"Then there will be a future"

Article 2 of 2

13 My son, eat honey, for it is good,

Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

14 Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;

If you find it, then there will be a future,

And your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 24:13-14

Wisdom, “if you find it”, will ensure you “a future” and maintain “your hope” (v.14b-c). Surely these are among the reasons why wisdom is so sweet! How could something that provides “a future” and protects “hope” not be sweet, right?

But how does this work? How does wisdom work for those who find it, so that “there will be a future” and so that their “hope will not be cut off”?

Well, let us first note that the word of God is true wisdom. If we want to gather the honey of wisdom, we must open the Bible! And, with that said (and with the question of ‘how’ from v.14b-c in our minds), listen to how the apostle Paul spoke to Timothy about biblical wisdom in 2 Timothy 3:15 –

from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

It is “the wisdom” of the Bible “that leads to salvation” in Christ! And it is by this salvation that sinners gain “a future” with God in eternity. And it is by this salvation that this eternal “hope will not be cut off”! Therefore, “if you find” the biblical “wisdom that leads to [this] salvation”; if, in other words, you hear and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ …

then there will be a future, 
And your hope will not be cut off.

And that is sweet indeed!

So … have you found wisdom? Have you heard and, by faith, eaten the sweet honey wisdom of the good news? “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures … and … He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). That is good, sweet news! It ensures “a future” to, and maintains “hope” of, all who take it in, by faith! And so I urge you – “eat [this] honey, for it is good”!

"Sweet to your taste"

Article 1 of 2*

13 My son, eat honey, for it is good,

Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

14 Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;

If you find it, then there will be a future,

And your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 24:13-14

I’m glad Solomon says what he says in verse 13. It’s a reminder that food is good – and that good food is good! And so I feel just a little bit better about my enjoyment of sweet tea (my own personal honey, as it were), and m a y b e even about fried chicken (not sweet, but still delicious)! There is something to be said, according to Solomon, about enjoying that which is “sweet to your taste” – and for that I am thankful.

But Solomon extols the sweetness of honey, of course, not mainly to teach his son about physical eating, but in order to say something about his spiritual diet! And the Holy Spirit, of course, inspired these things for us, as well as for Solomon’s son! And what we are told is that, in the same way that “honey … is sweet to your taste” (v.13), “wisdom is thus for your soul” (v.14).

Wisdom is sweet to the soul! Wisdom delights the palate of the inner-most being! Haven’t you discovered that to be true, Christian? Haven’t you found that the word of God (which is true wisdom) is “sweet to your taste”? Haven’t you experienced the Scriptures – read personally, read publically, and preached – delighting your spiritual taste buds?

The psalmist put it like this in Psalm 119:103:

How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

God’s word is a delight! Would that I craved it like I sometimes have a hankering for sweet tea! And would that I would remember, when a perfect glass of sweet tea stimulates and satisfies my taste buds, that the wisdom of the Bible will do the same (and even better, Psalm 119:103), if I will drink it in!

And, oh, this wise word of God will be sweet to you, as well, my friend … if you will “taste and see” (Psalm 34:8)! Think of this reality when you crave – and when you are privileged to enjoy – whatever it is that peculiarly delights your palate.

Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
Know that wisdom is thus for your soul

________________________

*I hope to come back, in the next article, and consider v.14b-c – where we are told that wisdom ensures “a future” to, and maintains the “hope” of, those who “find it” (blessings which, when we consider v.14b-c in connection with the three lines prior, must surely be seen as among the reasons wisdom is so sweet!).