Proverbs 25-31

Proverbs 25
Further Wise Sayings - These were copied by the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah

Comparisons:

• Positive:
• The mind of kings is unsearchable, like the height of the heavens
• A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold
• Faithful messengers refresh like the cold of snow
• Good news from a far country is like cold water to a thirsty soul. (In our case, the baby's doing fine, and so is her mother.)
• One who sings songs to a heavy heart is like vinegar on a wound
  

• Negative:
  
• One who boasts of a gift never given is like clouds and wind without rain
• A liar is like a war club or a sharp arrow
• Trusting a faithless person is like having a bad tooth
• Sorrow gnaws at the human heart like a moth in clothing
• Righteous people who give in to wicked people are like a polluted fountain
• One who lacks self-control is like a city breached
• Repeated elsewhere:
• Here it is again! Better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious wife. This one must strike a chord with everyone -- seems like it's copied or re-stated often in Proverbs.
• If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the LORD will reward you. Almost word for word the same as Romans 12:20. I didn't remember it appeared here first.

Proverbs 26 (Hezekiah's copy of Solomon's proverbs continued)

• Regarding fools:

• Honoring one is like snow in summer, and like binding a stone in a sling. Not sure what that last one means.
  
• They deserve a rod for their backs
• Do not answer them, or you'll be one, too -- and you'll make them wise in their own eyes. In other words, don't stoop to the level of fools by answering their questions or challenges.
• Sending a message by one is like cutting off your own foot.
• A proverb in the mouth of one is like a thornbush brandished by a drunkard. It's dangerous!
• Hiring one is like an archer who wounds everyone.
  
• Reverting to folly is like a dog returning to its vomit
• There's more hope for a fool than for you, if you're wise in your eyes. So much for arrogance or conceit!
• The lazy person:
  
• Turns in his bed like a door on its hinges. Do you hear a creak?
  
• Is too tired to bring his hand to his mouth to eat.
  
• Is "wiser" in self-esteem than seven who can answer discreetly.
• And about the tongue:
• Don't answer fools
• Don't deceive a neighbor, then say "I was only joking!"
• When you don't whisper, quarreling ceases.
• A quarrelsome person kindles strife.
• A whisperer's words go down into the innermost parts of the body
• Smooth lips over an evil heart is like glaze over pottery
• A lying tongue hates its victims
  

Proverbs 27 (Hezekiah's copy of Solomon's proverbs continued)

• Relationships:
• Who is able to stand before jealousy?
• It's better to rebuke openly than hide your love.
• A friend's wounds are well meant. An enemy's kisses will be profuse. Beware of those who are just too nice.
• Don't forsake your friends; you don't have to go only to your kindred in a calamity. At least I think this is what this means.
  
• Better is a nearby neighbor than kindred that are far away. I think these two are related -- your friends are there to help you; don't reject their help just because they're not family.
• If you bless a neighbor with a loud voice in the morning, it will be as if you are cursing. Not everyone's a morning person!
  
• Here she is again -- the contentious wife -- now she's like a continual dripping on a rainy day.
• Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another. People need people. Relationships help us know ourselves. Wouldn't this one make a good lesson?
  
• Advice to the farmer:
• Know your flocks and herds and pay attention to them -- you may need them to take care of you when the crops fail.

Proverbs 28 (Hezekiah's copy of Solomon's proverbs continued)
Note: We tend to scan over the proverbs, but there are some of these that could be developed into whole lessons, especially if you combine several and augment them with similar teachings and examples in other parts of the Bible.

• Government
• With an intelligent ruler there is lasting order.
• A ruler who is oppressive is like a beating rain that ruins the crops.
• A wicked ruler is like a roaring lion or a charging bear.
• People hide when the wicked prevail; when they perish, the righteous increase
  

• Handling wealth

• Better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be crooked and rich
• If you augment your wealth by exorbitant interest, you're only gathering it for those who are kind to the poor.
• A wise poor person will see right through a wealthy person who is conceited (because of his or wealth, I would suppose)
• Poverty comes from following worthless pursuits. Till your land, and you'll have plenty of bread. Get-rich-quick schemes never work; you're just wasting your resources - time, money, or both.
  
• A miser in a hurry to get rich is ignorant of the loss to come.
• Give to the poor, and you'll lack nothing. On the other hand, ignore them, and you'll be cursed.
  

• Obedience to law
• Those who forsake the law praise the wicked
• Those who keep the law are wise children
  
• The evil do not understand justice
• If you disobey the law, your prayers are an abomination.
• If you hide your transgressions, you'll never prosper -- so confess them and forsake them.
• Let no one help the murderer -- let him be a fugitive for the rest of his life.
• If you rob a parent, denying it's a crime, you're the same as a thug.

