This Proverb contains more daily
principles and instructions on being one whom is considered Wise. As a reminder, please look at these as
instructions and consider correcting ourselves not others. It seems interesting to me while reading these
and contemplating their meaning that often I find my mind wondering to another
individual whom I think needs this instruction or insight. I have to grip my
ego by the neck and fasten it to the wall for a bit while I learn how often I
fail at following what is given here as directions for me personally.
1 Boast not thyself of to morrow;
for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
I would hope you arise in the morning and say
to the Lord, Lord, give me this day those things which I am
in need of and keep me from those things I should not want.
We must always be planning for
things. The point is not to boast of it
in such a way as to be so irreverent to assume God owes you tomorrow. It’s the attitude. Look at this parable from Luke 12:16-21; 16
Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man
yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What
shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said,
‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will
store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul,
“Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink,
and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul
will be required of you; then whose will those things
be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God.” NKJV
16 And
he spake a parable unto
them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man
brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I
bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid
up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which
thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich
towardGod.
2 Let another man praise thee, and not
thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Well, my friend this is one of my own
personal ongoing problems. Much of me is
concerned about what others think of me for some reason. I realize I have absolutely
little to do with what they think in that the criteria and history of
their experiences are the litmus used.
The problem comes in when I feel they are not really seeing the me I
want them to see. So
I must tell them. Of
course I have a tendency to exaggerate in order that they comprehend the
greatness I am describing of myself. I
bet you are familiar with someone like me and if you are not, there may be a
chance you are like me. That should
scare you.
We are being taught here to be humble
and not to toot our own horns so much.
Besides, it has been said if a man has to boast
of himself it is because no one else can.
That could be due to two reasons, one, the fact there is nothing to
boast about, or, the fact could be that the boaster is so busy boasting no one
else can get a word in edgewise.
Its ok to acknowledge to yourself your
accomplishments as long as there is a sincere regard
for the source of our strength and Wisdom.
Wisdom also teaches balance so don’t beat yourself up all the time
either.
3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;
but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.
The word “wrath” that is used is found
in three other places in Proverbs: Pr 12:16 “A
fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.” Pr 17:25 “A
foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare
him.” Pr 21:19 “It is better to dwell in
the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”
The meaning or the sense of the word is: anger,
angry, grief, indignation, provocation, provoking, sore, sorrow, and spite.
This verse is actually
very weighty in fact. The
comparison of a heavy stone and sand, as they were both very difficult
obstacles in the day in which this was originally written. It took powerful horses and levers to place
the stones used in the buildings of the day.
Sand was a different problem, although weighty, sand required a carrier
made in such a way as to not allow the sand to escape. Even the smallest hole in the carrier could
mean much of the sand would not be available for use after transporting. In looking at the situation where there is a
heavy stone and weighty sand, the wrath of anyone is tough but of a fool is
both heavy and hard to control.
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is
outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
Proverbs 19:19 “A
man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet
thou must do it again.”
The true cruelty of wrath is many times it comes from the feeling of being
wronged. The turmoil of the inner man
comes out. Mark 7:15 “There is nothing from without
a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of
him, those are they that defile the man.”
Anger here is an outward rage
(outrageous). Anger is an emotion God
put in us for a purpose. The LORD made
us and all that we have is from Him.
John 1:3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not any
thing made that was made.” So then,
if He gave us anger, its ok to be angry?
Not so fast there my friend. It
could be that God gave us anger as a motivator.
If someone were to break in and threaten a family in their home,
depending on the situation, one might find anger about the invasion. There would be some fear accompanied by a
sense of responsibility. Again there is a balance.
Proverbs 14:30 “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the
rottenness of the bones.” One
of the things envy does is it steals our focus. It drags our every thought to the place of
imbalance. Envy should not be confused
with wanting something and desiring to work hard to obtain it. Envy tends to root itself deep in selfishness
and feelings of being thought more highly of just because one possesses a
certain thing.
5 Open rebuke
is better than secret love.
This would be one of the paradoxes of
God’s Love vs. mankind’s thinking. In
the long run being rebuked may make you stronger, may make you see something
from a different angle, it may even save your life. Another thing to consider is when we are
openly corrected we tend to be impacted more
deeply. God knows how to correct us and
make it memorable.
The term “secret love” here is
comprised of many things. The original
Hebrew context is human love for human objects and can be one of the following;
of man toward another man, of man toward himself, between man and a woman, and
sexual desire. The items in this list
are in the bad sense but when done in secret they become even more corrupt.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a
friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
It is almost as tough as being openly
rebuked when a very close friend reveals something wrong in our life. Consider this however; it is still better to
be wounded by our friend and purpose to make things right than it is to let
that thing fester. Eventually it will
erupt into a sore full of pustules and become a fevered mess.
