Verses 26:1-12: The fool is
described in every verse. Most verses compare aspects of natural order that are
violated with the behavior of a fool. The deteriorating nature of foolishness is
seen as the description progresses from drink to vomit.
Proverbs 26:1 "As snow in
summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool."
We know that snow in summer is completely out of place and rain in harvest can
ruin the crop. We know that it is completely out of place for a fool to be
honored.
These damaging incongruities of nature illustrate those in the moral realm.
Proverbs 26:2 "As the bird by
wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come."
We see here, that a curse that is spoken without any foundation for the curse
will not be harmful upon the one it is spoken. If any harm at all comes, it will
be on the person who spoke it. The "bird" above has no particular place to go
(wandering), and so is this curse without a cause.
In other words, a bird’s aimless motion without landing is compared to a fool
who utters an underserved curse as it does not land either.
Proverbs 26:3 "A whip for the
horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back."
In all cases, these are used to try to control. The whip controls the horse. The
bridle controls the ass and makes it go where it should. The rod of correction
is to control the behavior of the fool.
Proverbs 26:4 "Answer not a
fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him."
Have you ever heard someone say, "That doesn't deserve an answer"? That is about
what this is saying here. The question is perhaps intended to trap you. At any
rate, a foolish question does not become wiser by giving a foolish answer. You
see, to answer his ridiculous question would be as if you are saying this is a
worthwhile question.
Taken together, these verses teach the appropriate way to answer a fool who is
an unbeliever who rejects truth. He should not be answered with agreement to his
own ideas and presuppositions, or he will think he is right. Rather he should be
rebuked on the basis of his folly and shown the truth so he sees how foolish he
is (verse 5).
Proverbs 26:5 "Answer a fool
according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit."
This seems like a direct contrast to verse four, but on a closer look it is
quite the opposite. You must be very careful how you answer. As we said above,
whatever you do, you must not give the impression that this foolish question
deserves an answer. The only reason to answer at all is to show him not to be
conceited.
Proverbs 26:6 "He that sendeth
a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, [and] drinketh damage."
A fool will not take the correct message that you sent, but will cause you so
much pain with an incorrect message that you will wish you had never sent him.
The damage he might do could be unrepairable. The "cut of the feet expression"
just shows how useless it is to employ someone who is a fool to carry a message.
Self inflicted wounds come to the person who chooses to depend upon a fool.
Proverbs 26:7 "The legs of the
lame are not equal: so [is] a parable in the mouth of fools."
This is just re-emphasizing how slanted the message would be that a fool would
bring. He would not be able to understand the parable and would bring a slanted
message, leaning to one side or the other like a lame man. The message would be
awkward and useless.
Proverbs 26:8 "As he that
bindeth a stone in a sling, so [is] he that giveth honor to a fool."
If you bind the stone to the sling, the stone cannot be flung and will never
reach the mark. Honor given to a fool is undeserved and is very fleeting in
nature. A fool is soon found out, and it would bring shame on the fool and on
the one who bestowed the honor because of his poor judgment. The fool somehow
never is able to hit the mark.
Proverbs 26:9 "[As] a thorn
goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so [is] a parable in the mouth of fools."
A drunkard takes no care at all and injures himself without even knowing it.
This is exactly what is being said of the fool explaining a parable. He injures
himself severely in telling it and is so caught up in himself that he is not
aware that he has injured himself. Just as the alcohol has dulled the pain of
the thorn, pride has dulled the senses of the fool.
Proverbs 26:10 "The great
[God] that formed all [things] both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth
transgressors."
Jesus is the Judge of all, the just and the unjust (transgressors). We have
mentioned so many times in all these lessons, John chapter one that tells that
the word (Jesus), created all things. So we know the rewarder is Jesus.
Matthew 5:45 "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for
he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust."
The reward, here mentioned, is not a good one. The transgressor, unrepentant, is
headed for an eternity in hell, and the fool who has turned down salvation is
headed there also. The reward of the righteous is eternal life.
Hebrew language is obscure on this so they can be many interpretations of what
this verse is saying. Since it is impossible to know exactly what it said in the
original, it is impossible to know exactly what it means. The translation might
be: “Much brings forth from itself all; but the reward and the wages of the fool
pass away.”