Proverbs 29 (The last of Hezekiah's copy of Solomon's proverbs)

• About character
• If you remain stubborn, even after many reproofs, you'll suddenly be broken without healing. The conscience is seared.
• One who flatters a neighbor is setting a trap (spreading a net for the neighbor's feet). Beware of flattery!
• One given to anger stirs up strife.
• A person's pride will bring humiliation, and one lowly in spirit will be honored. Again, I'm reminded of Jesus' teaching about the one who assumes a prominent place at the feast vs. the one who takes a low seat and is moved up. (Luke 14:7-14)
  

• About children
• A child who loves wisdom pleases a parent; keeping company with prostitutes wastes one's substance
• A mother is disgraced by a neglected child.
• Discipline your children, and they will give you rest.
  

• Contrasting the wise and fools

• The wise turn away wrath
• If the wise go to law with fools, there is ranting and ridicule without relief. This may help explain a similar teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: "Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him...." (Matthew 5:25-26). It's better to settle "out of court."
  
• A fool vents anger; the wise quietly holds it back. AKA self-control, or temperance.
• If you're hasty in your speech, there's more hope for a fool than for you.

Note: There are also several proverbs in chapter 29 that would fit in the categories I named in chapter 28.

Proverbs 30 - The Sayings of Agur, son of Jakeh.
I love this chapter of proverbs! No one is quite sure who wrote it. Agur could be Solomon himself, or the name is just a description of the writer who has collected (as the name suggests) wise sayings of others.

It's different than the other chapters, though, and I'm thinking Solomon did not write it, so it's like discovering a new Biblical writer. Thanks, Agur -- whoever you are!

• Verses 1-9 seem to be a prayer:
• O God, I am tired of being stupid.
• You're all powerful and all wise -- your words are always true.
• Adding to your words makes us liars.
• Before I die, I ask two things of you:
• Remove dishonesty from me
• Make me neither rich nor poor -- only give me the things I need. This just does not sound like Solomon to me.
  
• If I'm rich, I'm afraid out of pride I will deny you; if I'm poor, I'm afraid I will steal out of necessity. Reminiscent of Jesus' teaching prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." As far as "stuff" is concerned, that's all we need to pray for.

• Characteristics of Arrogance
• Cursing one's father; not blessing one's mother
• Being pure in one's own eyes without being cleansed of filthiness
• Lofty in one's own eyes -- "how high their eyelids lift!" What a descriptive picture!
• Their teeth are swords and knives, devouring the poor
• A leech's two daughters: "Give, give," they cry. They're never satisfied.
• Eyes that mock fathers will be pecked out.

• Threes and fours and fives (Great teasers: look and see for yourself what these are....)
  
• Three things wonderful - four beyond understanding
• Under three the earth trembles - under four it cannot bear up
• Four things that are small yet exceedingly wise
• Three things stately in stride; four stately in their gait
• And last: If you have been exalting yourself, put your hand on your mouth! Because:
• as pressing milk produces curds,
• and pressing the nose produces blood,
• so pressing anger produces strife.

Proverbs 31 - The Teaching of King Lemuel's Mother
Again -- commentators disagree on who Lemuel is. Some think it is again Solomon, so this advice would be from Bathsheba, and Lemuel her pet name for him. Others suggest Hezekiah because of the introduction to chapter 25; his mother, Abijah, was the daughter of Zedekiah.

• Instructions appropriate for a king:
• Don't give your strength to women. (An instruction that Solomon certainly did not heed.)
• Don't desire strong drink; it leads to sloppy judgment
• Strong drink is for those who are perishing, in distress, or poor -- to help them forget their troubles. (Curious advice -- but I suppose in context -- the mother is reminding the king how much he doesn't need wine to dull his senses. He has everything he could ever want.)
• Speak out for and defend those who cannot speak for themselves: the destitute, poor, and needy
• Ode to a Capable Wife (NSRV) - a little different take than "virtuous woman."
• Her value? More precious than jewels.
• Her reward? Her husband trusts in her and will prosper
• Her character?
  
• She does her husband good -- ALL the days of her life
• She's willing to work and plans for the future
• She's physically strong, benevolent, organized, industrious in business, dignified
• She has a pleasant disposition and a healthy relationship with her husband and children
• She relies not on charm or beauty, but on God -- he is the one whom she ultimately serves.
• But she's no martyr -- she should be allowed to enjoy the fruit of her labor and accept the honor that's due her.
• In my opinion (humble, of course), this is not a checklist for perfection. This speaks to being capable, not "worthy." Who is really worthy, anyway? However, each attribute is a worthwhile attribute, and will enrich our lives as we work toward those goals. But our worth in God's eyes does not depend on how many of these attributes we keep perfectly. This is not a particular woman, but a list of worthwhile characteristics.