1 These are also proverbs of
Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
Here are some more proverbs for which
Solomon had written. This is only a
portion of the total work of Solomon as indicated in I Kings 4:32 “And he
spake three thousand proverbs and his songs were a thousand and five.”
2 It is the glory of God to conceal
a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
The phrase, “It is the glory of God to
conceal a thing” is an interesting way to say He knows all there is to
know. Looking for the truth is always
stimulating. Trying to make sure the
information you have is correct is not easy.
Righteous kings would always consider it an honor to make sure truth was
brought to a matter. Think of it this way. Unraveling the truth, although very difficult
when searching through lies is easier in the end. If decisions were made or judgments passed
based on lies then it would mean they would have to go back and undo previous
judgments if new truths were discovered.
3 The heaven for height, and the
earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
This is talking about the physical
aspects of the earth and the sky. No one
knows the height of the heavens.
Although we have been pretty deep into the earth we have not been to the
end of its depth. In Proverbs 21:1
"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." Compared to these physical things, the heart
of the king is even more illusive when it comes to understanding.
4 Take away the dross from the
silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.
Just as in Pr 17:3 “The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but
the LORD trieth the hearts.” And in Pr 27:21 “As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so
is a man to his praise.” This verse reminds us of the tormenting
difficulty of getting rid of the wickedness mentioned in this next verse.
5 Take away the wicked from before
the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
Stop, think for just a moment, are we
not all kings is some form? Some of us
are kings of our homes and I don’t want you to get up and start running your
wives and kids off just cause you think they are wicked but consider this: what
do you allow in your home? Is there any
wicked thing? Just as we are reminded in
the analogy of silver and removing the dross or impurities, it is a process not
an event. Sometimes removing the dross
from silver would take more than one time in the furnace. Depending on how pure the silver needed to be
the number of times it was heated was established. We need to “establish” how pure we need our
home to be and work to that end.
6 Put not forth thyself in the
presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men:
“Put not forth thyself” means “Do not
exalt yourself…” as it says in the NIV.
Be careful not to make more of yourself than you yourself are able to
make. We often try to make ourselves
seem greater than we are when we are trying to fit in or impress people. I have been through times where I had to
exalt myself in the form of a resume in order to seek employment. That is difficult when you know how to do
things well but you know the potential employer wants the best in the world at
that particular discipline. Of course,
in many cases, you have to explain to them, “this is their lucky day!”
The simple warning in this verse it to
be humble as Christ said in Luke 14:8 “When someone
invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person
more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9If so, the host
who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’
Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10But
when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he
will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored
in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11For everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
(NIV)
7 For better it is that it be said
unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the
presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
This is the verse from which Christ
quoted in Luke 14:8-11.
8 Go not forth hastily to strive,
lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put
thee to shame.
Haste makes waste. It comes to me also that haste is a waste of
time in many cases. For myself, when I
get in a hurry I drop things, fumble that which I am trying to grasp and
basically make a mess of things in general.
For instance, I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to make up
time while grabbing my keys and had to stop, reach down, and pick them up off
the floor in my haste. I may hold the
world record for things knocked over while rushing around to get to a point of
looking like I have prepared.
When we think of striving we think of a
focused attempt to accomplish something.
If we do that in haste, the result will not be a demonstration of our
best efforts and consequently we might be put to shame.
9 Debate thy cause with thy
neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
First, do not discuss the details of a
situation with people that are not involved.
Secondly, never discuss your troubles with anyone that does not have
part in providing a solution. Please
don’t go up to one of your friends at Church and say, “pray for me brother, I’m
going over to my neighbor’s house and punch him in the nose because he is a
scum bag.” Remember too, haste makes
waste and also, look down at verse 11 and you will see another principle to
apply when a debate is necessary.
10 Lest he that heareth it put thee
to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.
Continuing from the previous verse,
when you run your mouth, so to speak, you may find out you were wrong. If that is the case, by telling those not
involved, at their discovery (because they are going to discuss it with all
their friends) will be the curse of the fool.
