PROVERBS 26

Shall we turn now to Proverbs 26 to begin our study this evening.

The first twelve verses of Proverbs 26 we trust doesn't apply to any of you tonight, because it's sort of addressed towards fools. The first twelve verses of this chapter, Prov 26:1-12, are sometimes called “the Book of Fools” because they deal with the actions of fools.

As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool (Pro 26:1).

• The thing about snow in summer and rain in harvest is that they are just out of place. So honor is out of place for a fool. So it's just something that is out of place.

As the bird by wandering, and as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come (Pro 26:2).

• The swallow's flight seems to be quite erratic. The word translated bird is the word for sparrow, and the idea is that if a person tries to curse you without a cause, don't worry about it. It's not going to be fulfilled or come to pass anyhow.
• A lot of people are worried because someone's threatened to put a curse on them or this kind of thing. You don't have to worry about that. A curse causeless will not come. Now that doesn't say anything about if you deserve one. But a curse causeless shall not come.
• A curse from the lips of an enemy flies about harmlessly and does nobody any hurt, except the man who uttered it. Just as a bird will fly around and eventually come home, so will the undeserved curse return on the one who gave it.

This reminds me of the word that Baalam spoke to king Balak who “hired” him to curse Israel: Nu 23:8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?

There are those who teach that Christians can suffer from a generational curse. Yes, it is true that there may indeed be consequences  to sins from our parents or ancestors, but Jesus broke the power of curses on the cross.

• Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back (Pro 26:3).

• Sin has caused man to sink so low, that fools are compared to the horse and the ass, so brutish are they. A fool must be disciplined by force like an animal – there is no reasoning. The fool is as difficult to manage as the donkey or horse.
• Solomon doesn't have much regard for the fool. If we will not listen to the correction of God’s Word, God in His love for us as His children will chasten us with His rod. 

Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him (Pro 26:4).

• In other words, don't really engage in an argument with a fool. It's a waste of time. There are some people you just should never argue with. So don't answer the fool according to his folly. They make some fool remark and if you make some fool remark back, you're answering the fool according to his folly and he begins to classify you in his category.

The next one, as I say, it seems to be saying the opposite thing, but in reality it doesn't.

Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit (Pro 26:5).

• In other words, if you answer a fool, answer him according to the folly that he has declared, putting down the statement that he has made. Lest he thinks, "Oh, I'm very wise," and he's wise in his own conceit. So if you answer the fool, answer him according to the folly that he has declared. In other words, correcting the folly that he has declared, lest he think himself wise.
• One should not lower himself to the level of the fool, but there are times when the lesser of two evils is to do so, other than let the fool gain confidence that he is a wise person or be considered wise by others. Paul, for example, talked like a “fool” to correct the foolish ideas of the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:16-17; 12:11).

He that sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off the feet, and drinks damage (Pro 26:6).

• To send a message or give a task to a fool is like cutting off your feet leaving you immobile or drinking poison. In other words, what value is it?  Sending a messenger on a mission is like having another pair of feet. But if the messenger is a fool, this proverb says, not only does the sender not have an extra pair of feet – he cuts off the pair he has. It would not be simply that the message did not get through; it would get through incorrectly and be a setback!

The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools. As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that gives honor to the fool (Pro 26:7-8).

• Now, it would be stupid to bind the stone in a sling. You know, you put your stone in there and then if you wrap it all up and tie the stone in there. You could swing that thing forever and the stone's not going to let go. So it would be a very ridiculous thing to do is to bind the stone in your sling. But it is also ridiculous to give honor to a fool.
• To promote a fool will only end up hurting you. It is like giving ammunition to an enemy.

As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is the parable in the mouth of fools (Pro 26:9).

• Now it is thought that this, "As a thorn goeth up in the hand of the drunkard" doesn't mean that a drunkard is pierced by a thorn and doesn't realize it, but a drunkard with a thorn or something in his hand could be a very dangerous person, because he's not really responsible for his actions. He's got a thorn in his hand. It makes him a dangerous person. So that a parable in the mouth of a fool can be a very dangerous thing.

The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors (Pro 26:10).

• In other words, they will get their just dues in time. As Paul writes in Galatians, god is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows that shall he reap, be it to the flesh or the Spirit.
• Newer translations read like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or any passer by.

As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly (Pro 26:11).

• The apostle Peter applies this proverb to those that have known the way of righteousness but are turned from it; but God will spue them out of his mouth, Rev. 3:16. Beloved, the redeemed in Scripture are known as sheep, not dogs.
•  How sad to see a person who once walked with Christ wallowing in the vomit of this fallen world's pleasures and lusts.
• As the dog, after he has gained ease by vomiting that which burdened his stomach, yet goes and licks it up again, so sinners, who have been convinced only and not converted, return to sin again, forgetting how sick it made them.
• Fools repeat their disgusting mistakes, or to put it another way, whenever we repeat our disgusting mistakes we are fools. The proverb is affirming that no matter how many times a fool is warned, he never learns.

