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Margaret Feinberg
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Scouting the Divine: Searching for God in Wine, Wool, and Wild Honey Kindle Edition

by Margaret Feinberg (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 291 ratings
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Join beloved Bible teacher Margaret Feinberg as you learn how to move from simply reading Scripture to entering stories that can be touched, tasted, smelled, and savored.

The Bible is full of clever plots and compelling stories, laced with historic insights and literary beauty. But despite its richness and depth, many of us struggle to close the gap between the ancient world and our own.

What does it mean to know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd when the only place you've encountered sheep is at a petting zoo? How can you understand the promise of a land overflowing with honey when you buy yours in a bear-shaped bottle? Can you truly grasp the urgency of Jesus' invitation to abide in the vine when you shop for grapes at a local grocery store?

In Scouting the Divine, Margaret invites you to accompany her on the adventure of a lifetime across the nation to herd sheep in Oregon, harvest fields with a Nebraska farmer, prune vines in California, and explore hives with a veteran beekeeper in Colorado. Along the way, you'll explore how ancient livelihoods illuminate meaningful truths that apply to life today.

With Margaret's trademark humor and vulnerability, you'll:

  • Learn the secret of how to live like you have a shepherd
  • Unlock the sweetest promises of God
  • Discover the gift of divine timing

Scouting the Divine will revolutionize the way you understand the Bible--and leave you wonderstruck by the magnificence of God.

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  1. Print length
    225 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Zondervan
  5. Publication date
    October 6, 2009
  6. File size
    4196 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'Feinberg is a gifted storyteller and spiritual teacher. She has a knack for leading us to an 'aha' insight or a reflective 'hmmm.'' -- The Dallas Morning News (The Dallas Morning News )

Review

'Margaret Feinberg is a wonderful storyteller, helping us delve more deeply into the narrative of the Scriptures and discover truths we often overlook.' -- Ed Stetzer, author of Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and Churches that Reach Them

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002VBV1RW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zondervan (October 6, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4196 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 225 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 291 ratings

About the author

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Margaret Feinberg

Margaret Feinberg

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Host of the podcast, The Joycast, Margaret Feinberg is a beloved Bible teacher and speaker at churches and leading conferences.

Her books, including Scouting the Divine, Fight Back With Joy, Taste and See: Discovering God Among Butchers, Bakers and Fresh Food Makers, and their corresponding Bible studies, have sold over one million copies and received critical acclaim and extensive national media coverage from USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and more.

She was recently named one of 50 women most shaping culture and the church today by Christianity Today. Margaret lives out West with her husband, Leif, and their superpup, Hershey. She believes some of the best days are spent around a table with amazing food and friends.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
291 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mary Cannon
5.0 out of 5 stars Scouting the Divine
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2023
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The book is amazing!! Relates how God is in creation. To read this book you cannot deny there is a one true God.
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The Colonel
5.0 out of 5 stars Profound Insights into Biblical Imagery
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2020
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“Scouting the Divine…” resonated with me as a Christian, student of the Bible, beekeeper, chicken farmer, and former goat herder. In today’s highly technological, urban world, most people do not understand the imagery or context used in the Bible. The author seeks to inform and uplift Christians by relating familiar Bible stories and phrases to our current situations through her interactions with folks who are shepherds, farmers, beekeepers, and vintners.
Margaret included numerous truisms in her insightful “search for God in wine, wool, and wild honey.”
- “…God isn’t asking for the biggest. He wants the smallest and softest. He doesn’t want more – he wants the best.”
- “…boundaries as essential to a sheep’s survival.”
- “When Scripture comes alive in our hearts, ti doesn’t inform us as much as transform us.”
- “…following Jesus is not a hobby or part-time job, but a full-time endeavor.”
- “…God cares for us more deeply than we can know.”
- “…in everything that appears to be broken, God is still in love with his creation.”
As a North Carolina certified beekeeper, I successfully resisted the urge to cite errors in her section on “the land of milk and honey” because I did not want minutiae to inter with the positive message of my review. I do wish, however, that she had used a subject matter beta reader for this section.
At the risk of being accused of hubris, I took a certain amount of pride when Margaret discussed how “a recent excavation in northern Israel revealed a 3,000-year-old beekeeping operation dating back to King David.” In 1997, my wife and I participated in the first season of excavation at Tel Rehov as we returned the States from a tour in New Delhi. Ten years later, the ancient beehives were found there.
My wife and I often have visitors to our little farm. I never cease to be amazed by the delight on the faces of folks of all ages as they interact with the various critters we look after. “Scouting the Divine…” will assist those who do not have the opportunity to enjoy the farm experience to gain insights into the word of God.
4 people found this helpful
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Sandy Pirkle
5.0 out of 5 stars Special Christian Book
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2012
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Thank you Margaret for the wonderful Bible Study we are just finishing up on at our church here in Granada Hills, CA. It was on your book "Scouting the Divine." That is one of the best books I have read. It was so easy to read and understand. I was raised on the farm so I especially enjoyed the outdoors of your teaching. We had a group picture taken at our Bible Study this week and we were dressed as sheep. Hope it gets on your website. That would be neat. I am going to get your other two books now. Thank you again for opening up my eyes to a lot of the teachings in the Bible. It made me feel closer to God. May God continue to Bless all of you and keep you safe and strong in your travel.