You will be associated with them that are not wise. Not to mention the fact that many will think
twice before confiding in you.
The word “infamy” refers to your
name. Pr 22:1 “A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and
loving favour rather than silver and gold.” Often we take this lightly and then wonder
why we are not respected. Consider it
well!
11 A word fitly spoken is like
apples of gold in pictures of silver.
Pictures of silver are simply settings
where precious jewels are set. The jest
of this proverb is to say, when your words are well thought out and well
placed, they will be treasures to them that hear them.
12 As an earring of gold, and an
ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
Again, placing our words is of the
uttermost importance. Reproving one that
will benefit from reproof is wise, conversely, the telling someone who will not
listen is a waist of time.
13 As the cold of snow in the time
of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth
the soul of his masters.
We have to remember back in the time of
this writing there was no Internet, no CNN, they didn’t even have the radio but
they did have a sophisticated means of getting news. The messenger was a means of finding out what
the facts were in most cases. The
messenger was a trusted servant whom could be counted on to convey their
master’s information properly and bring back news or answers from others. A good messenger could find out all of the
facts and those facts could be depended on.
Also, masters would always seek good messengers. When a master saw his messenger return you
can imagine the excitement to hear the news of a far away place or the details
of what was happening.
The “snow in the time of harvest” was a
purification of the fields. If you have
ever been in the fields when the first snow arrived you would see the fruits of
the harvest more clearly. The insects
are gone and rotting ceases. In most
cases the snow wilts the leaves and the yield of the field put in sort of a
natural refrigerator. The purpose of the
crop is revealed, in a sense.
14 Whoso boasteth himself of a false
gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
The jest of this verse is, “don’t offer
what you cant deliver.” There is another
angle to this nugget of Wisdom as well, don’t lie about having been given
something when you have not been. Both
put on an outward resemblance resulting in nothing but disappointment.
15 By long forbearing is a prince
persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
In order to understand the benefits of
this Wisdom we have to be champions of humility. The word “prince” used in this verse is
someone in authority. Being persistent
is what “long forbearing” means but in order to persuade them we have to take a
humble approach. In the day of this
writing, if you were to walk in and start pounding the table and make the
prince mad, you could be put out or worse, put to death.
Next time you are at work and you need
to explain something to the boss, think about choosing softer words and try to
appeal instead of insist.
16 Hast thou found honey? eat so
much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
Too much of a good thing is bad for
you. There are many wonderful things
placed here for us to enjoy. By misusing
them we become corrupted by them. For
instance the big three are food, music and sex.
Each was placed here for us to enjoy and by misusing or overusing them
they make us sick.
17 Withdraw thy foot from thy
neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
I know someone who doesn’t even call
his house to talk to his wife during the day while he is at work, he calls his
neighbor’s house. His wife is constantly
over there. Based on this verse there is
a day coming when that neighbor will say, “look, you need to stay home.”
18 A man that beareth false witness
against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
“Bearing false witness” is lying first
of all. If you remember the list found
in Proverbs 6:16, this is two of them and maybe three of them depending on how
you look at it. This involves number 2.
lying tongue, 6. a false witness and 7. he that soweth discord among the
brethren. There is nothing good that can
come from giving out false information about ANYONE. The safest way to keep from doing this? Do not talk about others and their affairs.
A maul is a heavy object used to
separate its victims. The back end of an
ax will often have a maul on it for splitting wood. In the Hebrew it is a
“scattering club.” When I worked in a
factory we used a maul to pound on a mold to separate the parts from the
mold. The maul is a heavy brut force
tool, the other tools listed are more precise.
It is interesting to note here that the LORD knows us all well enough to
place in here all of the strategic tools we might use to justify
ourselves. One might be able to justify
in their own mind for instance, “I simply sent an arrow into their life to let
them know how I feel.”
19 Confidence in an unfaithful man
in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
Here is where keenness comes into play
as one of the key blessings of having Wisdom.
