“‘Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord.

• Leviticus 2:11

They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.

• Number 13:27

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.

• Psalm 19:10

But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field.” So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others.

• Jeremiah 41:8

I kind of started this quiz in reverse.  My Type 2 Diabetes got out of control during my kidney stone fiasco last winter.  My primary care physician said that we needed to follow-up after the kidney stones were removed, since stress can exaggerate such readings.  I did not know this meant that I had to set up the appointment. …

Anyway, I got an infection along the way of having so many scopes inserted inside me, and it took 60 days of heavy doses of antibiotics to finally get over that.

I have not liked the heat all my life, happily growing up in the heat of the south with a mother who thought air conditioning was invented by Satan.  My first known bout of overheating was in the military near Washington, DC, which can really get hot.  You know, they have a swamp there.  No, no, not what you are thinking, they literally have a swamp, mostly built on reclaimed swamp land.  So, the 90s F can easily feel like well into the 100s F.  A nice medic tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Sir, you need to come with me and sip some lemonade and watch the younger guys build the bridge.”  But I think playing baseball in temperature, not considering the heat index, of greater than 100F, and high humidity probably gave me my first episode ten years before the medic saw that I did not look too good.

So, I had done my research years ago.  Factors that increase your ability to adapt to the heat are: acclimatation, age, previous heat disorders, overweight, drinking alcohol, medications and/or illegal drugs, diabetes, other metabolic disorders.  Of this list, I do not do alcohol and illegal drugs.  In my mind, it came down to the diabetes still being out of whack or the antibiotics I had been taking all summer.  The PCP went for something not on the list: heart condition – which the cardiologist almost laughed at after I failed yet another stress test. (I have a shadow that the doctors cannot explain that gives me a false positive for a major blockage.)

But the only real change is an added diabetic medication.  With my A1C back in normal range and my fasting blood sugar in the borderline range, just above normal, I have no idea whether the trips to the doctor did any good because the weather is cooler!

All this being said, I thought of a quiz about “sugar”, but the word “sugar” is not in the Bible since we did not invent refined sugar until after the biblical times.  Thus, how did the kings of Israel, Egypt, and Babylon sweeten what they ate or drank?  “Honey”

So, I thought of the songs below first, and then I found that “Honey” appears in the NIV in 62 verses.

So, as usual, the questions are about verses containing the word “honey.”  The questions are in biblical order, although a reference to Revelation is mentioned in the next to last question.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	They do not know the true identity of the person they are going to see, but since they had a hard time on their first journey to Egypt to buy food, Israel gave his sons some honey to give the person.  To whom were they giving the honey?	Genesis 43:11	Joseph, the first mention of honey in the NIV
2	What covered the ground in the morning, white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey?  This stopped appearing when they reached the Promised Land.	Exodus 16:31	manna
3	The catch phrase to describe the land will be mentioned later, but Deuteronomy 8 has a stronger description.  There are three ways of describing the abundance of water, two grains, three fruits, and olive oil and honey.  Name one grain and one fruit.	Deuteronomy 8:8-9	a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; – Note: vines are probably for grapes.  Sorry if you overthought this one.
4	Jeshuran (righteous) was the name given the man representing Israel in Moses’ Song, sung soon before his death.  In the song where does he find honey, in a place you might not expect?	Deuteronomy 32:13	From the rocks
5	Samson was going to marry a Philistine girl.  He walked by and found honey in an unusual place, not the same place as in the previous question.  He used this as part of a riddle and then his bride told the wedding party the answer to the riddle.  Where did he find the honey?	Judges 14:8	In the carcass of a lion that he had killed earlier.
6	Who was unaware that King Saul had given an oath that no one was to eat until the enemy was defeated, and he ate some honey?	1 Samuel 14:27	Jonathan
7	Isaiah appeared to evil King Ahaz and asked Ahaz to ask God for a sign.  When Ahaz refuses to put God to a test, Isaiah prophesies that who will come and be eating curds and honey when he knows right from wrong?	Isaiah 7:13-17	The person is identified as Immanuel, but being a son born of a virgin mother, it is Jesus.
8	After the king was deposed and Jeremiah went to Gedaliah (the appointed governor), Gedaliah was killed and his murderers went on a killing spree.  From what descendant of Abraham did the people beg for their lives saying that they had barley, wheat, olive oil, and honey hidden for them?	Jeremiah 41:8	Ishmael
9	Ezekiel was offered an unusual thing to eat, but it tasted like honey.  What is this thing, the object also being offered to John in Revelation?	Ezekiel 3:3; Revelation 10:9	A scroll
10	What insect did John the Baptist (Baptizer) eat along with wild honey when he had his ministry along the Jordan River?	Matthew 3:4	locusts

The often used catch phrase for the Promised Land was a land flowing, or that flows, with milk and honey.  There are 20 references to a land flowing with milk and honey in the Old Testament.

Sixteen of these references are between Exodus and the beginning of Joshua, when they had first entered the land.  There was always a promise that the land would be theirs if they trusted and obeyed God, a land flowing with milk and honey.

When they disobeyed God, almost immediately after Joshua retired, people invaded the land to subject the Israelites.  After some time, famine and drought came upon the land, thus, you can imagine that the flows of milk and honey were drying up.

When the people received the punishment that God promised them if they disobeyed, they were sent into exile.

But as Jeremiah prophesies, he reminds the people of Judah that they had taken the land flowing with milk and honey.  He mentions it twice, to drive home the point that their punishment was well-deserved.

