The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, September 9, 2026, we look at Ephesians 2:10 - the verse that says we are God's workmanship, or as some translations say, God's masterpiece.  What does that even mean?  Join us as we break down the 5 parts of this verse and answer the age old question: why was I born. Join us at 6:00 p.m. for some mid-week encouragement for the soul. 

If you can't join us in person, you can always participate through our Facebook page.  We go "live" at 6:00 p.m., and you will have a front row seat.  If you can't join us live, there are 3 ways to watch the message later - on Facebook, on YouTube, or here on our website. (the "Past & Future Messages" page).  Watch anytime!  

This week, September 2, 2026, we concluded our message series "Wacky Worship" with a look at a common item and a familiar saying from the Bible - honey from the rock.  That phrase is mentioned twice in the Bible. 

In Psalm 81:16, God expressed His heart toward His people through inspiration to the Psalmist: "But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

What does this mean to us?   Well those words pertain to the story of God leading His people into the Promised Land, and we can take 7 Biblical truths away from these words. 

1 - Honey from the rock means that God provides for His people; He is a God of provision who will meet the needs of His beloved children.  God created manna for the Israelites, provided water, and their shoes never wore out.   And for King David, even though he was living life in the wilderness, God took care of him so that he could say, "The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need." (Psalm 23:1).  God takes care of us so that we lack nothing.  

2 - It also means that we find blessings in unexpected places.  You would not normally look for honey in rocks, so this expression is assurance that along life’s journey, we’ll find that God puts us in the right place at just the right time to experience His goodness, see His miracles, know He is real.  Those moments are to be remembered so that we don’t lose hope in the next storm we face.

As I said, this expression "honey from the rock" was written by King David, the Psalmist, as he recalled the story of how God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised land.  So let's look at a few moments from that story.  In the end of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving his farewell to the people.  He’s 120 years old and knows his death is near and he will not be joining the people in Canaan, the Promised Land.  Like a father giving last minute instructions, he has called the people together to remember their experience as they enter Canaan.  He tells them, remember you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord redeemed you.

Remember what the Lord did to get you here.  Remember the Lord in the land He is giving you . . . a “land flowing with milk and honey.” – Deut. 26:9.  And then 

Moses says a prayer in Deut. 26:15 – “Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

3 - Honey symbolizes blessings.  God is giving them a land that is blessed.  It is good!  Honey symbolizes God’s abundant blessings, given through His grace & love.

Think about honey . . . we do nothing to make it.  Bees do all the work.   We don’t have to earn His blessings.  Just trust God and accept what He gives to us. God’s blessings to us are given because He loves us, not because we are perfect, never sin, and never fail.  Sure, there is more in store for us in obedience, but God gives good things to His people because God is good.  God gives because He is love.

Here is truth #4 - we can also forfeit God’s desired blessings by our actions, by grumbling & complaining against God. 

A little background, in Numbers 13, Moses sent 12 spies to Canaan.  when they come back 40 days later, 2 spies give a good report and 10 give a bad report.  “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!"  But it has fortified cities, with powerful, large people.  We looked like grasshoppers to them.  Only Joshua & Caleb urge them to go take the land: “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.  If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.” – Num. 13:7-8.

Hearing that, the Israelites grumbled, got angry, afraid, and wept.  "Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?   And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”   – Num. 14:3-4.

They literally would rather die than trust God’s promise!  Even after everything God did to get them there.  Look at God’s response.  It’s like God said, “You want to perish in this desert you’re wandering in? You got it.”  (Num. 14:28)  Not one will see the land God promised to their ancestors.  All those who grumbled against God will die in that wilderness.  You thought your children would be “taken as plunder” – but No, your children will “enjoy the land you have rejected.”  Your children will be shepherds here for 40 yrs, to suffer for your unfaithfulness, til “the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness” – Num. 14:31-32.

Truth # 5- But even with ungrateful, forgetful people, God kept His promise. Me?  No.  I'd say you get nothing now.  But God?  He says, my goodness will still flow.  God can’t help but be good . . . be loving.  His goodness will flow to someone else!

God promised land of Canaan to Abraham; “To your offspring I will give this land.” – Gen. 12:7.  That promise was made hundreds of years before, as much as 500 years earlier.  Consider when the Israelites were free from slavery - Exodus 12:41 – “At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions went out of the land of Egypt.”

God doesn’t break His promises.  God doesn’t lie.  He make take His time, but it will be fulfilled right on time!

Truth # 6 - God kept His promise, even though His people would turn from Him and reject Him later.  Look at Deut. 31:20-21 – “When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant.  And when many disasters and calamities come on them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” 

God still wanted to bless His people, even though He knew the future and how they would respond.  God doesn’t break His promises.

Ok, I said earlier that "honey from the rock" is in 2 places in the Bible.    Here is the second place. God told Moses to "write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.” – Deut. 31:19. Moses' song is in the next chapter, Dueteronomy 32.  Look at verses 10-13:

"He found them in a desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland.

He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes.  Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions.   The Lord alone guided them; they followed no foreign gods.  He let them ride over the highlands and feast on the crops of the fields.  He nourished them with honey from the rock and olive oil from the stony ground.”  

Honey from the rock is what God has done, what He will do!  Right now, you may be walking through a wilderness journey.  You may be unsure of what comes next.  Truth # 7 - God is with you.  You aren't alone.  Trust Him and He will shepherd you.  He will get you where you need to be, with the people you need, and provide for every need in your life.  Walk with Him, and along the way, God will provide honey from the rock for you, tool.  Blessings are in store.  Blessings you don't have to earn.  Just unexpected blessings because God loves you.   In the hardest, scariest, most difficult places of our lives, we find the greatest "sweetness" from God – His power, deliverance, and are drawn in by His love.