Wheat and Honey

Ps. 81:16

But He would feed you with the finest of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

 

The psalmist began this psalm with a command to praise God. Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. Such praise as this was full of life, volume, passion, and exuberance. God was their strength in battle, in deliverance, and in possessing the land. He had made Himself real to His chosen ones. The Israelites were also to remember, remember what God had done for them. He had heard their cries and relieved their burdens. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Even though this deliverance was monumental and miraculous, God wants to do even more now. He wants to fill their open mouth, but the problem is their mouth is not open. Not only that but they were not listening to God at all. They refused to submit so God gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. So sad! When God gives a people over to their own devices, everything goes awry! Even though God did this, His heart ached for His people. Oh, that my people would walk in my ways...He wanted to subdue their enemies and their foes.  He wanted to feed them with the finest of wheat, and with honey from the rock He would satisfy them. Much of Israel's history is sad full of disobedience, rebellion, judgment, and tribulation. It is amazing to me that they would choose the dark times that over the finest of wheat and honey from the rock.

 

But I wonder what choices do I make today? Do I read the promises of God, love them, and yet not totally embrace them? Have they impacted the way that I live, think, and feel, or do I persist in my own way? Is my mouth open wide waiting to be filled? What a great image! It reminds me of a baby bird who is totally hopeless. When the mother comes to the nest, that baby has its mouth wide open. It doesn't have to be threatened or coerced. Instead, it cries for the finest of bird food. Perhaps that is the problem. I don't think and act like the helpless baby bird, when in fact I am. I think I know how to gather food, how to care for myself, when in fact, I don't. God should be all that to me! Perhaps I am not hungrily waiting with my mouth wide open for the wheat and the honey because I have already eaten, eaten from the dainties that the world has to offer. Has my own self-sufficiency dulled my appetite for the wheat and the honey?

 

Father,

I want your finest of wheat and honey from the rock. Reveal it to me when I am eating where I shouldn't be. Guide my steps so that I stay waiting for You with my mouth wide open.

In Jesus name,

Amen