Then, in exile, Ezekiel prophesies, again twice, reminding the remnant to not disobey God when God lets a remnant return to the land flowing with milk and honey.

Thus, you have the twenty references to the phrase.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	(3) He was blameless and upright.  But Satan asked God to remove the hedge of protection around him.	A book by his name, chapter and verses, 1:8-11
2	(4) A disciple, a son of thunder, who wrote several books in the New Testament	Mark 3:17
3	(5) The father of David	Ruth 4:22
4	(6) A son of Israel who was given an “ornate robe” by his father	Genesis 37:3
5	(6) The first time we see this person, he is assigned the task of leading the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites, and he defeats them, but only while Moses holds up his staff, being helped by Aaron and Hur	Exodus 17:9-14
6	(7) a son of Noah	Genesis 6:10
7	(8) a son of King Saul who was told to kill David, but he refused since he had taken a liking to him	1 Samuel 19:1
8	(9) The daughter of King Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada, the high priest, hid Prince Joash from Queen Athaliah to preserve the kingly reign of David’s descendants	2 Kings 11:2
9	(10) King of Judah who followed his father, Jehoiakim, as king.  The only king of the last four kings of Judah who was not a son of Josiah	2 Kings 24:6
10	(11) A Good King of Judah whose reign was marked by several military victories, and then years of peace due to serving the Lord, but he built ships that never sailed due to his making an alliance with evil King Ahaziah of Israel.	2 Chronicles 20:30-35

I have not officially had the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes for very long.  While my glucose levels started climbing into the 100-140 mg/dL range, my A1C was either below 6 or no more than 6.2.  When I had it checked at the doctor and the A1C was 6.5, the nurse berated me when I said I never bothered checking my glucose level.  Why should I?  Until that moment, I had never been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

I still had not gotten a meter until this latest kidney stone issue when the A1C climbed to 7.7.  Frankley, now that I am checking it daily, it ranges between 92 and 132, but mostly below 125, which is the threshold for diabetics, but I am taking two medicines to keep it there.

My wife always fussed with me that her blood glucose was in the normal range, so she did not think she was diabetic any longer.  I insisted that she was taking a couple of medicines to control it, and her glucose levels would be high if she quit taking the medicines.  Really, as she finally quit cheating on her diet, she might have done better with the glucose levels without medication, or with reduced medication.  I have written before how I think she remembered going to bed hungry as a child, and she only controlled her cheating when she simply had no appetite to eat anything anymore.

I have my two favorite foods handy, ice cream and chocolate, but I rarely have a taste, and if I “cheat” it is just a taste.  And with my recent burst of energy with the previous illnesses in the rearview mirror, I have been doing some heavy cleaning.  I got some shelving organizers for the kitchen.  The saying goes to put everything in its place, but we never had enough room to have a place to put everything.  So, “everything” became a burden.  With the shelves, and a reduced amount of things to store, since it is just me, I finally have room.  And so, lately I have been too busy to snack and doing more physical work.

The photo above is of three containers of honey.  The large bottle is crystalized, but you can heat it, and it is still good to use.  Honey is practically an indestructible food, but as the honeybee population continues to dwindle, we may not have honey forever.

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The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	(3) He was blameless and upright.  But Satan asked God to remove the hedge of protection around him.	A book by his name, chapter and verses, 1:8-11	Job
2	(4) A disciple, a son of thunder, who wrote several books in the New Testament	Mark 3:17	John
3	(5) The father of David	Ruth 4:22	Jesse
4	(6) A son of Israel who was given an “ornate robe” by his father	Genesis 37:3	Joseph
5	(6) The first time we see this person, he is assigned the task of leading the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites, and he defeats them, but only while Moses holds up his staff, being helped by Aaron and Hur	Exodus 17:9-14	Joshua
6	(7) a son of Noah	Genesis 6:10	Japheth
7	(8) a son of King Saul who was told to kill David, but he refused since he had taken a liking to him	1 Samuel 19:1	Jonathan
8	(9) The daughter of King Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada, the high priest, hid Prince Joash from Queen Athaliah to preserve the kingly reign of David’s descendants	2 Kings 11:2	Jehosheba
9	(10) King of Judah who followed his father, Jehoiakim, as king.  The only king of the last four kings of Judah who was not a son of Josiah	2 Kings 24:6	Jehoiachin
10	(11) A Good King of Judah whose reign was marked by several military victories, and then years of peace due to serving the Lord, but he built ships that never sailed due to his making an alliance with evil King Ahaziah of Israel.	2 Chronicles 20:30-35	Jehoshaphat

Whether you did well on this quiz or, ummm, not so well, for the first video, here is Bobby Goldsboro singing Honey.  I think we’ll visit some old songs from my youth, mostly.

Here is Abba singing Honey, Honey.

And if you are as old as I am, you can sing along, okay, the words are on the screen and anyone can sing along, with the Archies singing Sugar Sugar

I was such a fan, I had every album they ever made, at least at one point.  Here is Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass playing A Taste of Honey

And here is a public service announcement, not really, from Home Free singing Honey I’m Good.

And just think, there are sweeter things in Heaven than honey.

And I apologize if people were wanting worship songs mentioning “honey.”  But these songs put a smile on my face, even though the Bobby Goldsboro hit is melancholy.

If you like these Saturday morning Bible quizzes, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Saturday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.