Locusts for Lunch?

And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Matthew 3:4 KJV

Did we just read that right? John ate locusts and wild honey? Check another version. Yep, still says locusts and wild honey.

The ferny leafed tree at the edge of my yard reminded me of hunting with my dad in the fall of the year. We snacked from the trees and fields where we hunted. When we came upon frost sweetened persimmons, Dad pulled a few and shared them with us. I didn't particularly care for the taste of persimmons then, but now I like making persimmon jam for homemade bread. 


He also taught us to eat locusts. We just split them open and ate the insides.

Oh - did I forget to tell you that locusts is the bean pods of a ferny leafed, thorny branched TREE!? We ate the mellow flavored beans, but I didn't care for them either. Now, I do like to use carob to replace chocolate in my sweets and I sometimes use honey to replace the sugar. 

You may have eaten carob too. Carob is the dried ground beans of the locust tree. I'm not sure our honey locust trees here in North America are the same type of carob trees found in the Middle East, but I feel sure John's locusts and wild honey tasted more like chocolate than BUGS!

As readers, we interpret what we read by our personal knowledge or experiences. The King James Bible is still one of the most popular translations on the market. My church still uses it exclusively. I'd like to challenge you this week to use a KJV in your Bible study. Think about words whose meanings may have changed over time or words that may have more than one meaning. Yes, locust bugs ate the crops of Egypt in Pharaoh's day. I'd love for you to share your findings with us. 

Hey Kids: 

I'm challenging you to do a little research this week too. 

What words are you able to read, but are unsure of the meaning? 

Here's a few starters. Can you match the word to it's meaning? 

What other words can you add to the list?

locust                                                   cow
Mark 1:6

corn                                                      surround
Matthew 12:1

kine                                                      grain
Genesis 41:2

vituals                                                  carob
Luke 9:12                                              

compass                                               food
Joshua 6:3,4

Don't forget to check back next week for the answers.

Blessings, 

Gail