Ezekiel, 3: 3 “And He said unto me: ‘Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee.’ Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.”

• DAILY READING  Colossians 3:18-4:18; Ezekiel 31-32; Isaiah 56

Jewish education of Israeli children begin at a very young age. Ever since the middle ages, the Jews have practiced a ceremony which helped children early in life to identify the Word of God with ‘sweetness’. When a child is four or five years old, parents start introducing the child to Torah studies, or Bible studies. On the first day of a child’s learning which is called  ‘Shavuot’, It is customary to bring the child as morning dawned to the synagogue or to the rabbi’s house. The child is then put on the lap of the rabbi who teaches him.

A slate is brought upon which is written The Word of God. And the rabbi reads every letter of the alef-bet and the child repeats after him. Quoting from Psalm 19, he tells the child that  God’s Word is sweeter than honey. And the rabbi takes honey and uses it to write God’s Word on a slate, and then the child licks up the honey with his tongue. And the Rabbi brings a honey cake upon which is inscribed “The Lord God gave me a skilled tongue to know…” (Isaiah 50: 4-5), and the rabbi reads every word of these verses and the child repeats after him. And then a peeled hard-boiled egg is brought, upon which is written “Mortal, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll… and I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey to me” (Ezekiel 3:3). And the rabbi reads every word and the child repeats after him. And them he feeds the child the cake and the egg.

The essence of this ceremony is to convey to the child’s mind that God’s Word is enjoyable. It is a way of making the child develop an early appetite for The Word. A child who licks honey from a slate and who eats honey cake and a hard-boiled egg on the first day of class will immediately understand that the Word of God is sweet. Through weaving this intricate ceremony the Jews transform the first day of school into a special experience for the child that  will remain with him for the rest of his life.

Ezekiel, 3, 3 “And He said unto me: ‘Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee.’ Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.”

The Word of God is indeed sweet. And our spiritual growth is tied to our appetite for God’s Word. 1 Peter 2: 2 says that we should desire the sincere milk of The Word so that we can grow thereby. It is the attention we pay to ‘eating’ the Word that determines how much of the supernatural we can see. The Word of God is the instrument for working miracles.

Miracles are not myths, neither are they magic; they are provoked by our faithful compliance with and obedience to the demands of scriptures.

Mark 16:17  ‘And these signs shall follow them that believe..’

When we believe signs and wonders follow us. Again Luke 1:45 says ‘And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.’

To see the performance of God’s promises in this season we must develop the needed faith. Indeed so many blessings await us in this new month but it will take faith to access them. And faith comes by hearing God’s Word. Let us therefore determine to spend quality time in God’s Word so that we can have the needed faith to walk in the fullness of the blessings of this season.

PRAYER: Lord, Please ignite in me a fresh desire and appetite for Your Word. Let Your Word be my constant meditation, for I know that when I am full of Your Word my life shall be filled with miracles signs and wonders in Jesus Name.

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The study of The Word will keep shame and disgrace far from you. WORDBITE 222.