Gospel of Mark Chapter 1 Vs. 6

 John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Mark 1:6 “And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;”

And John was... John’s name in Hebrew means the grace or mercy of Jehovah, a most appropriate name for the forerunner of Jesus who brought the fullness of grace and truth (John 1:16-17).

camel’s hair, and… The traditional clothes of a wilderness dweller which were sturdy, but neither fashionable nor comfortable. John’s clothing would have reminded his audience of Elijah (2Kgs. 1:8), whom they expected to come before Messiah (Mal. 2:5; Mat. 17:10-13).

With camels' hair (τρίχας καμήλου)

Lit., hairs. Not with a camel's skin, but with a vesture woven of camels' hair. Compare 2Kgs. 1, 8.

locusts and wild... A clean food (Lev. 11:22). Only the poor ate locusts with butter or honey after they were salted and dried. The Old Testament dietary regulations permitted the eating of locusts (Lev. 11:2-22). Wild honey could often be found in the wilderness (Deut. 32:13; 1Sam. 14:25-27). John’s austere diet was in keeping with his status as a lifelong Nazirite (Luke 1:15).

Wild honey

The innumerable fissures and clefts of the limestone rocks, which everywhere flank the valleys, afford in their recesses secure shelter for any number of swarms of wild bees; and many of the Bedouin, particularly about the wilderness of Judaea, obtain their subsistence by bee-hunting, bringing into Jerusalem jars of that wild honey on which John the Baptist fed in the wilderness Tristram, Land of Israel. Wyc., honey of the wood.

John’s appearance is reminiscent of Elijah (2Kgs. 1:8; Mark 6:15).

We can see from this that John the Baptist was a simple man with simple needs. The Bible says those that wear fine clothes live in palaces. John did not live in a palace, but rather in the wilderness.

In a land where there are many camels, it would not have been expensive to get a camel’s hide to make a garment from. A girdle, we learned in Exodus, is something similar to a very wide belt. In all of this, I say again, we see a simple man with simple needs, setting out to carry out the job that God had called him to fulfill.

Excerpt: The law did more than convict men; it inspired hope. The promise of a Redeemer shone like a rainbow across the dark story of the past. He was the end of all the types, at once the Victim and the Priest. To Him gave all the prophets witness, and the Baptist brought all past attainment to its full height, and was more than a prophet when he announced the actual presence of the Christ, when he pointed out to the first two Apostles, the Lamb of God.

John’s Lifestyle As A Prophet

John’s attire and diet marked him as a man of the desert and also depicted his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zec. 13:4). In this way he resembled the Prophet Elijah (2Kgs. 1:8), who was equated in Mal. 4:5 with the messenger (Mal. 3:1) cited earlier (cf. Mar. 1:2; 9:13; Luke 1:17). Locusts (dried insects) and wild honey were the common diet in desert regions. Again, Locusts are listed in Lev. 11:22 among the clean foods.