up and expect their friends to see them through.
3.
Christians should look for the honey in every difficult situation.
B. Psalm 34:8 “O
taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
This is an address to others, founded on the experience of the psalmist. He had found protection from the Lord; he had had evidence of His goodness; and he asks now of others that they would make the same trial which he had made. Albert Barnes’ Notes