The Bible and Honey

It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one’s own glory is not glory.
- Proverbs 25:27 (NKJV)

Honey is so sweet an delicious. Having a big sweet tooth I love adding it to my food and tea! I thought it would be good to look at what the bible saws about this sweetener as honey and sugar are getting a bad reputation it is always good to get a biblical perspective on things. Although the whole topic of honey in the Bible is relevant, it is too great for me to tackle nor is this the site to do that on. I will briefly mention how honey is used in other areas of the bible to gain a better understanding of Proverbs 25:27.

Honey is used to describe the land that God promises them “the land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8,3:17, 13:5, 33:3, Numbers 13:27, 14:8, Deuteronomy 6:3, 8:8, 11:9, 26:9, 27:3, 31:20, Joshua 5:6). It is good to realize that God has a positive view of honey and views it as a blessing. He wants to bless his people with abundance and using honey to describe the sweetness and greatness of the land.

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We see a completely different use in Judges 14:8-9 “When he returned later to take her, he turned to look at the dead lion. He saw that a lot of bees and some honey were inside the lion’s body. So he took the honey out with his hands and went on his way, eating as he went. He came to his father and mother and gave some honey to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had taken the honey out of the lion’s body.” The strength of The Holy Spirit worked through Samson to kill the lion, it is important to remember that Satan is referred to as a stalking lion. What is even more amazing is that after being killed what remained became clean enough for bees to inhabit it (Bees are clean animals and do not inhabit just anything). So we see God’s strength, His grace and the cleanliness that comes to us though Christ. Jesus destroys Satan to leave us clean and have pure honey and sweetness in our lives to share with others.
 
Although honey is not always seen so positively, honey was a potential divide between father and son.  Excerpts from1 Samuel 14:24-45

• "Now the men of Israel were troubled that day. For Saul made a promise and said to the people, “Cursed will be   the man who eats food before evening and before I have punished those who fight against me.” So none of the people tasted any food…. But Jonathan had not heard his father make the promise to the people. So he put the stick that was in his hand into the honeycomb. Then he put it to his mouth, and his eyes became bright…“I tasted a little honey with the end of the stick that was in my hand. Here I am. I must die.” Saul said, “May God do this to me and more also, for you will die for sure, Jonathan.” But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die, who has saved all these people of Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground. For he has worked with God this day.” So the people saved Jonathan and he did not die.”
  

             (I encourage you to read the whole story)
Saul wanted to kill his son Jonathan because he consumed honey. Had the soldiers not refused Saul would have put his son to death for consuming honey. Saul did not have the things of God dear to him wanting personal glory, and power. He plotted to kill David over jealousy, but his need for personal glory would have him to want to kill his son over having some honey. I know I have disobeyed my Mom, but she never ordered people to kill me. Saul was looking for total control and personal glory. This story shows the dangers of personal glory has and the temptation of food. Jonathan did not see anything wrong with having honey, but making that judgment himself could have cost him his life.

The Bible is so connected and when we look at the other parts we can see the Bible teaching us about the dangers of self-seeking glory and see other references to honey in the Bible. There are both positive and negative aspects of honey and earlier this chapter we see a moderate amount being good to eat but, “If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit.” (Proverbs 25:16 ) Honey is acceptable just not excessive consumption because that is when we run into problems. Proverbs 25:27 is interesting because it really brings the excess honey issue to a different application, instead of focusing on the physical like in verse 16 the spiritual connection is made. When trying to seek personal glory, honor or applause, true glory is nowhere to be found it leaves you sinful and vain. Trying to improve yourself is great, but there is a line that it can be dangerous for your spirit when we become engrossed in it. Becoming engrossed in getting glory and engrossed in honey can be dangerous on a deeper level then a temporary illness that will pass.

Honey is good and sweet, but we need to remember that God is better! He cannot be replaced with excess honey. The bible talks about the potential to get sick and vomit physically overindulging, but this verse gets at the sinful nature. It is deeper than not feeling good or getting sick, it is putting something in God’s place. Whether is honey or glory nothing should rule over us. He is The King. He should rule over every part of our life, luckily for us He is love so there is nothing more satisfying than having The Loving King take control of our life.
 “The Word of the Lord is worth more than gold, even more than much fine gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey straight from the comb.“
- Psalm 19:10

<3 Jessica
#GIGAC