Rays of Light

Have you ever heard of a honey wagon? It isn’t used to transport honey or beeswax; I can tell you that. When I was a young girl visiting my cousin’s farm, we used to swing high in the chilly night air while shouting out the following ditty:

The night was dark, the sky was blue;
Over the hill the Honey wagon flew.
A bump was hit, a scream was heard,
And Ruth-Ann caught the flying……

Well, never mind what Ruth-Ann caught.

Despite its cute, but facetious nickname, there is nothing appealing about a Honey wagon. In fact, the whole thing stinks —literally—but it is still a necessity, especially in rural areas. Without them, how would we haul away all the tons of manure that are generated from cesspools, pig farms, Porta-Potties and the like?

I was reminded of the Honey wagon the other day when I was reading Deuteronomy 23: 12-14. It instructs the Israelites, and those who accompanied them to, “Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. For the Lord your God moves about in your camp.” How much clearer can it be that our God cares about every detail of our lives? This particular regulation, like every other one in Scripture, benefits mankind greatly.

Of course this regulation provided the kind of sanitation that would be required to keep disease out of the camp, but it also kept the camp livable when one of those strong Sinai winds kicked up, which I’ve read is a normal occurrence there. With that many people, all the air freshener in the world wouldn’t have helped had the Israelites built outhouses; which wouldn’t have been practical anyway, since they were a people on the move.

The Scripture does say that the Israelites were to obey this command because the Lord God moved about their camp. That is true also, but not in a literal sense. The Israelite camp was to be a holy place in every way. I don’t quite understand how human excrement could literally defile the camp, but God gave the instruction, so I don’t question it.

I do, however, understand how sin, could defile the camp. The Lord spoke to the Israelites through the prophet Amos while they were dwelling in Samaria. Because they “oppress the poor [and] crush the needy”, the Lord foretells of their great punishment. Among the many specifics, he tells them, “I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me…” (Amos 4:10).

This stink had nothing to do with the stuff that goes into Honey wagons, though. He was speaking of the stench of sin, and that, according to His prophetic word, included oppressing the poor and needy.

This was not just an Old Testament principle either. Scripture often classifies the fatherless and the widow as being amongst the poor and needy. Thus, the Apostle James instructs: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (1:27).

Dear friends. In today’s world, many are currently facing financial hardship; some are even facing financial devastation. Despite this, I would just like to remind everyone how very seriously the Lord considers the needs of the poor and disadvantaged, and that He expects us to give generously to those in need, despite the world’s economic situation.

Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia; how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality…. But as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all earnestness, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. (2 Corinthians 8:1-2,7).

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