David Guzik Commentary - Proverbs 25:16

"Have you found honey?

Eat only as much as you need,

Lest you be filled with it and vomit."Proverbs 25:16

a. Eat only as much as you need: If someone has found honey—something good and wonderful to find—the honey should be enjoyed, but one should eat only as much as you need.

b. Lest you be filled with it and vomit: If something good (honey) is eaten beyond what one needs, if we fill ourselves with it, then it may cause an unpleasant reaction (vomit) and we lose the good thing we thought we gained. Overindulgence in good things is harmful and counter productive.

i. “Since Eden, man has wanted the last ounce out of life, as though beyond God’s ‘enough’ lay ecstasy, not nausea.” (Kidner)

ii. “By honey he understands, not only all delicious meats, but all present and worldly delights, which we are here taught to use with moderation. Honey excessively taken disposeth a man to vomiting.” (Poole)