Proverbs 24:13-14 (KJV):
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

Proverbs 24:13-14 (AMP):
13 My son, eat honey, because it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14 So shall you know skillful and godly Wisdom to be thus to your life; if you find it, then shall there be a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

These verses in Proverbs compare the eating of honey to the getting of godly Wisdom, and it is sweet. Since Jesus is Wisdom, Verse 13 is telling us to taste of the life of Jesus and you will find how sweet He is. Jesus is also referred to as “the Word” and when we read and take in the Word of God, we find that it is also pleasant and satisfying to our soul, as noted by the Psalmist David in this scripture:

Psalm 119:101-103:
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Verse 14 tells us that when we find the godly Wisdom in Jesus, it will also produce a future with fulfillment and a reward, and our expectation will not be cut off. When we obey the commandments of God, it will bring enlightenment that will cause our heart to rejoice according to the verses below. Even God’s judgments toward us are true and righteous and we need not fear them, if we have reverential fear for our Lord. These scriptures tell us that the Word of the Lord is to be desired more than gold and again the Bible mentions that God’s Word and His Wisdom are sweeter than honey.

Psalm 19:8-11:
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

When we obey God and keep His commandments, we are also promised a great reward. The “promised land” in the Bible was the reward given to the Israelites as they followed Moses through the wilderness to their inheritance. This land was referred to as “the land of milk and honey.” The reason it was given this name was because it was a very productive and fruitful land. The cattle had plenty of lush grass upon which they could graze, and that made them good milk producers. Since the bees must feed upon blossoms in order to make honey, the land also had to have many fruit trees and plants, thus the land had much fruit also. Hence, the name for the land was “the land of milk and honey.”

Leviticus 20:22-24:
22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

Spiritually our “land of milk and honey” is when we receive the promises of God. We have been given great and precious promises, as God’s children, and the Lord wants us to taste of them, and when we do, we will find they are sweeter than honey!

Just experiencing His love, joy and peace when we give our hearts to Him is a wonderful sweet experience.

We are promised so many more things, as God’s children, which include health, provision, protection, guidance, and victory over the devil and all of his attacks.

Jesus is that honey in the rock!

Proverbs 22:5-6 (KJV):
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:5-6 (AMP):
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate and willful; he who guards himself will be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go (and in keeping with his individual gift or bent), and when he is old he will not depart from it.

These verses in Proverbs speak of the fate of the rebellious, as well as instructing parents to train their children in the right way. Verse 5 clearly tells us that the froward (rebellious) person will end up on a path that is hedged in with thorns and snares. We all probably know people who stay in “hot water.” Many young people, to their own hurt, will not listen to the advice of their parents and elders, and end up going down the wrong road. They just seem to take their lessons in life the hard way — doing their own thing. However, there is a group of Christian youth, who truly love the Lord, and have respect for authority and godly advice, and they are the ones described as “keeping” or “guarding” their souls. Among those are young people who are chaste and have kept their virginity. They will escape the ravages of sexually transmitted diseases and scarred emotions, so that when they meet their mates, they can begin a life together without pain and guilt. This is not true of the rebellious youth who go down the path of sexual experimentation and then are wounded by the thorns and snares that go with that lifestyle.

Verse 6 admonishes us, as parents, to help our children find the right path and stay on it. We are told in this verse to “train” up our children in the Lord. Many parents have grief in their hearts over their grown children who have gone astray from their Christian heritage and teachings. They have wondered why their children did not walk in what they were taught. One reason for this is that many parents did not “train” their children, but only “taught” their children about the things of God. Teaching is sharing information, while training integrates that teaching into a lifestyle. As parents, we should also pray and ask the Lord to help us direct our children in the calling He has for them. We need to recognize the God given gifts they possess and encourage them along those lines.

