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Proverbs 25:16 New International Version (NIV)
If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit.
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.
Honey bees demonstrate our relationship to the land and God's provision through crop pollination and hive products. Here are some references: Exodus 3:8 3:17, Deuteronomy 8:8, 11:9, 26:15, 27:3, Leviticus 20:24, Ezekiel 20:6, Jeremiah 11:5. Other references illustrate honey as a good gift or food.
Not only is our God one who provides honey for his people in the wilderness, sweetness in the midst of our grueling times, but his words are “sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10). “How sweet are your words to my taste,” celebrates Psalm 119:103, “sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
In this sense, we can see why the psalmist says God's words are “sweeter than honey”! Honey is both sweet and nourishing. Taste God's Word: it's sweeter and better for you than anything else. Then dig into it each day and find nourishment for your soul and truth to live by.
In the Book of Exodus (3:8), God promises to take the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to a “good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” The Hebrew word for Egypt is mitzrayim, which literally means “narrow places.”
It is symbolic of fertility, community, prosperity, diligence and work ethic. Some cultures view bees as messengers of the Gods. Their honey has also been compared to the nectar of the Gods, thus elevating bees to the status of royalty.
Common food to all civilizations, honey is an important symbol of ancient cultures and religions that generally represents pleasure, sweetness, truth and knowledge. Honey was often used in medicine. It was considered an elixir of life capable of healing wounds since the time of Ancient Greece.
Samson once ate honey out of the skull of a dead lion's carcass (Judges 14:8-9).
Honey was often a sign of God's favor and represented His Word. Honey is mentioned 56 times in the Bible. Ezekiel was told to eat a roll (scroll), which represented God's Word, and as he did it was “sweetness to his mouth” (Ezekiel 3:1-4). David writes in Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste!
But the Hebrew word for honey, dvash, means more than just the ambrosial product we borrow from bees. In antiquity it meant the sweet juice of almost any fruit.
Nectar of the Gods – Nature's Gift
Since the ancient times, honey has been known as the 'Nectar of the Gods,' and there's good reason for that: honey is full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants that are all good for you!
Consumption of too much honey can harm our digestive system and lead to gas, bloating and stomach problems. While stomach crampings and bloating are not good for our health, they occur due to problems in the digestive system. Therefore, eating too much honey can also cause diarrhoea and constipation.
Honey is rich in sugar and carbohydrates. So, if you eat too much honey, it can raise your blood sugar level. Consuming too much honey, especially if you are a diabetic can lead to a rise in the blood sugar level, which can be dangerous.
But to the informed, honey is a luxurious food God created for your benefit (Pr 24:13). The LORD described Canaan, Israel's land of promise, as a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex 3:8; Deut 8:7-9). Even the manna He gave Israel for forty years tasted like wafers made with honey (Ex 16:31).
Honey is a miracle food: it never spoils when kept in the right conditions.
What Do Bees Symbolize In The Bible? Bees hold a special significance in the Christian religion as they manifest the characteristics of Jesus—strength, perseverance, and wisdom. In Christian tradition, the bee is even regarded as the emblem of Jesus Christ himself.
"In Christian tradition , [the bee] is the emblem of Christ, of his forgiveness (through analogy with the sweetness of his honey), with his justice (through its sting), and Christian virtues (because of the exemplary way worker bees behave towards their queen" (Julien, 35).
Honey boosts your metabolism, which is essential for weight loss. Honey is an excellent antioxidant, which means its regular consumption will cleanse your body of various toxins. In addition, its antibacterial properties will considerably improve the condition of your skin. Honey has no cholesterol at all.
Women often go through hormonal imbalance, which is a result of disbalance in testosterone levels, which in the long run affects reproductive health. Consuming honey on a daily basis helps in balancing the testosterone levels, which improves reproductive health, reduces mood swings and improves hormonal balance.
In the Hebrew Bible and Judaic tradition, honey was used as a sweet offering to God. The most famous line in Exodus 33:3 describes the Promised Land as one flowing with milk and honey. In the New Testament's Matthew 3:4, it is mentioned that the prophet John lived in the wilderness on a diet of wild honey and locusts.
Smith's Bible Dictionary - Milk
Not only the milk of cows, but of sheep, ( 32:14 ) of camels, ( Genesis 32:15 ) and of goats, ( Proverbs 27:27 ) was used; that latter appears to have been most highly prized. Smith, William, Dr. "Entry for 'Milk'".
And in order to nourish and nurture the children born from the union of man and woman, our Creator designed the female anatomy for breastfeeding an infant. As the patriarch Jacob put it in Genesis 49:25, it is “the Almighty who blesses [us] with…the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”
What is that milk? It is the Word of God. Through reading and studying Scripture we learn about Him. God has also given us the privilege of prayer and fellowship with others.