Proverbs 24: 13-14

¹³ Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
    honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
¹⁴ Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
    If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
    and your hope will not be cut off. 

Have you ever considered what honey means to bees? In a word, it means hope. Surprised?


Without giving you an entire course on beekeeping, let me just point out a few things here! You may have learned in the past that there is one queen in a bee-hive; there are lots and lots of "drones" and even more "worker bees."  The honeycomb, which bears (and humans) enjoy eating, is actually home and a nursery for "baby" bees . . . the eggs are laid and bees develop in some of those little sections of the comb. As they develop, they are fed a diet that changes as they mature through the stages necessary for them to become productive members of the hive.  First they are fed something called royal jelly, then pollen and honey. 
So, without the honey to feed them, the future generations would not survive, and there would be no hope of the hive continuing on.


There's another way that the honey is hope for the bees --- in the winter time, the bees all stop flying, and congregate in the center of the hive. They gather around the queen, and form what is called a "winter cluster." What are they doing in this cluster?  Shivering.  Really.
Here is another witness to our awesome Creator . . . the bees actually vary their shivering enough to keep the temperature in the center at certain levels: 81 degrees Fahrenheit for the start of winter, and 93 degrees for the time period that the queen begins laying eggs again.  And catch this: the worker bees rotate through the cluster (from the outside to the inside) so that no bee gets too cold! And, what do they eat in order to have the energy to shiver and rotate? You guessed it! Honey!


You can see that without honey, the bees have no hope of survival. So, too, Solomon is telling us that wisdom is like honey . . . it is very pleasant, just as honey is sweet to the taste. It is also our hope for the future -- we may learn from it, and it will keep us. Way back when we first began our study, we read that wisdom will keep us safe, and happy. 
Pro 1:33  but whoever listens to me will live in safety
    and be at ease, without fear of harm.
Not only safe from evil, but from the fear of it, as well. Wisdom's instructions will help us "rest easy."

Prov. 16 : 20 - 24 Sweeter than honey

Pro 16:20  He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
Pro 16:21  The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
Pro 16:22  Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
Pro 16:23  The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.
Pro 16:24  Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Solomon is commending those who have wisdom and prudence, those who have understanding, and even those who have eloquence in these verses. He's giving us qualities to aspire to, isn't he? I was particularly drawn to verse 24, though. Matthew Henry's commentary pointed me back to the writings (or singing, if I may) of his dad, King David, in the Psalms.

I believe Henry is correct in his assessment --- what other words could be any sweeter for us, than the words of the Lord? We can find words of instruction, of advice, and of comfort there.  In Psalm 119:103 David exclaims, " How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"   And in Psalm 19:10, he adds, "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

Indeed, His words are pleasant, and wholesome, and sweet to our souls. Are we hungry for His word? Are we thirsty? When we read His words, do we relish them, for what they can bring to our inner woman?  We know that our bones are what give our bodies strength, and here David is saying that the word of God is our spiritual strength, and will heal our weaknesses.

David and Solomon would not have recognized the granulated sweetener that we use today, but they knew honey to be a valuable and precious sweetening agent in their day.  We know with our minds that God's words are precious, but do we know it with our hearts, as well?  In your journal today, take a moment to write down some ways that God's words have helped you in the past few days. And going forward, add some notes to that page as new events happen, and cause you to cherish His words.