This could mean, reasonably, that although he who possesses much and has great
ability may be able to accomplish all he wants, that is not the case when he
makes use of the work of fools, who not only do not accomplish anything, but
destroy everything.
Proverbs 26:11 "As a dog
returneth to his vomit, [so] a fool returneth to his folly."
Just as a dog is never through with the food that he has expelled and goes back
to it, a fool who has momentarily rejected sin in his life, will return to it,
as well. A fool must become wise to get rid of sin and stay rid of the sin. A
fool will be enticed to sin the same sin all over again as his flesh calls him,
because he has not learned anything from the first sin.
2 Peter 2:22 "But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The
dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her
wallowing in the mire."
Proverbs 26:12 "Seest thou a
man wise in his own conceit? [there is] more hope of a fool than of him."
The worst thing about someone wise in his own conceit is that he feels that he
needs no improvement. He is in deep sin and is unaware of his need for help.
There are degrees of foolishness, with intellectual conceit being the most
stupid and hard to remedy. This is applied to the lazy man (in verse 16 and the
rich in 28:11).
At least a fool knows that things are not perfect with him. The fool, who
realizes he is a fool, can be helped; but to feel you are perfect leaves no room
for improvement at all.
This is a terrible situation: to get help from the Lord, we must repent, humble
ourselves, and then the Lord will help us.
Proverbs 26:13 "The slothful
[man] saith, [There is] a lion in the way; a lion [is] in the streets."
We touched on this before. It is a feeble excuse to get out of work. There are
no lions in the streets. They are in the jungle.
Proverbs 26:14 "[As] the door
turneth upon his hinges, so [doth] the slothful upon his bed."
The door is attached to the facing of the door and turns back and forth but goes
nowhere. This is also what a lazy man does; he tosses and turns in bed, but
doesn't get loose from the bed and go to work.
The lazy man loves sleep so much that he seems to be hinged to his bed. He stays
in the bed day and night and tosses and turns going nowhere.
Proverbs 26:15 "The slothful
hideth his hand in [his] bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth."
The hand in the bosom just means he doesn't have the heart to work even if it is
to provide for food for his own table.
Proverbs 26:16 "The sluggard
[is] wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason."
This sluggard is so caught up in himself that he will not take advice from
others. He doesn't feel he should work to learn more either. He thinks he has
all the correct answers with no effort upon his part at all. Not only 7, but any
amount of people with good advice would be rejected by him if they did not
totally agree with him.
The ignorant are ignorant of their ignorance.
Proverbs 26:17 "He that
passeth by, [and] meddleth with strife [belonging] not to him, [is like] one
that taketh a dog by the ears."
Never, and I mean never, jump into someone else's quarrel. Especially when a
husband and wife are quarreling with each other. Meddling tells you right off
that this is of no concern to the passer-by. Meddling is interfering in
something that is none of your business.
If you pull a dog's ear, he will bark and maybe bite you. The same thing will
happen if you interfere in someone else's problems. They will turn on you and
injure you.
In Palestine, the dog was not domesticated and thus to grab any dog was
dangerous. The aggressor deserved to be bitten for his unprovoked act.
Proverbs 26:18-19 "As a mad
[man] who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death," "So [is] the man [that]
deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am not I in sport?"
The serious damage done by deceit cannot be dismissed as a joke.
To say that your ugly words were only teasing is just not enough. To hurt a
neighbor is a really bad thing, but to them laugh and say it was a joke, after
the damage is done is inexcusable. This type of behavior could cause the damaged
person to harm, or perhaps even kill you.
Proverbs 26:20 "Where no wood
is, [there] the fire goeth out: so where [there is] no talebearer, the strife
ceaseth."
This is just saying, stop adding fuel to the fire and the fire will die down. A
rumor cannot damage anyone until it is told, Gossip is like the wood. It causes
widespread damage. To stop the damage, stop the gossip. This continues in the
next verse.
Proverbs 26:21 "[As] coals
[are] to burning coals, and wood to fire; so [is] a contentious man to kindle
strife."
We see there, a situation where the coals of gossip have just about gone out,
but a contentious man who loves trouble will go in there and rekindle the mess
all over again. To make coals re-ignite you blow on them and add a little
kindling (gossip), to the fire. This makes an even hotter fire than you had in
the first place. This evil man wants to keep the quarrel going so he stirs it up
a little and gets it going full blast again.