Being kissed by an enemy means your way
too close to them, first of all. Secondly, if we are not aware of our enemy we need to be very careful. Now, not everyone should start off being an
enemy and have to prove themselves otherwise before we
allow them to be close. This verse is
simply trying to warn us of the deceit that is present and to consider the
actions of those around us in order to make sure we are not being led down a
destructive path. When the greeting (the
kisses) is out of character beware.
7 The full soul loatheth an
honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
The term “full soul” is in the context
of Pr 14:14 “The backslider in heart shall be
filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.” Think of it this way, when you are full of
the wrong things there is no room for the good things. Then the verse goes on to say, “…every
bitter thing is sweet.” Now that
makes no sense unless we consider this: when the soul is hungry, even the
things we don’t like are sweet relief.
For instance, our mind would tell us that the confession of a sin would
be humiliating and cause distress, however, this verse is telling us the
opposite. The confession may seem bitter but the cleansing would make it sweet.
We need to address something here. In this day and age
there are any number of things we can fill our lives with. There is certainly no lack of opportunity to
join or participate in time-consuming functions. This goes for Church too. Don’t get me wrong here; Church is good as long as there is a balance. I have known some folks to be so involved
with the operations of the Church that there were only one or two days a week
where their family was able to be at home together. The problem with that is those days not at
Church had to be spent grocery shopping, cutting grass, cleaning, getting the
car worked on and other duties that come with running a home. In other words, the time at home was not spent
as a family. In fact, the only time the
family is together is riding to and from Church. This is an example of being out of balance.
8 As a bird that wandereth from her
nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
Stay home! Home should be a place of sanctity and
peace. If those things are not in your home then you need to put them there and that may not be
easy. I heard a man giving testimony
once on his wedding anniversary and he told of how he and his wife tried to
make their home like Heaven on earth.
9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the
heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
Ointment is for the exterior and
perfume is for the interior of a person.
In order to understand this verse we have to
understand that ointment soothes the skin and the application is calming to the
muscles and relieves the tension.
Perfume is for the inner senses.
Depending on the scent, one can close their eyes and take in the aroma
and drift in tranquil thought. This is a
clear depiction of peace, both inside and out.
The word “hearty” means soul, self and life. The word “counsel” means advice. “Hearty counsel” means advice about soul,
self and life. Often
we tend to get defensive when someone is trying to tell us how we should do
something. This verse is telling us to
listen and take heed to what is being said.
The way this verse is phrased the person receiving and the person giving
the advice could be in either direction.
There is a promise of peace and tranquility through a friendship with a
willingness to listen.
Friends don’t let friends live dumb!
10 Thine own friend, and thy
father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of
thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
Notice first that the word “friend” is
singular and not plural. This is
referring to our closest friend and our father’s closest friend. The word “forsake” simply means not to forget
or leave behind. This verse is teaching
us not to turn away our availability to our friends, especially when there is
calamity. There is also a specific
instruction on where to go for advice.
“Better is a neighbor” means its ALWAYS going to be better advice from a
neighbor or that close friend than going to our brother who is “far off.” This is mainly due to the distance and lack
of day-to-day information and events that could come into play.
11 My son, be wise, and make my
heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
The word “answer” means to turn back by
using words. There are actually two Hebrew words there that were translated into
one English word. The jest of this verse
is saying to watch our own words in order that Wisdom may deal in Her way with
the person. Often it is better to leave
some things unsaid and to let Wisdom deal with the heart as only Wisdom can.
12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil,
and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
The word “prudent” means subtle,
shrewd, crafty, sly and sensible. Is
there any wonder why a prudent man would not see evil? Is there any wonder why a prudent man would
not hide himself from it?
13 Take his garment that is surety
for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange
woman.
To understand “surety” we have to understand there is something of value left behind
which forces us to return.
14 He that blesseth his friend with
a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
This is talking about flattery and not
a real blessing. It is a form of
falsehood and betrayal. The curse comes
when a real friend is in need or needed and true friendship is not there. This could be likened to what Christ was
talking about concerning those wanting into Heaven: Matthew 7:22-24 “22 Many will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast
out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock:” Some may even deceive themselves into
thinking they have friends and never really know friendship at all.
15 A continual dropping in a very
rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. 16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the
wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
The NIV states it this way:
15 A quarrelsome wife is like a constant
dripping on a rainy day; 16 restraining her is like restraining the
wind or grasping oil with the hand.
The interesting thing to notice here is
that the “continual dropping” is more than a simple leak in the roof that would
have under it a strategically placed bucket to catch this menace of
sanctity. No, this is stated in such a
way as to indicate that the “dropping” or better-said dripping, which is in the
form of being contentious to begin with and with the word continual in front of
it which actually implies that it chases or pursues you. So now, for you to understand the impact here
it’s a very rainy day and you have a leak in your abode, which no matter how
hard you try to remedy the condition, wherever you go in the house the leak
follows you. I don’t know about you but
that would drive me nuts.
