April 29
Reading: Proverbs 26
1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. 15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.
17 Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death 19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
23 Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; 25 when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; 26 though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
We continue the collection of proverbs of Solomon put together during the reign of Hezekiah. You will notice, every now and then, a proverb you have read earlier. Clearly, some of these became popular sayings over quite a few generations.
vs. 1 No one wants snow in the summer, nor rain on the harvest, nor honor for a fool.
vss. 4-5 There is a curious relationship between these two proverbs, one that requires thinking it through. At first, they seem like a contradiction. The two proverbs together bring out the dilemma of answering a fool. It is difficult to know what to do. I take verse 4 as the instruction for a private conversation. Verse 5 is what one must do when others might be deceived.
vss. 6-10 I think of Proverbs 13:20, “The companion of fools suffers harm.” Beware listening to a fool, speaking to a fool, hiring a fool, or trusting a fool. How can you recognize a fool? Proverbs is full of descriptions. A fool doesn’t listen, doesn’t learn, speaks his mind readily, thinks he is wise, is attracted to temptation, gossips, slanders, cheats, and loves money.
I find verse 8 one of the most creative metaphors in the whole Bible. Think about it for a while. A sling is a leather strap. You place a stone in the middle, hold both ends, whirl it around, and then let one end go and the stone goes flying. What happens when you bind the stone into the sling?
vs. 11 A disgusting metaphor for the fool, quoted in 2 Peter 2:21-22 to describe the person who turns away from the knowledge of Jesus Christ to return to their sin.
For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
vs. 17 If you get involved in another’s argument, you’ll get bit.
vss. 24-26 Hatred is deadly. Is there someone that you hate? Do wish harm on another person? You may think you can hide it from others and even from God. You can’t. It is time to get over it and give it to God before it eats you and spits you out.
vss. 20-21 Some people like to make arguments and fights. If you refuse to give them listening ears, they are like a match to a fire that has no fuel.