Beekeepers make a good living off of selling honey, the delicious and sticky syrup-like byproduct of insects that feed on nectar, and by “lending the bees” to farmers so that they may pollinate their crops. Honey may also be made by other insects than honey bees. Honey is produced by many different kinds of insects, including ants, caterpillars, paper wasps, and bumblebees, although usually not in sufficient numbers for commercial sale. Moreover, the individual palate for honey produced by honey bees is very refined, making it difficult to accept honey whose did not taste as we had become accustomed to expecting it to taste.
Honey made by honey bees, however, may have nuances in flavor. Many honey bee subspecies have their own distinctive ways of making honey. Most significantly, honey’s flavor is influenced by the pollen’s origin. Clover honey is the kind most often seen in the United States. Honey comes in a wide variety of flavors and aromas, and its names reflect the flowers from which it draws its nectar: blueberry, avocados, peach, wheat, cherry, strawberry, cherry, elderberry, pomegranate, rosemary, dandelion, oak, elderflower, tupelo, and many more. Malaysia is home to honey bees can spin two unique varieties of honey: pineapple honey and durian honey.
Kathy Mattea, a country music singer and songwriter, wrote and recorded the song “Untasted Sweet” in 1987. Even though she doesn’t sing about honey from an as-yet-undiscovered colony of bees, the title of her song got me thinking about how the label “Untasted” on a jar of nectar may entice someone to purchase it only to be the first to test it, a “Honey Gallivanter” who wants the joy of the first taste. Although “second astronaut” may not carry the same weight as “first astronaut,” the danger should not be discounted. The honey bees may bite.
There is honey that has not yet been tasted. Jars of honey recovered in the tomb of Egypt’s King Tut date back more than three thousand years. Who among them would have risked having their tongue lopped off to try it as it was being put there? The Bible has 61 references to honey. Google Search Verses 8 of Exodus. If you want to know who was chatting to who, you should read on (Exodus 3: 1-21). Exodus is Moses’s book. God’s promise to Abraham, that he would create Abraham’s descendants a large nation that would live in the land of Canaan, was fulfilled during the 40 years that Jacob and the Hebrews traveled following their freedom from slavery.
A whole generation of Hebrews perished because they refused to believe God and obey what he ordered (their choice). God promised them a country full of honey, but they never got to sample any of it. These people are now known as Israelites. This should serve as a reminder that God is always with oneself, me, and the rest of us. He is there, but he has decided not to show himself. Keep it in mind. This decision rests with us. We need to actively pursue God, have confidence in him, and trust that he has provided for our redemption via the death of his son, Jesus. Once we leave this mortal coil, we will be reunited with God in heaven. Will Jesus recognize you as his disciple and let you into heaven? What possessed me to substitute Jesus for God? What kind of power did Jesus have? Christians may find such information in their holy book. To understand, read it.