My son, eat honey, for it is good,
Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a future,
And your hope will not be cut off..
Imagine reading this proverb on Thanksgiving Day. There is something about a verse on food. Our minds pick up on any verse that mentions food. But, the above proverbs are more than about food. These two proverbs show us the sweetness and value of wisdom to the soul of man. To make the point Solomon uses the metaphor of our stomach. His point is that just as we would love and do love the sweet taste of honey so too ought we to love the spiritual taste of wisdom. Honey is good. It goes to our stomach for waste but it does taste so, so good (candied yams anyone?). For those who desire the riches of God spiritually, so too is wisdom. It delights us and will give us spiritual food for the future. Christ is the wisdom of God in body form. When we partake of Him we taste honey for the soul that provides eternal life for the future.
Honey was one of the most descriptive terms in the Old Testament. The land that the Israelites hoped to enter was described a land flowing with milk and honey. Often, of the 58 times the word is used in the Bible, it is used to refer to the land. John the Baptist was said to eat honey. It is no wonder that God uses it in His Word to describe Wisdom and His Word (which brings forth Wisdom). Solomon, no doubt, must have heard his father David quote the following Psalms, perhaps around the dinner table. These verses may have inspired Solomon's proverb:
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
John the Apostle in the Revelation referred to God's Word as greater than honey:
I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
God has given us a great proverb to understand the value, beauty and satisfaction of God's Word. Just as honey is sweet, satisfying and pleasing to the senses, so too is God's Word, when mixed with Faith. Enjoy God's Word as you would honey and you will find, spiritually speaking, it is equally as delicious. Trusting it your hope will not be cut off.
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