A few years back my best friend’s daughter contacted me and said, “Hey, have you heard the song, Honey in the Rock? I think you should consider singing it.” She is always pointing me to great worship songs, so of course I went searching and loved the song. Girl, you were so right! But, I knew very little about God’s use of honey in Scripture or better yet, honey inside of rocks!!! These are the verses I found that tie back to the song title.
(Oh, and by the way, this is my personal interpretation of the song. If you want to hear the thoughts of the original writers, which I am sure are quite different, I encourage you to seek out their thoughts.)
Psalm 81:11-16 says…
11 “But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me.
12 So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk by their own plans.
13 Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
14 I would quickly subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 Those who hate the Lord would pretend to obey Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
16 But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” (NASB)
The people of Israel were known to be quite stubborn – God actually called them stiff-necked – as they often refused to listen and obey Him. (Exodus 32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9, 2 Chronicles 30:8, Acts 7:51) As a result, they frequently missed reaping the benefits of a submitted life.
When I reflect upon my own stiff-necked-ness, I can see how my disobedience always leaves me standing in the rubble of my own choices.
I love how this passage reminds us that if we will just listen to God’s voice; which is done primarily through His Word; and do as He asks, we will receive His help.
Hebrews 4:12 reminds us about the power of God’s Word. “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (NASB)
God has given us His printed Word that is living, active, and spiritually surgical. Anyone who has been a student of Jesus for very long, knows how God’s Word miraculously cuts through defenses and speaks to the depth of your being.
Personalizing this even further, I know that if I listen to God’s voice through the reading His Word, and walk in His ways (in other words not just be a hearer but a doer of His Word), He is always faithful to bring sweetness out of the hardest of places. It may not always be immediate. But, as long as I keep hearing and doing, He comes through in victorious ways.
These verses often evoke thoughts of God’s material provision, but Scripture always points us to Jesus. The hardest, stoniest place that I have ever encountered is my own heart. When God opened my eyes and I finally accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, God removed my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh. This comes from Ezekiel 36:26 that says,“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (NASB)
The verses here and in the Psalms are referring to the Israelite people. But, the application for us is similar, in that, when we become Christians we are purified by the saving blood of Jesus Christ and made new. “Through Him we have a new spirit. In place of our heart of stone He gives us a heart of flesh. And with God’s Spirit dwelling in us we are motivated to not only listen, but walk in His ways” (Walvord and Zuck).
Just as a rock is the least likely place for honey, our stoney hearts are the least likely to become flesh. Yet by a miracle, God has saved us and changed us, and now lives in us. This is the best honey ever, as far as I am concerned.
What are some of the ways God has provided honey from the rocks of your life?
Listen to the song here: Mary James – Honey In The Rock (Audio)
© 2026 by Mary James. All rights reserved.