In Jesus Love, Sandy Pirkle
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KP
5.0 out of 5 stars Great insight … not your typical book
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2023
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I loved this book. I really enjoyed reading about her experiences and gaining insight into biblical culture and references. I loved it so much I’ve gifted it several times.
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A. O.
4.0 out of 5 stars Helps me to understand the context in the bible much better than before
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2011
Verified Purchase
This book brings the scriptures to life, affirming the facts in the contexts found within the bible, such as sheep and shepherds, vines and vineyards, crops and farms, and relevantly written by a lady living in the 21st century.

Throughout the book, it highlights and makes references to biblical verses, with regards to the subject matter, such as sheep and shepherds. The author will then seek out the opinions and perspectives of the person who has those real-life experiences. When necessary, it provides the ancient practices during that period of time.

As an example, on sheep and shepherds, boundaries are essential to a sheep's survival. From a sheep's perspective, the fences prevent the animals from engaging in a greener pasture. But from the shepherd's perspective, boundaries help to keep the sheep safe. In ancient times, the flock had to be kept in a stone or wood area during the night and then led to a new field for grazing the next day. Shepherds often had to sleep across the openings of their home-made sheepfolds, guarding with their own bodies. This helps to bring the context contained in John 10:9 where Jesus describes himself as the gateway, offering his life and protection.

This book affirms many interesting facts, such as, that sheep truly recognizes the shepherd's voice.

In Deuteronomy 18:4, it instructed shepherds to give the first shearing of the sheep as an offering to God. The first shearing is the finest fleece, neither itchy nor scratchy. Each sheep's best wool comes only from its first ever shearing, with every subsequent shearing decreasing in value. Thus, Deuteronomy 18:4 can be interpreted as giving the best to God.

The author travelled to a sheep farm in Oregon to seek out the real life experiences of a shepherdess, Lynne. In her quest to seek out answers to agriculture and farmland, she travelled to Nebraska to get the perspectives as seen from Joe, the farmer.

Joe has an interesting comment, which I would like to mention. "Sometimes when you read something in the Bible, it got some big meaning. But when you live in the environment described in the bible, it comes to life in a whole new way, You begin to realize God is not just saying something as an analog, He is really saying it."

This book describes the intricacy of a beehive, the roles within a bee colony (queen bees, the drones, worker bees). Interestingly, the book also delves into details such as Jonathan, son of Saul, on discovering honey on the ground, took his staff to dip into the honeycomb. This leads the author to question whether would bees ever produce honey on the bare ground. The beekeeper, Gary, provided a possible reason for that to happen is heat. The only thing supporting the honey is the wax in those hexagons. With higher temperature, it affects the strength of the wax. With extreme heat, the wax will start to sag, which results in the honey running on to the ground. This is one of those "aha" moments, which I consistently experienced in reading this book.

This book ends with the author's reflections in all her quests and explorations. Likewise this will also cause the reader to reflect deeply as well.

Sheep and shepherd

She gained a new and better appreciation of God, a loving and caring shepherd who knows the sheep by name.

It reignited her trust in God's love for each of us. Even acts of punishments to the sheep are in fact acts of love and mercy. With this, it helps us to appreciate the opposing attributes of God such as discipline and love. Disciplines arise out of love.

Farmer

She noted that differences in our understanding of God maybe related to us not being able to grasp His timing. Indeed, everything has its own season. As we experience times of joy, sorrow, anticipation and failed expectations, we need to cling to the fact that in all seasons, our constant source of joy and peace has to be deep-rooted in God, who is much wiser than any of us.

Bee-keeper and bees

God is at work in more ways than we could imagine.
In a hive, every bee has a purpose. The queen bee lays eggs, the drones fertilize the queen, the worker bees gather nectar. Just like a single bee, it is impossible to recognize the magnitude of all that is happening to produce just a mere single drop of honey. Likewise it is impossible for us to fully grasp what God is accomplishing through us.

Vineyard and vintner

Sometimes in order to grow, we must cut back.
Vines are unable to produce quality grapes all year round. Likewise. neither can we be fruitful all day, every day. Nevertheless, God is the vinekeeper, who protects the vineyard and will definitely guard us (the branches on the vine) through different stages of our growth,
8 people found this helpful
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Shauna Zimmer
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2023
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This book gave me new perspectives on scripture I've read for years. The physical journey the author takes brought her, and I, through a spiritual journey that was enlightening, enriching and encouraging. I will never look at sheep, wheat, bees or wine the same again.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on February 6, 2016
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Loved this book
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Jazzy D
5.0 out of 5 stars I absolutely love this book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2015
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I absolutely love this book! It brings the bible to life in so many different ways and I won't be able to see sheep, shepherds, wine and bees in the same way ever again. Gods creation is amazing and it has His fingerprints all over it : )
A must read book. I really like the style of writing of this author to o and would also recommend you read another book Margaret has written titled: The Sacred Echo.
Enjoy and be inspired!
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