Satisfaction in the Promise: Part 3

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey (Duet. 8:7-8)

For our third and final part of this study, let us look at olive oil and honey. So in our spiritual walk, what does olive oil and honey represent? Let us start with olive oil. As we see in the Old Testament, oil is used for anointing as a physical marking of God’s calling on a person’s life. Take David being anointed by Samuel for instance. In 1 Samuel 16:8, we see that after Samuel anointed David with oil, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, from that day forward.” The most amazing part, is while in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit comes “upon” a person, within the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit dwells within a person. He is a part of us! One with us through the blessing of Christ Jesus. However, we still must be sure to have the oil present for Him to burn and show His light within us.

This brings us to the parable that Jesus used regarding the 10 virgins and the oil lamps.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matt. 25:1-13)

The oil represents the fuel that the Holy Spirit burns upon. Just like oil in a lamp, if there is no oil, there is no fire. Collecting the oil for a lamp is a simple task, it does not require skill or talent, it simply requires proactiveness and a refusal to be lazy. The person who makes sure the menial, yet necessary, tasks of the household are met and done every day. I encourage you to meditate on the parable in your own time, but simply put, the bridegroom is Jesus, and the virgins represent the body of Christ, and the different ways people within the Body prepare for His joining with us. Will we collect our oil every day and have lamps that burn and show His brightness in the world? Or, will we become lazy, and complacent and choose not to collect the oil for His Holy Spirit to burn upon? The verse we have been studying, promises a supply of oil in our promised land, we just have to reach out and receive it.

Now let us shift our focus to honey. As the book of Psalms references in 119:103, “How sweet are they words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Honey represents the goodness of God revealed to us in His word, both the bible and His personal words to us. His promises, His corrections, His love, His peace, His goodness revealed to us as we abide in His presence, His abundance of provision, His protection, His glory. Honey is the sweetness of life that comes from living under God’s wings and within His light.

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Oh how sweet it is to be walking with the Lord! His goodness drips like honey.

One last thought before closing to consider is this. As the Israelites dwelt in the wilderness with the Lord, He gave them manna to eat. Exodus 16:31 tells us, “the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” After a while though, many of the Israelites grew weary of the manna, and began to complain that they missed the meat, fruit, and vegetables available to them in Egypt. They reminisced about their old lives in slavery. They wondered if the slavery was worth the benefits of their captivity. They grew tired of the Lord’s provision through the years of His discipline in the wilderness.

Yet, we can survey two responses to the provision of manna, just as we see in the parable of the 10 virgins. Some were consumed by the Lords wrath because they failed to perceive the benefits of God (i.e. Honey), but others chose a different path. “And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in mortar, and baked it in pans, and make cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.” (Numbers 11:8) They took the manna that tasted as honey, worked it, and if took on the taste of FRESH OIL!

Satisfaction not only brings us to the Promise, but it sustains us there.

The honey of our lives (look at the list above again) when worked, becomes the oil that fuels us and our lamps. Yet, we cannot become complacent, or the honey will not satisfy, and we will not have any oil in our lamps. Then again, if we perceive the honey, if we perceive God’s goodness and freedom, continuing to mill it, work it over, utilize it, then it continues to fill our lamps with oil. We will be satisfied, and He will be satisfied with us.