Over the years as I expected God’s blessings in various situations I have been encouraged by little things in the Bible that seem to speak of the high quality of God’s goodness. Honey out of the Rock is one of those. Let me explain.
When the fledgling nation of Israel escaped Egypt and wandered in the wilderness they needed water. God provided their need by miraculously bringing water out of a rock.
“The Lord told Moses, Go ahead of the people and take elders of Israel with you. Take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will come out of it for the people to drink. So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.” Exodus 17:5,6
This was a miracle in various ways. A rock is no place to expect water. A rock can be impervious to water, sitting in a pool and still being dry on the inside. So it is not the place to look for water.
The supply that came out from the rock was enough to satisfy about a million people, and also their flocks of sheep and other animals. So this wasn’t just a trickle or even a small spring as can be found in the mountains at times. There must have been a fair flow of water to satisfy such a great need.
Ever since then the idea of water out of a rock speaks of God providing for us in unexpected places. Many people can testify that when they cried to God the answer came from a most unexpected source.
Many years ago a woman who was a new Christian asked me to pray for her financial needs. She had lost her part-time job and her husband would never provide for her. She and her husband lived in the same house but were estranged. She hardly saw his face. In the morning, as they sat for breakfast, he was hidden behind the morning newspaper, ignoring her.
All she needed at that time was $30 per week. She asked me to pray that God would provide. She thought maybe that would be through a new part-time job.
The day after I prayed with her, as she and her husband sat at the kitchen table, his voice came from behind the newspaper. He said, “I suppose you need some money now. Is $30 a week enough?” She said ‘Yes’, and from that day on he gave her that money each week. To her it was “Water out of a Rock!”
At times my wife and I realised God supplied our needs like ‘water out of a rock’. The place the supply came from is one we would never have looked to.
That’s a wonderful way to confirm it is God who provides, not us, nor anything we would have expected.
So with that background in mind, you might understand how blessed I was to find something else in the Bible about getting supply from a rock.
“He wanted to feed them with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.” Psalm 81:16
It’s miraculous that a rock would supply water. But how much more incredible is it that honey would come from the rock.
And think of the comparison. Water is essential and a wonderful blessing. But honey is more valuable and special. Water might sustain you and meet your needs, but honey suggests a blessing that is beyond our ‘needs’, providing us something delightful.
That encouraged my faith to look to God, not only for the things I need, which water might satisfy, but for the sweetest of His blessings in my life and circumstances.
And think about what honey from a rock suggests about the will of God. I was taught as a child to only pray if I would add the words, “If it be thy will”. The idea was that we are not to be presumptuous and ask for things selfishly. If we know it is God’s will then we can be bold to ask for it.
So look again at the verse …
“With honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.” Psalm 81:16
It is God’s desire to provide honey from the rock. It was God’s intention. It was God’s will.
So we can humbly ask God to provide to us that which He actually wishes to give.
Putting that together we can see that it is God’s will to give us water and honey from the rock. That means God is willing and keen to meet our needs. We can bring our requests to God. And when God supplies it might well come from a completely unexpected source. When we find our needs met from surprise sources we would be wise to thank the Lord for water out of a rock.
And we can also come to God and ask Him for something sweet. He does not just want to keep us alive, meeting our needs, but to bless and delight us with sweet things that also come from unexpected sources.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful for you and your family to get a treat? Wouldn’t it be wonderful for God to unexpectedly provide you with delightful blessings you weren’t expecting, far above just your needs? And wouldn’t it be delightful for those treats to come from completely unexpected sources?
My friends I encourage you to present your needs to God today and ask Him to supply. And then wait on God for His miracle provision, thanking Him and being delighted when that supply comes from unexpected sources.
And my friends, humbly ask God for honey out of the rock today. Ask Him for blessings that bring joy to you and your loved ones. Ask Him for those sweet things that affirm to you how much He loves you and delights in you.
Then wait on Him and rejoice when He gives you Honey Out of the Rock.
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