Training is a lot more tedious and takes a committed effort on the part of parents. Training involves enforcing and reinforcing what is being taught. Lack of teaching and training our children in the standards and absolutes, as outlined in the Bible, has been the reason so many of our children are misguided. Many of our children are not receiving godly standards from their Christian parents, but are being taught by humanistic teachers in the public schools (where prayer is no longer allowed). If they do not receive their guidance there, they are getting it from baby sitters, secular movies, videos, CDs, games, books, magazines and last, but not least, their own peers. Parents have abdicated their roles as mentors, while our children get their values from our immoral society.

We must get back to training our children in the ways of the Lord. The Bible commands children to obey their parents in all things, if they want to please the Lord. (Of course, this means in all moral and right things. There are corrupt parents who would ask their children to do evil things, and a child should not obey in those things.) Parents are also told to not provoke their children to anger, and thereby discourage them. Parents are to be kind and good to their children, as the Lord is kind and good to us, His spiritual children.

Colossians 3:20-21:                                                                                                                                                            Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

If we call on the Lord to help us, as parents, He will give us the wisdom, love and patience to raise our children properly, even in a wicked world; and when they are grown, they will not depart from the things that they learned from us.

Irvin Baxter, © EndTime Ministries

Irvin Baxter, © EndTime Ministries

Irvin Baxter, © EndTime Ministries

Irvin Baxter, © EndTime Ministries

Irvin Baxter, © EndTime Ministries

Irvin Baxter, © EndTime Ministries

Irvin Baxter, © EndTime Ministries

Proverbs 20:11-12 (KJV):
11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them. Proverbs 20:11-12 (AMP):
11 Even a child is known by his acts, whether or not what he does is pure and right.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made both of them.

We find that the book of wisdom has a lot to say about the raising of children. Verse 11 tells us that children are known by their actions, whether those actions are good deeds or bad deeds. We all gain a reputation, whether it be an admirable one, or one that is shameful by the things we do. All of us fail at times and even our children will act naughty sometimes. However, when a deed is repeated over and over again, it establishes the character of a child (or adult). We all have known people who are habitually tardy or who habitually lie and therefore, they are known as being unreliable and/or a liar. It is important as parents to work with children, teaching and training them in character development. Teaching alone is not enough, we must also train them. That means we are to help them reinforce good habits and overcome the bad habits, and this comes by patiently instructing and enforcing what we teach them.

One of the most unkind things a parent can do is to tell a child they will take certain actions if the child is disobedient and then fail to do it. The child then knows that he does not have to mind, as there really will be no action taken on the parent’s part for their disobedience. Many times we find undisciplined children are simply a reflection of undisciplined parents. It takes hard work, patience and prayer to raise children that are known as good children. The Bible instructs children to obey their parents while telling the parents to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1-4:
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

We notice in the next verse of our study in Proverbs that the Lord mentions that He made the hearing ear and seeing eye. Notice this verse follows the one about how a child acts. There is definitely a correlation between what a child hears and sees, as to how he will act. There have been many studies done lately that have proved that behavior is learned from what a child hears and views. Children who are allowed to watch violent and evil movies will many times attempt to do the things that they see in those movies, while good movies inspire children to want to be like the role models they view on the screen. It is very important that we do not allow our children to view movies with wicked and occult themes. Demonic influences through the media will adversely affect children and adults, as well.

Pornography is an evil that is hurting our society and causing it to deteriorate. It is creating unhealthy relationships at all levels. Marriages are falling apart because perverted sexual experiences are preferred over normal sexual relations. People’s minds are preoccupied with evil and lustful thoughts that keep them from enjoying life. Rape, sodomy, incest, bestiality and other evils are on the increase, destroying the lives of many. We must protect our thoughts and our children’s by guarding what passes through the gates of the eyes and ears. Evil people are doing everything they can to protect the right to view pornography on the internet and elsewhere, to the detriment of our children. They demand this right because they contend they are adults and should be allowed to see anything they want to see. God is watching us in our private lives and our homes. The Bible declares pornography as wrong and sinful, and people who play with this sin will find it has a deadly sting to it in the end. In the Psalm below, David declared that he would set no wicked thing before his eyes.

Psalm 101:2-4:
2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
4 A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.