Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey – Mark 1:6, NKJV.
I always wondered about John the Baptist’s diet of locusts and wild honey. The honey part I get but locusts? Then, I remembered that in Leviticus 11:21, 22, God said―”Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.”
Apparently, locusts are an excellent source of protein, more so than chicken. They contain iodine, phosphorus, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, magnesium and selenium and fatty acids. Hmm, I think I will pass.
Now, on to a sweeter and more palatable part of John’s diet. Honey. It has many wonderful benefits besides sweetening tea, some of which I was not aware of. Here are ten:
1. It has antibacterial properties which are used to treat wounds
2. It is a natural alternative to cough medicine
3. It prevents allergies
4. It can be applied to sunburn
5. It is a good treatment for acne
6. It fights indigestion
7. It contains several minerals such as Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron
8. It has vitamins
9. It relieves constipation when mixed with Apple Cider Vinegar
10. It is an antiseptic
John the Baptist’s diet was simple but very effective. It kept him physically healthy and mentally fit to accomplish the work God sent him to do. It was his staple diet. What’s yours? Whatever it is, do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Sources: http://www.livestrong.com/article/549444-the-nutritional-value-of-locusts/; http://www.modernalternativemama.com/blog/2012/07/03/10-benefits-uses-for-raw-honey/
Notes to Women 