Being aware of someone’s commitment in everyday matters may be a clue as
to how they might handle one of significant magnitude. Casual handling of matters, matters. It has to do with integrity. When we handle responsibilities in a carefree
manor we have little training where clear keen focus is required. We need to always handle every contact outside
our spirit as one of His Saints, representing His Spirit: for we know we are
Adopted as one of His that He might radiate through us. And when we don’t, look at the pain equated
“broken tooth” which having experienced this ache first hand both in my mouth
and in my Spirit, do cherish the benefit of Her gift as keenness begets the
honing of Her Insight. As for
disjointedness, how can a man right himself without keenness? Ah, and her Confidence grows in us when we
live by Her principles. Confidence born
of God is the proper manner in which to embody boldness. His Boldness is for His Pleasure and due to
Grace that Pleasure grants to us as heirs the gift, fruits bestowed to the
Family of Christ. A richness by covenant
signed in eternity past is poured out to us for we have become the Son’s of
God. As Son’s of God we should have the
Confidence to come along side the “unfaithful man” and turn him to Christ. Without a yoke of bondage, for Christ
suffered that we might have a light in Us of Liberty and Mercy which
exemplifies His Spirit. Christ also died
once for all that all through Him might have a life rich and eternal.
Consider this lengthy section of
Ephesians chapter two: “1As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the
spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us
also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature
and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature
objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is
rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised
us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ
Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the
incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ
Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so
that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
(NIV)
This is why I think it is important to
be acting in all matters according to Confidence knowing with Confidence when
acting according to His will He will be Glorified.
20 As he that taketh away a garment
in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an
heavy heart.
There are two significant things to
take away from this verse. One, the
original writers were aware of chemistry and certain chemical reactions. We all know that putting vinegar with baking
soda (nitre) creates a bubbling reaction. Often we don’t consider the knowledge they
had long ago because we have been programmed to think they only had simple
tools to get things done. The fact is
that archaeologists have discovered evidence of sophisticated dental work from
the remains of Egyptians and Romans, some dating back to 3300 BC. They have discovered early surgeries and
although they did not have the sophisticated equipment we are familiar with
they had a good deal of success.
The second thing is reactions. There are several reactions discussed
here. The first is the reaction of
taking a warm garment from someone outside in the cold. Immediately that person would cowl and ball
up to protect their exposure from the cold.
They would withdraw from the situation in order to correct their
condition. And, if we saunter up to
someone who is of a heavy heart and start singing a cheerful song we may have
something thrown at us to get us to shut up!
The bad thing is due to our lack of perception the person may withdraw
and become unreachable. The main point
here is to be sensitive to the situation when you arrive. Often while I am on the phone talking to a
customer another customer will walk in the door and immediately begin talking.
They do not take into consideration what is going on in the store. While I try to finish with the phone, often
they continue to talk as if they are the only person on the face of the
earth. I usually have to hold up my hand
to stop them and sometimes even point to the phone hanging from the side of my head. The difficulty comes when we have a mind full
of thoughts and objectives to accomplish.
Our immediate concern is our own situation without considering others.
21 If thine enemy be hungry, give
him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
This one is a tough one. But be confident in that Wisdom is from Above
and dwells in you that you being the beneficiary might put forth the very Heart
of God by your actions. That would mean
putting away the fear and dread of the flesh, for we should know having worn
the flesh that the flesh is like a caged lion when constrained. After all, who is our enemy? Is it man or flesh? I say flesh in that we all were born into sin
by Adam and all of mankind owes all to God for His gift of Christ for
eternity’s sake, however for now, no man is able to stand alone against the
rage of our real Enemy. Through
edification is a man brought to his conscience, and having seen himself as he
himself might appear before God. A single
drop of Hope on the parched tongue of them that He calls might be all it takes
to spawn the sweet mist of Wisdom through the belief and the Knowledge of
Christ.
22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire
upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
Stand clear sometimes or at least proceed
with caution. The LORD promises a reward
here but also look at the beginning of this verse. You are going to be the one responsible for
heaping “coals of fire” on someone. It
would be my guess that in some cases that might not be taken very well and
there could be a negative reaction. With
Wisdom placing just the right coal on just the right spot produces the perfect
result. We have to trust that.