A contentious woman is likened to this
anomaly of the constant leak, which cannot be repaired and from which one
cannot escape. In Webster’s contentious
is defined this way: “exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to
quarrels and disputes.” So if you look at the condition and circumstances of what is
in place here: you have not only the leaking (quarrels and disputes) but you
also have the constant hounding of someone wanting to impart another aspect of
their disdain. My hope would be that in
this warning, wives and husbands would understand that just because they are
married there are no additional rights allotted to them for the impartations of
their wisdom. On top of that if the
impartation is not fully understood and immediate conditional examples seen
clearly, it is not the responsibility of the one who has all the insight to
continue to impart. You could also look
at it this way, if you continue to pursue they are
going to flee. If you find yourself
covering the same issues and subject matter often, you need to step back and
take a long hard look at your purpose and incentive then consider the
ramifications or results.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Take heed when your friend says
something to you. You may not like it
but at least listen. Often a friend will
say things off-the-cuff. If it strikes
us funny then ask them what they mean.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall
eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his
master shall be honoured.
Keeping a fig tree takes patience. You have to make
sure it is watered and fed and trimmed in order for it to produce fruit. The fruit does not come quickly.
19 As in water face answereth to
face, so the heart of man to man.
When we look into
the mirror, often we talk to ourselves, maybe not out loud or just in a low
whisper. Sometimes it could be the most
honest comment we consider all day long.
The “water” in this verse is like a mirror where one can see their
reflection. So often these days we fail
to share our hearts. If we don’t share
our heart with someone then we will not have friends.
20 Hell and destruction are never
full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
We need to consider the first part of
this verse very carefully. Hell is the
destination of fools and destruction is its welcoming committee. Destruction is a precept of sin. Another thought to consider is that there is
no line on the side of the measuring cup indicating FULL when it comes to Hell
and Destruction. They are eternal.
Ecclesiastes 1:8 "All things
are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with
seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing." The eyes will never reach a point of not
being able to see because they have reached their capacity. Wisdom is warning us of where we let them
settle. There is a hint of analogy here
as well in that the eyes of mankind fasten themselves on the desires of their
heart. As is mentioned in Proverbs 1:4 “To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge
and discretion.” We need to use
discretion concerning our satisfactions.
21 As the fining pot for silver, and
the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
When is the last time you told someone
they were good or that you appreciated them?
Don’t forget the principle of sewing and reaping.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool
in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not
his foolishness depart from him.
The word “bray” in the Hebrew means to
pound or mix by pounding. This is the
only time in the entire Bible this word is used. The “mortar” and “pestle” are tools used for
the purpose of crushing or breaking down a material such as wheat. It is commonly used as the symbol for drug
stores because the mortar and pestle were used often to make medicines.
Immediately a picture of a fool in
stocks comes to mind. Captured around
the neck, both hands locked in place and their feet secured as well. But the fool will not depart from being
foolish. Even if his mouth were bound
his thoughts would center on the foolishness he will commit in his freedom.
23 Be thou diligent to know the
state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
The word “diligent” here does not mean
being busy in the sense of doing things just to be doing. It actually means
being perceptive and knowing. Obviously
in order to know our “flocks” or rather our business we need to be busy doing
whatever work is necessary to perceive the condition of our business. This may actually be
the first time in the history of mankind the phrase “work smart” was penned.
Take care of what the LORD provides us
with. Even if we don’t have herds or
flocks of things, care for and tend to them to make sure all we have been given
are in the best possible condition. Look
at this example in Luke 19: “16Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten
pounds. 17And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because
thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” We cannot be given much if we cannot care for
little.
24 For riches are not for ever: and
doth the crown endure to every generation?
This is an interesting perspective when
we think about riches as we continue from verse 23 and the “diligent”
command. First, we often think long and
hard about how to get riches but we seldom think about
what is required to keep them. Sure there is the initial excitement of getting them and the
tranquility of living in the lap of luxury but there is a responsibility that
comes with riches. If we do not know the
state of our flocks, as mentioned in the previous verse, we are bound to loose them.
25 The hay appeareth, and the tender
grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
Continuing still from verse 23: The
land and flocks one possessed determined wealth and riches in the time of this
writing. In addition to the amount of
land and flocks would be their yield, which would bring income. Notice here that the tender grass and herbs
are temporary and seasonal fruits of the land.
This verse is urging us to be “diligent” even about the temporary things
and perceptive about the seasonal.
26 The lambs are for thy clothing,
and the goats are the price of the field.
In case we don’t understand the breadth
and depth of all that is involved, the LORD is telling us that through
“diligence” (one of the characteristics of Wisdom) there is bounty. Look at the next verse.
27 And thou shalt have goats' milk
enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for
thy maidens.
Not only will we have enough for
ourselves but those around us as well.