{"id":6139,"date":"2009-04-16T11:40:29","date_gmt":"2009-04-16T16:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epictales.org\/treskillard\/2009\/04\/16\/honey_from_the_rock\/"},"modified":"2009-04-16T11:40:29","modified_gmt":"2009-04-16T16:40:29","slug":"honey_from_the_rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.epictales.org\/treskillard\/2009\/04\/16\/honey_from_the_rock\/","title":{"rendered":"Honey From The Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Quern<\/a><\/p>\n

In my time with the Lord prior to celebrating Resurrection Sunday with my family, I found a gem in Psalm 81 [ESV]:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Sing aloud to God our strength;
\nshout for joy to the God of Jacob!
\nRaise a song; sound the tambourine,
\nthe sweet lyre with the harp.
\nBlow the trumpet at the new moon,
\nat the full moon, on our feast day.<\/p>\n

For it is a statute for Israel,
\na rule of the God of Jacob.
\nHe made it a decree in Joseph
\nwhen he went out over the land of Egypt.
\nI hear a language I had not known:
\n“I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
\nyour hands were freed from the basket.
\nIn distress you called, and I delivered you;
\nI answered you in the secret place of thunder;
\nI tested you at the waters of Meribah. <\/p>\n

Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
\nO Israel, if you would but listen to me!
\nThere shall be no strange god among you;
\nyou shall not bow down to a foreign god.
\nI am the Lord your God,
\nwho brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
\nOpen your mouth wide, and I will fill it.<\/p>\n

“But my people did not listen to my voice;
\nIsrael would not submit to me.
\nSo I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
\nto follow their own counsels.
\nOh, that my people would listen to me,
\nthat Israel would walk in my ways!
\nI would soon subdue their enemies
\nand turn my hand against their foes.
\nThose who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,
\nand their fate would last forever.
\nBut he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
\nand with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What was amazing about this<\/strong> is that it hearkens back to Passover. Near the beginning it refers to “our feast day”. Technically, this could refer to any, or all of the feasts—but the following context makes it clear that the writer is thinking of Passover. The NIV translates “blow the trumpet” as the shofar, and that fits as well.<\/p>\n

And so, for me at least, this psalm fit in even better because I was not only preparing my heart to celebrate the resurrection, I was also preparing for Passover<\/a><\/strong>, which we celebrate in a Jewish\/Christian way every year.<\/p>\n

Usually we celebrate Passover prior to celebrating the resurrection<\/strong>, because that is the order of events in the Bible. Sometimes we move it based on other circumstances. One year we celebrated it on the Jewish date for Passover. <\/p>\n

\"Quern<\/div>\n

This year we are celebrating Passover late<\/strong>, and it turns out it will coincide with the Orthodox calender. To me the exact date does not matter as much as the attitude of our hearts … celebrating the life and joy, death and sorrow, grace and suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

One (possible) insight I gleaned into Psalm 81<\/strong> had to do with the last line: “honey from the rock”. What is that? I can’t imagine honeybees building a nest inside a rock, but I suppose it’s possible. <\/p>\n

\"Quern<\/div>\n

But then I had a flash of insight<\/strong> … what color is wheat? Honey colored! The rock? Possibly a grinding stone. God says:<\/p>\n

\n

“But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
\nand with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Quern<\/div>\n

The context is wheat!<\/strong> Maybe “honey from the rock” is just an expression for ground wheat. <\/p>\n

Regardless of whether the text means honey or wheat, it does have spiritual applications … God’s word being the “honey”, or maybe God himself, our chief delight.<\/p>\n

So then, the main points of this psalm are: <\/strong><\/p>\n