September 16 – Dates

Exodus 3:8 - "So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. NASB

Ezekiel 20:6 - On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. NIV

A land flowing with milk and honey. This keeps being repeated about the land of Palestine, the new home of the Hebrew people. A land where date trees grow and produce date honey. The date tree was useful to the Israelites back in Moses time and even now since it has many uses—from the palm fronds for roofing material, the leaves for baskets, boards for homes and fibrous material for ropes and mattresses, as well as the dates for food. God provided just the right foods for the Israelites as they came into the Promised Land—flowing with milk and honey. There are over 200,000 date palms now in Israel producing about 12,000 tons of dates a year.

As with the other six healing fruits of Israel there are medicinal value to dates for strengthening and energizing the whole system. They are rich in vitamins and minerals including iron. Dates are known to help with allergies, hepatitis, tuberculosis, anemia, and to alleviate depression and anxiety. Another miracle food!

My favorite way to eat dates, other than just fresh, or in date nut bread, is in an appetizer that is simply a pitted date, filled with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon, then broiled until the bacon is done. Yum! The sweet and salty combination is so satisfying! Savor dates today--as well as God's words.  

Do you like dates? How about the other healing fruits of Israel, the wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, as well as the dates? God so blessed the Israelites with a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, as described in Deuteronomy 8:6-8.  In verse 10 it says: When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. (NASB) Have you “blessed” the Lord for the food that He has provided for you? What does it mean to “bless the Lord”?  The Bible tells us in 61 verses (NASB) to “Bless the Lord”.  Bless means to make somebody or something holy: to bestow holiness on somebody or something. Here are some examples:

Psalm 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits;
Psalm 115:18 But as for us, we will bless the LORD From this time forth and forever. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 135:20 O house of Levi, bless the LORD; You who revere the LORD, bless the LORD. NASB

So to “bless” the Lord, we need to recognize His purity and holiness, to have a great respect for Him, to glorify and praise Him—to praise His very name. I remember singing Psalm 103 in choir in High School, back when religious songs could be sung in public schools. It was awesome to sing— Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name…. All that is within me bless His Holy Name. Do we do that? Are you willing to dig deep within you and praise God?

Be prepared--You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. Luke 12:40 NASB. The Feast of Tabernacles is coming—as you wait for the Bridegroom, are your lamps full of oil? Remember the story of the ten virgins and only five of them had extra oil for their lamps and went to the wedding when the Bridegroom arrived. See Matthew 25. Be prepared.
Lord Jesus, I praise you. I praise your Holy Name—with all of my heart, and all of my soul and all of my might. Blessings upon You.

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.