Proverbs 26:22 "The words of a
talebearer [are] as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the
belly."
Bearing tales is a very bad sin. The tongue is the evilest part of the body. It
cuts at the spirit of man and destroys his inner most being, while a real knife
cuts at the flesh of man. Cutting words that cut into our inner most being are
hard to heal.
We covered this earlier in Proverbs when we said:
Proverbs 18:8 “The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, and they go
down into the innermost parts of the body.”
Proverbs 26:23 "Burning lips
and a wicked heart [are like] a potsherd covered with silver dross."
We see in this a worthless vessel (potsherd), covered with silver to make it
seem from the outside to be very valuable. If you are looking at this from the
spiritual standpoint, it makes it appear to be redeemed (silver). This person,
mentioned here, has beautiful burning lips which seem to be affectionate. They
are a deceit coming from a wicked heart.
A cheap veneer of silver over a common clay pot hiding its commonness and
fragility is like the deception spoken by evil people. This silver dross may be
taken as “glaze.” The point is this: just as glaze covers the rough pottery but
cannot ultimately change its character, so the evil man cannot change his
character by covering it with eloquent speech. This thought is expanded (in
verses 24 to 28).
Proverbs 26:24-25 "He that
hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;" "When he
speaketh fair, believe him not: for [there are] seven abominations in his
heart."
These "seven abominations in his heart" just mean that he is completely consumed
with an evil heart. This "dissembleth" means that he uses words to tear apart
everyone he sees. He is a very evil man. This man flatters you to try to destroy
you. This is deceit to the utmost.
Proverbs 26:26 "[Whose] hatred
is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be showed before the [whole]
congregation."
We see what modern society calls a two-faced man. He appears to be one thing and
is, in fact, something entirely different. We see in this, that this person will
be found out. Whether in this life or not, we cannot say, but when he stands
before Jesus, all will be known. He cannot deceive the Lord.
Proverbs 26:27 "Whoso diggeth
a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him."
This is just one more way of saying, what you sow you will reap. This just warns
us that the fate we have planned for others comes home to us. Here again, this
result may not come on this earth, but it shall surely come. The Judge of the
whole world knows everything you do.
Proverbs 26:28 "A lying tongue
hateth [those that are] afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin."
This lying tongue goes along
with deceit. Perhaps here we see this going even further to destroy someone.
Undeserved flattery causes great problems for the person receiving the flattery.
This flattery is ordinarily used to try to con someone.
Proverbs 26 Questions
1.
In verse 1, what is compared to honor for a fool?
2.
What is meant by "a curse causeless shall not fall"?
3.
What is used to tame a horse?
4.
What controls the way of the ass?
5.
What drives foolishness from a man?
6.
If you answer a fool according to his folly, what does it make you?
7.
What is a fool apt to be, if you don't answer him correctly?
8.
He that sendeth a message by a fool is like doing what?
9.
How are the legs of the lame described?
10.
What is it compared to in
verse 7?
11.
What is meant by "bindeth a
stone"?
12.
How is the drunkard in verse 3
like a parable in a fool's mouth?
13.
Who rewards the fool and
transgressors?
14.
Who is the judge of all?
15.
Who is there more hope for
than a man wise in his own conceit?
16.
What is the worst problem with
being wise in your own conceit?
17.
What ridiculous excuse did the
slothful man make in verse 13?
18.
What is meant by a door
turning on its hinges?
19.
What lesson is to be learned
from the slothful who will not remove his hand from his bosom?
20.
Why will the sluggard refuse
to take advice from the 7 just men?
21.
What does the word "meddleth"
mean?
22.
What happens when you pick up
a dog by his ears?
23.
Cruel teasing of neighbors is likened to a mad man's what?
24.
A
talebearer brings what?
25.
What is the contentious man in verse 21 attempting to do?
26.
Do
evil words destroy the body or the spirit? Explain.
27.
In
verse 23, the potsherd covered with silver indicates what?
28.
How can you disassemble with your lips?
29.
Hatred covered by deceit will be revealed to whom?
30.
What does modern society call the man who covers his hatred by deceit?
31.
What does undeserved flattery do to a person?
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