When Sweetness Conceals Bitterness

The Hebrew Scriptures offer remarkable wisdom about sweetness that appears good but carries hidden consequences. A sweet taste does not always guarantee something beneficial! Proverbs 25:27 warns: "It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory." Similarly, Proverbs 25:16 counsels: "Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it."

The prophet Ezekiel experienced this paradox firsthand. When commanded to eat a scroll, he found it "in my mouth as honey for sweetness" (Ezekiel 3:3). Yet this same scroll contained "lamentations, and mourning, and woe" (Ezekiel 2:10). This pattern of initial sweetness followed by bitter consequences echoes throughout human experience, beginning all the way back in Eden.

The Original Sweetness That Became Bitter

When Eve saw the forbidden fruit, it appeared "good for food" and "pleasant to the eyes" (Genesis 3:6). She ate ignoring God’s command and the fact that God had given her plentiful fruit to eat from the other trees in Eden. 

The momentary pleasure of that act, however, introduced something that has affected every generation since—the reality of sin being brought into the world and of separation from our Creator. Since then, sin has polluted every man. The Hebrew Scriptures honestly acknowledge this universal condition. Jeremiah 17:9 observes: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" The Psalmist writes: "They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good" (Psalm 14:1). Again in Psalm 5:9:

Psalm 5:9

Now is a good time to reflect upon the bitterness that is hidden under things that appear sweet, most especially sin. See how that fruit—eaten sinfully by Adam and Eve—caused great bitterness for mankind, though it was sweet to the taste and to the eyes (Genesis 3:6). Sin has the effect of making everything bitter, as we read about the evil woman in Proverbs 5:3-5: “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.”

The Promise of True Sweetness

Yet the Hebrew Scriptures also contain a profound promise—one given to Adam and Eve immediately after their fall. They speak of One who would come to bear the consequences of this and die in the place of sinners, as Isaiah 53:6 declares: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

This promised Messiah would not only suffer for others but would triumph over death itself. As Hosea 6:2-3 prophesies:

Hosea 6:2-3

Beyond Annual Uncertainty

During the Days of Awe, many seek God's favor through confession and good deeds, hoping to be inscribed in the Book of Life for another year. They think they can make amends for their sins in this way. This reflects a deep human longing for acceptance with the Almighty—yet it also raises a profound question: How can any person truly justify themselves before a perfectly holy God?

David understood this challenge, writing in Psalm 143:2: "And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." Even if one gains confidence of acceptance for the coming year, the cycle must be repeated annually, without lasting assurance or peace.  There is no assurance of acceptance by God, and consequently, no peace. This Jewish tradition that God opens the books on Judgment Day to determine whether to write a man into the Book of Life or not for the following year is not found in the Bible. There is one Judgment Day at the end of time. 

An Invitation to Lasting Peace

Perhaps this describes you. You find yourself caught in this cycle of uncertainty and spiritual burden. In the midst of all this torment of conscience consider the profound claims about Jesus of Nazareth, that he is the promised Messiah spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures—the One who bore sin's consequences and rose from death, offering not yearly hope but eternal peace with God.

This Rosh HaShanah, as many reflect on hopes for sweetness in the year ahead, consider also this true peace that transcends annual cycles—peace that comes not through our own efforts to justify ourselves, but through trusting in what God Himself has provided. How can we attain it? You must repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ. If you do so by his grace, then may the bitterness of sin become the sweetness of salvation in your life. 

May this season of reflection lead not merely to temporal sweetness, but to the lasting peace that comes from knowing your relationship with your Creator is secure, not for just one year, but forever.