The Health and Biblical Perspective on Organic Raw Honey

Eating organic raw honey is wonderful, healthy, and wise when consumed in moderationCIS 226.2. God specifically designed the busy bees to gather this sweet provision for our benefit and enjoymentPTUK March 2, 1899, page 138.5+1.

🍯 The Health Benefits of Honey

The Bible gives clear and direct instruction regarding the consumption of honey, confirming that it is a good and healthy food Proverbs 24:13.

• It is Good: The Scriptures counsel us to eat honey because it is good, sweet to the taste, and health to the bones Proverbs 24:13+1.

• Moderation is Key: The biblical rule for eating honey is to eat only as much as is sufficient for you Proverbs 25:16. Consuming too much honey is not good Proverbs 25:27. By following this rule of moderation, you will enjoy good health and a clear mindCIS 226.2.

• A Heavenly Diet: Jesus Christ ate a piece of a broiled fish and a honeycomb after His resurrection to demonstrate His physical reality to His disciples Luke 24:42-433SP 217.3. Furthermore, in His childhood, Jesus ate butter and honey in a way that developed spiritual strength to discern and refuse evil while choosing good Isaiah 7:14-15CIS 226.2. John the Baptist also subsisted on a simple, purely vegetable diet of locusts and wild honey in the wilderness Matthew 3:4CD 71.1.

🐝 A Beautiful Circle of Blessing

Gathering honey is not an act of cruelty or theft, but rather a participation in God's wonderful circle of blessing and helpfulnessPTUK March 2, 1899, page 139.1.

• Divine Provision: God purposely put sweet honey in the flowers and guides the bees to it so they can gather stores for themselves and for usPTUK March 2, 1899, page 138.5+1. God uses insects like bees to beautifully yield wax and honey for human useARSH October 10, 1865, page 147.9.

• God's Gift: The Lord Himself provided honey on the ground in the woods so that the armies of Israel could partake of it and receive strengthYI December 1, 1898, par. 5. God even satisfied His people by making them suck honey out of the rock Deuteronomy 32:13+1.

🌍 Honey and the Divine Plan

While it is absolutely true that the diet originally given to our first parents in Eden consisted of fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables, honey remains a pure and beautiful part of God's provisionTSDF 125.6+1.

When angels presented Moses with a panoramic view of the Promised Land, it was described as a second Eden, abounding with fruit trees, beautiful flowers, fields of wheat, and honey1SP 339.1. God repeatedly promised to bring His people to a good and large land flowing with milk and honey Exodus 3:8+1. Even today, in health institutions and gatherings among believers, clear, white, extracted honey is warmly recommended and enjoyed as a wholesome, God-given food14LtMs, Lt 237, 1899, par. 10+1.

Malt in its pure, natural form or when used medicinally is beneficial, but using it to brew intoxicating beverages is a sad misuse of God's precious giftsRH October 15, 1914, par. 18+2.

🌾 A Natural Process of Digestion

God designed our bodies to naturally produce maltose, or malt sugar, during the amazing process of digestionGCDB March 5, 1899, page 152.7. When we eat foods like bread, our saliva converts the starches into dextrins, which then become maltose before finally being converted into levulose, the sweetest of sugarsGCDB March 5, 1899, page 152.7. Proper cooking beautifully aids this wonderful process by helping to carry starches through their initial stages of breakdown before we even take a biteGCDB March 5, 1899, page 152.7.

🩺 Beneficial Uses

Malt can certainly be used in a wholesome way to support health4LtMs, Lt 23a, 1886, par. 1. In cases of certain physical ailments or distresses, taking pure malt according to a directed regimen is considered very good and helpful for recovery4LtMs, Lt 23a, 1886, par. 1.

🚫 The Misuse in Malt Liquors

While pure malt and the grains it comes from are highly nutritious, there is a strong, earnest protest against the manufacture, sale, and consumption of all malt liquors, such as beer and aleMMM 403.31+1. Converting healthful, nutritious grains like corn and barley into intoxicating beverages is a great perversion and abuse of the beautiful products of the soilRH October 15, 1914, par. 18. It is a sad misuse of grain, which should be turned into good, life-sustaining bread, to instead ferment it in vats for beerPTUK April 26, 1894, page 272.4.

The Lord calls us to spend our resources on that which is truly good and nourishing, rather than laboring for things that do not satisfy Isaiah 55:2. True temperance requires us to completely