Honey & Wisdom

Proverbs 24:13-13

"My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.   Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off."

For years I've had an interest in honeybees, they are a fantastic creation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Thirty-two years ago in Odem, Texas, Jan and I had fourteen hives and we took and gave away a lot of honey.  About three years ago I got a hive and in just one day it was gone, not the hive but the bees, so I'm not a quitter. And I now have had two hives for about two years and still have not been able to take honey.  But I am so looking forward to the day they fill up a box so I can enjoy some hill country honey.

When I read this verse, it came to my mind that King Solomon must have enjoyed honey and I wonder if the wisest man, who had an earthly dad, watches or worked with the honeybee?  In that, he compared the goodness of honey to wisdom for one's soul.  Once more what is the soul, it cannot be seen but it is always on display, for it is your mind, your will, and emotions?  One's personality, passion, and spirit come out of the soul, but it's the nonphysical aspect of a person.

So as honey is of value in many ways to your body, in the same way as wisdom is to one's soul.  But it must be something we have to search for, and it is not knowledge, for many a learned person is void of wisdom.  Maybe we will find the answer in the Scriptures?

Shall we begin in Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."  As we seek the answer our next verse is Proverbs 3:7, "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil."  Next verses are Proverbs 4:6-7, "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.  The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." 

A word from King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 2:26, "For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and accumulating to give to the one who is pleasing in God's sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind."

The New Testament gives us this insight in 1 Corinthians 1:25, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."  Shall we close for today with these words from the Apostle Paul found in Colossians 2:2-3, "My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice