Honey

INTRO

Proverbs 24 is a long passage, so I asked the Lord to highlight one thing He wanted me to teach, and He did. I am nervous but excited! Today, we are going to talk about honey. We are going to look at the importance of honey, how it relates to Scripture, and how it relates to our word for Proverbs—which is Wisdom. We are trying something new today! I am going to present a different perspective of how honey can possibly be a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah. There is a form of encouragement here too. By the end of this lesson, I want you to know what honey means in Scripture.

TEACHING

Proverbs 24:1-12: Surround yourself with wisdom and knowledge. That knowledge can come from people you chose to surround yourself with. This is a powerful justice passage. It is important to take responsibility for being aware of the needs of those around us.

Proverbs 24:13–14: From Solomon, the wisest man of all time, his advice to his son was to eat honey. Solomon compared honey to wisdom. If honey is good and sweet, then wisdom is good and sweet. He also wrote that both honey and wisdom bring hope and a future.

What are the benefits of honey? According to “Six Verses About Honey in the Bible,” the Bible says:

1. “Promised land is described as a land flowing with milk and honey.” The word I would use to sum this idea up is “abundance” (Exodus 3:6–8).
2. “Honey was a symbol of good health” (1 Samuel 14:24–27).
3. “Honey was an honored gift” (Genesis 43:11).
4. “The book of wisdom extols goodness of honey” (Proverbs 24:13).
5. “John the Baptist survived on honey” (Matthew 3:1–4).
6. “Honey is in the book of Revelation” (Revelations 10:7–11).¹

What are the types of honey? According to the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, four types of honey are mentioned in the Bible:

Ya’ar––honey of the bee or honey found in the woods (1 Samuel 14:24, 27)

Nopheth––honey that drips (Psalm 19:10; Proverbs 5:3)

Debash––“bee honey, vegetable honey distilled from trees” (Genesis 43:11; Exodus 3:17)

Tsoph––“cells of honeycombs, full of honey (Proverbs 16:24)”²

What are general facts about honey? According to “Honey: A Healing Gift from the Creator,”

There are 20,000 species of bees; seven species are honeybees.

“Honeybees must seek and collect nectar from suitable flowers.”

“The nectar, a thin, easily spoiled, sweet liquid, is transformed (‘ripened’) by the honeybee to a stable, high-density, high-energy food.”

“Honeybees have two stomachs, a honey stomach, which is used to hold nectar, and the regular stomach.”

“Honeybees visit as many as 1,500 flowers in order to fill their honey stomachs.”

“They add enzymes to the nectar, which begins its conversion to honey.”

The honey we eat is essentially nectar that honeybees have repeatedly regurgitated (sometimes into another bee’s mouth, or directly into the honeycomb) and dehydrated.

“This drying process is accelerated through worker bees flapping their wings to drive off moisture once in the honeycomb.”³

It is interesting how God set up this process of making honey through the bees. What if the land of milk and honey was a foreshadowing of the Word of God? Pastor Mike Storti wrote, “We find that [honey and milk] symbolizes the Word of God which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Israel, the land of God’s Word, is both the written Word of God and the living Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the promised seed of Israel, from the Promised Land (Galatians 3:16).”⁴ Jesus is the milk and honey of God’s Word. He is the way into the Promised Land. Jesus is saying He is the honey.

Schaefer states, “Ноnеу іѕ thе оnlу fооd thаt іnсludеѕ аll thе ѕubѕtаnсеѕ nесеѕѕаrу tо ѕuѕtаіn lіfе, іnсludіng еnzуmеѕ, vіtаmіnѕ, mіnеrаlѕ, аnd wаtеr; аnd іt’ѕ thе оnlу fооd thаt соntаіnѕ “ріnосеmbrіn,” аn аntіохіdаnt аѕѕосіаtеd wіth іmрrоvеd brаіn funсtіоnіng.”⁵Christ is saying, “I am that. I am everything you need and everything you are looking for.”

CLOSING

I know that some of you might think this is a stretch, but I am saying that honey is the Word of God that points to Jesus. According to Dr. Katherine Marengo, these are the top six benefits of raw honey:

Honey is “a good source of antioxidants, [which] help to protect your body from cell damage.”⁶ This is who Christ is. He is our protector.

Honey has “antibacterial and antifungal properties, [that] kill unwanted bacteria and fungus.”⁷ Jesus is your protector and defender.

Honey can “heal wounds, it can boost healing times and reduce infection.”⁸ Isaiah wrote that Jesus is the ultimate healer.

Honey is a “phytonutrient powerhouse [which can] keep insects away or shield the plant from ultraviolet radiation.”⁹ Jesus keeps the devil and demons away from us.

Honey “helps with digestive issues.”¹⁰ When you are in the word of God there is something soothing that brings peace to your soul.

Honey “soothes a sore throat.”¹¹

What’s the big deal about honey? We are going to receive the Promised Land and the honey—all through Christ. If we know we have the truth, we need to do something about it. Just as the bees are constantly working to deliver honey, we must deliver the good news to others.