Psalm 81:16

Psalm 81:16

Would be or will be?

Isn’t it ridiculous? How unpredictable we are in our relationship with God. The Bible is full of His promises, and we know that He keeps them. We have tasted His blessings. We have experienced the love, joy and peace that come from being close to Him. We know that keeping short accounts with Him and living His way is the best thing in the whole world! And yet, and yet we constantly rebel, disobey, try to manage our own affairs and defy the voice that rebukes our attitudes and our behaviour. I never cease to be ashamed of my stupidity and my willingness to block my ears to His commands. I know that He will always bless me and I know that what He says is right, but there are times when I don’t want to listen!

Israel was no different. You will have noted that much of this Psalm is in the past tense, God does not say “I will” but “I would.” His blessing is conditional, if His people obeyed and trusted Him it would read, “I will” but they didn’t obey and trust Him, that’s the problem. So how are we in our relationship today, is it a case of “I would” or “I will”?

The advantages of obedience are set out here for us, we will be fed with the finest of wheat and with honey from the rock. I suspect that the latter refers to the bees’ nests in the rocks. There were no hives, few trees and no buildings in the wilderness, if you wanted honey, you must seek it in the rock crevices. The verse is telling us that God will provide the very best of the staple things that we require, and He is also the source of rich, sweet delicacies too. He is the God who can supply all that we need. Hallelujah!

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