23 The north wind driveth away rain:
so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
In most cases the rain is squeezed from
the atmosphere by cooler air and cooler air comes from the north. If people run from you when you enter a room
then you must be a big north wind. And
all this time you thought you were a big bag of hot air.
Here the word “countenance” is the
combination of the posture, facial expression and demeanor. The Hebrew word means face or presence. This is the window to what is going on inside
of us. We may think we have a smile on
our face but our overall countenance says we are either mad or upset or even
ill. The point is that when others see
us we have expressions and mannerisms that depict what is going on inside. Someone we know well will be able to pick up
on those signals easily. Depending on
how we respond when we have an “angry countenance” we may find ourselves alone
until things settle down.
24 It is better to dwell in the
corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
The word “brawling” is only used in the
book of Proverbs. It means contentious
or finding fault. Many women are puzzled
when their men hang out somewhere other than next to them. Each time he comes around they start a line
of questioning in order to make their case concerning his transformation and he
disappears. My advice is to accept the
brut just the way he is and let the LORD change him if he needs changing.
Furthermore, it is likely there are many areas in all of our lives that need
tuned, especially if we accept Wisdom.
For the women, constantly having to bring up issues should be the first
warning sign of becoming a brawling woman.
Remember, God created each man and has yet to hire women as consultants
for His purpose. Pr 21:9 "It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with
a brawling woman in a wide house." Pr 21:19 "It
is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry
woman." Pr 27:15 "A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious
woman are alike."
Men, this is not talking about meeting
her needs. If she has needs that concern
her, we need to be the one that sees to it that they are met. We might need to actually listen!
25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
We have all been thirsty at some point
and one of the best things for quenching that thirst is cold water. It is refreshing and calming just like good
news from someone far away.
26 A righteous man falling down
before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
A “righteous man falling down before”
anyone but the LORD is wrong. The sense
of this falling is to acknowledge or submit to the authority of the
wicked. A “troubled fountain” means the
fountain had literally been used to clean people’s feet and was no longer used
for drinking water. The Hebrew word used
for “troubled” means downtrodden by feet.
Once it is known the water is from a
corrupt spring, no one drinks from it anymore.
A righteous man, having fallen or better said, “given in” to the wicked,
now finds themselves confused. Confused
because the path they have been on is now being abandoned for the path of the
wicked. The ESV says it this way: "Like a muddied
spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the
wicked." - Pro 25:26 ESV
To carry this analogy further, think about
this for a minute: If there were poison
found in the city’s drinking water the news media would swarm in like bees on
honey first of all. More importantly
however would be the work to cleanse the water supply from even the minutest
traces of poison. The entire supply
would have to be emptied or at least filtered somehow. It would not be a trivial undertaking. Giving in or falling down is not easily
corrected. Pray that Wisdom keeps us
close to her and when we fall, get up and when we give in, get out!
27 It is not good to eat much honey:
so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
This is not an easy one for us. Often we dwell on our success and make sure
everyone who can know learns well about our accomplishments. However, the point here is that for us to
review our own successes in order to make sure others know about them is not
actually a success. You see if it were a
success they would already know about it and not need to be told. Another aspect of this verse is to consider
“glory.” What is glory? Glory to one may not be glory to
another. Don’t get caught up in making
sure everyone knows about your glories.
True glory will demonstrate itself without any help. Our focus should be on doing the work and not
what others think or know about our journey.
28 He that hath no rule over his own
spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
The Hebrew word for “rule” only appears
once in the entire Bible. It means
restraint or control. Basically it boils
down to this one point; without restraint or self control there is little hope
of becoming sound. Not having the will
to refrain from the constant enticements of the wicked will keep us from the
path of righteousness. As with the city
having no walls, we would be openly exposed to the folly and foolishness of the
wicked.
I don’t think this verse is referring
to the inability to control outburst of anger or improper reactions. By virtue of the use of “city that is broken
down” means one is able to walk in and take what they want because there is no
rule. Like a car stripped in an
abandoned alley, we would be pilfered to a point of worthlessness.