Jesus Christ: The Only Bailout We Really Need -- The Honey

"No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire." (Leviticus 2:11)

Pastor Joseph Prince has submitted a telling reading for this passage, in that the "honey and leaven" represent man's efforts and man's charity, both of which can spoil the work that Christ alone has provided for all of us.

Regarding the significance of honey, this foodstuff is first mentioned in Genesis, when Jacob's have returned from Egypt with grain. While in Egypt, Jacob's ten sons (for the patriarch refused to part with his beloved Benjamin), Simeon, the second son, was required by Joseph,

"And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

"And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

"Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man" (Genesis 43: 11-13)

Jacob could not believe the bounty which he had received through his sons from the yet unknown ruler in Egypt. Fearing for the life of his family, including his son Benjamin, Jacob demanded that his sons procure goods to solicit the favor of "the man", who is in fact his long lost son Joseph, the well-favored son whose betrayal at the hands of jealous brethren is working for the good of Jacob, his descendants, and ultimately the entire world.

One of the gifts that Jacob wished to offer included "a little honey". How petty are our attempts to succor favor from unknown and untoward fears! And what a contrast to the land "flowing with milk and honey" that the Lord promised to Abraham and his faithful descendants. How blessed Jacob would be to find not only that his beloved son Joseph was still alive, but that he had become second in power only to Pharaoh, and savior of the World!