Tastes like Honey

Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.(Ex 16:31)

The rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (Ps 19:9b-10)

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Ps 119:103)

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. (Eze 3:3)

So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” (Rev 10:9)


The word of God describes its own taste. It tastes like honey.

This sets up a motif and a reoccurring theme that I want to examine in some following posts. Not every occurrence of honey in the scriptures is applicable to the word of God, but many of them are.

If I have time, and I'm not distracted by something else, I'd like to look at: Milk and Honey, Honey along the Path, Honey from the Lion, and Honey from the Rock.

But to kick off, that fact that it tastes of anything speaks volumes by itself. It is meant to be consumed! It's not enough merely to get into the Word, the Word needs to get into us. It's designed to be tasted, eaten, and savoured like sweet honey.

Not just that, but one we have eaten the sticky stuff, there are tale-tale signs, for it sticks to our lips. Once consumed, it is meant to be spoken.

The first mention of the word tasting like honey comes with the manna. Which we are told represents the Word of God in Deuteronomy.

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Dt 8:3)

This sets up an important pattern for how we should receive the word of God: daily! We need to get away from thinking the word of God is something we only receive on a Sunday morning. The pattern for the manna was that they would gather it for six days, and live off their reserve on the Sabbath. Sadly, many believer's try to live by the complete opposite!