Consuming the Word Allows us to Taste the Sweet Honey of Heaven

Walking in the woods revives my soul in so many ways.  The smell of the decomposing earth lends to my experience as I walk and observe a variety of trees and ephimeral plants.  I can only imagine the joy that was had by Adam as he walked and talked with the Lord in the garden.

As they walked I am sure Adam would ask the Lord what was special about each plant.  The process of learning requires that we ask questions of the Lord.  Like a curious child, we too must take advantage of the knowledge of the Lord to gain understanding as we trudge  through the forest of life.

Stumbling upon fungi in the forest has always been one of my  favorite events.  Recently, my family and I were delighted to find a vast community of little darlings while playing frisbee golf.   

My mind reeled as I wondered what kind and why there were so many popping up in this location.

If it weren't for these little darlings and a variety of other decomposers and insects the forest would not be able to grow and flourish.  

These little gems that live in the dirt are a necessary organism for the growth of the plants in the woods.  Fungi serve as decomposers who dissolve detritus matter and in so doing they release the nutrients and energy that are stored in the chemical bonds of a once flourishing life.  

Similarly to the mushroom's role as decomposers in the forest, we must take in and digest the word of God in order to have access to His nutrient rich character and wisdom.

Ezekiel was commanded by the Spirit of the Lord to eat the scroll before speaking to the house of Israel;

"But you, son of man, hear what I say to you.  

Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; 

open your mouth and eat what I give you."  

And when I looked, behold, 

a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, 

a scroll of a book was in it.  

And he spread it before me.  

And it had writing on the front and on the back, 

and there were written on it words of 

lamentation and mourning and woe.  

And he said to me, 

"Son of man, eat whatever you find here.  

Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel."  

So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.  

And he said to me, 

" Son of man feed your belly with this scroll 

that I give you and fill your stomach with it."   

Then I ate it, 

and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.  

Unless Ezekiel had opened his mouth in obedience to partake in consuming the scroll, he would not have heard or understood the word that God would have him speak to his people.

We must not be rebellious by not opening our mouths and consuming the word of God.  

Although this scroll had bad news, the ultimate result of taking it in as nourishment fed and filled his belly and was sweet in his mouth.

The gospel initially is bad news but is a sweet sweet savor for our souls.  David Pawson says it this way;

"The gospel is bad news before it can be good news.  

You have to talk about sin and the wrath of

God if you are going to understand the gospel."  

Deuteronmy 32 says that the Lord led  Jacob

He made him ride on the high places of the land, 

and he ate the produce of the field, 

and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, 

and oil out of the flinty rock.

Jesus is the sweet rock of our salvation who has given us access to a land that flows with milk and honey and we need only open our mouths and receive the stream of His sweet goodness.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word,

 and the Word was with God, 

and the Word was God.  

He was in the beginning with God.  

All things were made through him, 

and without him was not any thing made.  

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

 The light shines in the darkness, 

and the darkness has not overcome it.  

If we do not submit to the Lord in the area of consuming His Word, we will not be able to grow but worse than that we will die spiritually.  

The word of God is our sustenance.   

I recently did a study about why the word of God is so important and juxtaposed it to a life lived not in the word;

Psalm 17:4 

The Word keeps me from the paths of the destroyer.

Psalm 18:30

The Word is perfect- tried , He is a buckler (shield, defense) if you trust Him.

Psalm 33:6

God's words made the heavens (So the word of God has the potential to make me/prepare me for heaven)

Psalm 105:8

We are commanded to be in the word because we are in covenant with Him.

Psalm 107:20

The word heals and delivers us from our destructions.

Psalm 119:42

The word keeps us from sin.

Psalm 119:25

The word quickens, revives, and recovers us.

Psalm 119:42

The word gives us the wherewithal to answer him (satan/world).

Psalm 119:50 

The word comforts us in affliction.

Psalm 106:24 

Then they despised the pleasant land, 

having no faith in his promise.  

They murmured in their tents, 

and did not obey the voice of the LORD.  

1 John 2:3-6

And by this we know that we have come to know him, 

if we keep his commandments.  

Whoever says "I know him" 

but does not keep his commandments is a liar, 

and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, 

in him truly the love of God is perfected.  

By this we may know that we are in him: 

whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.  

Father, thank you for Jesus the Word that became flesh so that we could eat of His sweetness in the wilderness of our lives.  Please give us a ravenous appetite for your Word because in it are stored all the rich treasures of life.  

Help us to stand tall and resolved like the precious fungus on the forest floor that humbly dig into the dirt so that we can extract all the honey from the word as we open our mouths wide in obedience, consuming the book so that we will grow to maturity in Christ as we wait for His return.