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?there is more hope for a fool than of him.  (Pro 26:12)

• Now we said all these things about fools. But there's only one who's worse off than a fool: a man who is wise in his own conceit. There is more hope of a publican than of a proud Pharisee, Mt. 21:32
• By the time you get to verse 11 and all of the things for which a fool is of no value and all, then you get to the verse 12 and there's one thing worse and that's a man wise in his own conceit. Self-conceit is actually part of the folly that the book of Proverbs criticizes; those who think they are wise even though they are not are impossible to help.
• Now he turns from the fool to the slothful man. And as you have noticed through the Proverbs, we've had a lot to say about fools, a lot to say about the slothful, the lazy person.

The Book of Fools covered vv. 1-12. This marks the beginning of what may be called the Book of Sluggards (vv. 13-16).

The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets (Pro 26:13).

• Now he turns from the fool to the slothful man. And as you have noticed through the Proverbs, we've had a lot to say about fools, a lot to say about the slothful, the lazy person.In other words, any excuse to keep from going to work. "Oh, there's a lion out there. He might eat me if I try to go to work today."
• As men’s folly makes them slothful, so their slothfulness makes them foolish.
• What the slothful man really dreads. He dreads the way, the streets, the place where work is to be done and a journey to be gone; he hates business, hates every thing that requires care and labour. What he dreams of, and pretends to dread—a lion in the way. When he is pressed to be diligent, either in his worldly affairs or in the business of religion, this is his excuse (and a sorry excuse it is, as bad as none), There is a lion in the way.
• The irony of it all is that the lazy person does not see himself or herself as a lazy person.

As the door turns upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed (Pro 26:14).

• This humor of the verse is based on an analogy with a door – it moves back and forth on its hinges but goes nowhere. Like the door to the wall, the sluggard is “hinged” to his bed.
• Rolling over and taking a few more moments of sleep when he or she should be working. He lies in his bed on one side till he is weary of that, and then turns to the other. This is the height of laziness. The slothful man is in love with his ease. A lazy Christian is to be rebuked and kept from fellowship 2 Thess 3.

The slothful hides his hand in his bosom; it grieves him to bring it again to his mouth (Pro 26:15).

• Man, you're so lazy you can't even get your hand to your mouth anymore; you've about had it. Your laziness has about done you in.

The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men who can give you a reason (Pro 26:16).

• The lazy person thinks that he has life all figured out and has chosen the wise course of action – but he is simply lazy.
• The high opinion which the sluggard has of himself, notwithstanding the gross absurdity and folly of his slothfulness: He thinks himself wiser than seven men can render a reason.
• A lazy person is “good” at doing nothing, but considers himself a great genius or authority on everything. A lazy person’s life is so frustrating because their desires and needs go unmet because their hands refuse to labor. (Prov 21.25). Prov 15.19 tells us that a lazy person’s life is like a hedge of thorns.

He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife that he has no business in, is like one who will take a dog by the ears (Pro 26:17).

• We are cautioned against meddling with strife that belongs not to us. I mean, you're going to get into trouble. It is like taking a pit bull by the ears, that will snap at you and bite you

As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man that deceives his neighbor, and says, Hey, aren't I a sport? (Pro 26:18-19)

• As a madman who just shoots fire darts, arrows, and death, he's like a man deceives his neighbor and then says, "Hey, what a sport."

Where no wood is, the fire goes out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceases (Pro 26:20).

• Proverbs has a lot to say against bearing tales. Those who by insinuating base characters and misrepresenting words and actions and sow discord among brethren are like wood to a fire.

As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife (Pro 26:21).

• Contention is as a fire; it heats the spirit, burns up all that is good. Now, if you want to light coals, one of the best ways to light coals is to set it beside the burning coals. Coals are sort of hard to ignite unless you set them by burning coals. If you add wood to a fire that is going, it is easily kindled. And this is the idea. "As coals to burning coals, wood to fire; so is a contentious man." He just adds to the strife. He kindles the strife.

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross (Pro 26:22-23).

• Now the silver dross was a leaden substance that they would put over their claypots to give them a glaze, a shininess. And it looks better than it really is. It looks like it's really valuable, but it's nothing but a claypot that is covered with this lead oxide or lead silver dross. It's a leaden kind of a material. So burning lips, a wicked heart.
• The FBN says that burning lips here refer to warm professions of love, but they are only a cover for a wicked heart. Glaze makes a vessel look beautiful and certainly different from the clay that it actually is. So is one who has evil intent (“heart”) but covers it with glowing speech.
• That view would seem to fit in light of the rest of the chapter.

He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and lays up deceit within him; When he speaks fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be showed before the whole congregation (Pro 26:24-26).

• The dissembler is a person who  professes to have a respect for another person, but deep in his heart, there is hatred and deceit.  He lays up deceit within him, that is, he keeps in his mind the mischief that he intends to do to his neighbour. Though the fraud in the heart may be carried on plausibly awhile, it eventually will be brought to light.
• The number 7 here is, which represents fullness in Scripture means that his heart is filled to the brim with hate, and eventually it is going to come out.

Whoso digs a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolls a stone, it will return upon him (Pro 26:27).

• Your sins will come back to you. Be sure your sins will find you out. The righteous God will take the wise, not only in their own craftiness, but in their own cruelty. It is the plotter’s doom. Haman is hanged on a gallows of his own preparing.

A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin (Pro 26:28).

• How many people have been ruined by the flattering mouth. The lying tongue is a tongue of deception, and the only outcome of a lying or deceptive tongue are pain and deception.