Most of us take our ability to taste for granted, yet what a wonderful gift the Lord has given us to experience flavors that range from sweet to salty, sour to bitter. Around 350 BC, Aristotle postulated that the two most basic tastes were sweet and bitter. Much study has been given to how the tastebuds work and how other senses like smell and touch (texture) impact the perception of taste. All basic tastes are classified as appetitive or aversive.
People are most sensitive to bitter tastes. Bitterness is often perceived as unpleasant, disagreeable, or sharp. The intense reaction of most people to bitterness makes it a great deterrant. In 1958, researchers discovered that denatonium, a synthetic chemical was the most bitter substance known. Because of its aversive characteristics, it is commonly added to toxic substances to prevent accidental ingestion.
On the other hand, many people derive a pleasurable sensation when they eat sugars and other substances that are classified as sweet tasting. Think about some of the best food memories you have, I bet there were some sweet ones!
In Psalm 34, we are invited to participate in a taste test like no other.
"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8
If you've never experienced the Lord, I challenge you to take this "Ultimate Taste Test". To get started, I suggest you ask God to remove the blindfold (only He can). Next, open your heart to Him and ask Him to pour Himself into you and show you who He is. If you have a Bible, begin reading it. Psalm 119 describes what God's Word is like:
"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103
There is a very interesting parable in Isaiah 5:1-7 about God and His Vineyard (House of Israel). God took every effort to provide His people with all the care, protection and provision that they would ever need (A sweet deal, don't you think?). However, in verse 4 He ponders:
“What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?
Has God given you care, protection and provision? I know that He has for me, but what has it produced in us?
The passage goes on to proclaim how God turns the House of Israel over to their own destruction (a bitter ordeal to say the least) and announces woes on those who reject His goodness, truth, sweetness and wisdom. Here are some of His reasons for doing so:
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight!" Isaiah 5:20-21
And yet, in verse 25, His hand is still held out to them. God does not want any to perish. He exhibits this again when He pleads with the people through the prophet Ezekiel:
Say to them, ‘ As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’ Ezekiel 33:11
These people created their own relative truth, their own understanding, their own standard of goodness, and their own wisdom and the Sovereign Lord deemed them wicked. There is little difference in 2012, and it is my prayer that God teaches me (and you) His truth, His holiness, and His wisdom. This same God is still the Master of the Vineyard and in His infinite love and mercy He pleads with us to "Wake Up, Turn Back, Taste and See that I am Good." Take refuge in the Lord and He promises you Eternal Life.
