20131230 Monday, December 30 2013
Deuteronomy 06: The Way To Milk And Honey

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey"

In English, the word "milk" originated from an old Anglo-Saxon (i.e. Saxony in Germany; Anglo-Saxons were a tribe of the Germans who became a large portion of the English people) word, meolc, which meant to milk i.e. the original literal meaning referred to the process, not the product. "Milk" is used to translate the Hebrew word, pronounced khaw-lawb, which means milk, or more specifically in the Biblical usage, cream, as in the richest portion of a substance.

In English, the word "honey" also originated from an old Anglo-Saxon word, hunig, which, like the English word, literally meant honey. "Honey" is used to translate the Hebrew word, pronounced deh-bawsh, which means honey, or syrup. Just as cream is the richest part of milk, syrup is a purified product of a natural substance e.g. sweet maple syrup is made from watery maple sap. In the Bible, the original words for both "milk" and "honey" referred to a refined essence, not merely plain milk and honey i.e. ordinary milk and honey existed in Egypt as much as it did in the land of Israel.

The "land of milk and honey" is one of the most well-known terms of the translated Holy Scriptures. But the gift of deliverance (which, as is obvious in the word, means to deliver, not merely to remove) to that "best part of the whole" has always been conditional upon obedience to the LORD - that's what does the refining. That applied to the physical promised land, and it applies to what the physical promised land merely prophesied - salvation into the Kingdom of God (see the Fact Finder question below).

The adults of the Exodus failed to enter the "land of milk and honey" because they refused to follow the LORD (Who was and is Jesus Christ - see Genesis 1: In The Beginning Was The Word and The Kingdom Of The LORD God) by obeying Him.

"20:6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: 20:7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

20:8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt." (Ezekiel 20:6-8 KJV)

The children and grandchildren of the Exodus generation did enter the "land of milk and honey" because they did not rebel against the LORD as the loser generation had done (see Numbers 11: Winners and Whiners and Numbers 14: Why 40 Years In The Sinai?). They heeded the Word of God (see What Does Word of God Mean To You?).

"6:1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 6:2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 6:3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey." (Deuteronomy 6:1-3 KJV)

The Book of Deuteronomy is a reiteration, forty years later, of what was declared by the LORD at Mount Sinai (see Deuteronomy 1: Why A Book Of Deuteronomy In The Bible? and Deuteronomy 5: The Ten Commandments - Forty Years Later).

"6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

6:10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 6:11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 6:12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 6:14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; 6:15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. 6:17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. 6:18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, 6:19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

6:20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? 6:21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: 6:22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: 6:23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. 6:24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us." (Deuteronomy 6:4-25 KJV)

Fact Finder: Will salvation be granted to those who merely claim the Messiah's Name for themselves, while doing whatever they please?
See Who Can Be Saved?