Greetings everyone. Let’s turn to Proverbs 25:14 and pick up the Bible Study there. It says in verse 14:
14 Whoso boasts himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
In other words, it’s lying first of all. Someone who says, “Oh, well, I gave a gift or I helped somebody out or I contributed to this or that or the other thing,” and simply did not do that
14 —is like clouds and wind without rain.
You know when you see clouds starting to gather and carried by wind and there’s an apparent thunderstorm in the making, and then it just kind of blows over and never materializes and rain doesn’t come out of that wind and those clouds, even though most of the time it does and it looked like it was going to, but in this instance, it didn’t—in other words, it didn’t come to fruition the way it was represented. The clouds and the wind didn’t produce the rain the way you thought it would. Well, that’s like someone who says he’s going to give a gift or says he gave a gift, but didn’t. It’s empty. It’s just empty. Nothing happened. It’s lying. It’s bearing false witness. It’s something that we don’t want to ever do.
15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaks the bone.
You know, you could be really effective and really powerful by simply quietly doing the right thing. You don’t have to be destructive or mean or confrontational or adversarial. But as a Christian set the right example, stand for the right principles and speak the right words, but do them gently. Do them with the right attitude. That will get a tremendous amount done. And it’s so powerful when we do that, that it’s pictured here as if something was done that broke a bone, which requires a tremendous blow or a tremendous amount of strength. And yet it was just a soft answer, or a better translation says “the gentle tongue or the gentle word.” Let’s tie this in with a proverb we’ve already read, Proverbs 15:1, which says:
1 A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words—
or harsh words
1 —stir up anger.
So you might be confronted with someone who’s really mad. You might be confronted with someone who’s really digging in their heels and who’s really going to present a big problem and be confrontational. If you return that in kind, if you then get mad or you lose your temper or you begin yelling or you get confrontational, that’s going to escalate out of control and you’re not going to accomplish a thing.
But if we will be patient and longsuffering and if we will use gentle words, if we’re talking to someone in power or if we’re talking to anyone, quite frankly, this gentle, patient but steady determined approach will get tremendous results. That’s what verse 15 is telling us.
As a Christian, we want to be patient and we want to have a gentle tongue, or use gentle but firm words. That’s what will really get the job done. And sometimes even if it requires very powerful words, using gentleness will make them much more effective.
16 Have you found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for you, lest you be filled therewith, and vomit it.
A little bit of honey is nice. Too much honey and it turns out to cause problems—and there are lessons to be learned there regarding anything in life. It’s really talking about moderation here. Eat only as much as is good for you. Otherwise, if you overdo it, you’re going to have an adverse reaction. That’s true with anything. That’s true with a glass of wine. That’s true with any kind of food. And it’s certainly true with something as sweet as honey. And it’s certainly true with the use of words.
We just need to practice balance and moderation in all areas of our life, and the example here is clearly demonstrated by explaining how just a little honey is all that’s really good. Too much and it turns out to be bad.
17 Withdraw your foot from your neighbor's house; lest he be weary of you, and so hate you.
Once again, moderation in our relationship with our neighbors. We can overstay our welcome. We can do that in a person’s home, we can do that in a conversation, we can do that at someone’s table, we can do that in any situation. We need to use balance. We need to use moderation.
I read one quote from one book that said, “Visitors and fish are both alike. After they days, they both begin to smell.” That’s not a proverb, but that is a principle that has been written up before. It’s kind of a crude way to put it, but still the principle is the same. We need to be respectful of others. We need to be careful of others. We need to be aware of others and not overdo things, not wear out our welcome, not be overbearing.
Let’s examine ourselves and see if maybe we are guilty of this in our relationships and in our interaction with other people and in our taking advantage of others. And if we find we are in the wrong, let’s correct that.
18 A man that bears false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
Well, what’s a maul? It’s just a war club. It’s talking about instruments of destruction and war here. And it is telling us that when we bear false witness, when we lie, when we put our neighbor in a bad light, we cause as much trouble as instruments of war that are wielded and employed to cause the utmost injury and even death.
19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
Have you ever had a broken tooth? Have you ever had a foot out of joint? It’s painful. It distracts you. It causes you to forget everything else and just think about that rotten tooth or that bad tooth or that broken tooth or that painful foot out of joint. You can’t really do a whole lot if you are a runner and your foot is out of joint. You can’t really do a whole lot if you are a speaker and you got a bad tooth that’s causing you tremendous pain and an abscess, or if it’s broken off and the nerves are exposed. Well, that’s what it’s like to put confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble.
You’ve probably experienced that—somebody you thought you could depend on. Somebody who assured you they’d be there for you, and then when trouble comes, they go back on their promise. They end up not being what you thought they were or not doing what they told you they would do. And then you’re left with the consequences and with the trouble that results from their broken promise and from their broken word.
So we need to be careful where we place our confidence. First of all, we place it in God. And second of all, we prove all things and we make sure that we know the person that we’re putting our confidence in by the pattern of their lives and by the fruit that is born in their lives—the trends that show up that are good and we can depend on. Otherwise, we can find ourselves twisting in the wind because they forsook us and they turned their back on us, and right when we needed them, they weren’t anywhere to be found.
20 As he that takes away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that sings songs to a heavy heart.
Once again, if you’re out in the cold weather and somebody comes and says, “You’ve got my coat and I want it,” and you’ve got no other garment to replace it with and they take their coat from you, or they take your coat from you, and you’re left there just to shiver in the cold, that’s a very horrible experience. In other words, it reduces your health. It can cause big health problems. It puts you in a fix. It discourages you.
And as vinegar upon soda, really, other translations show that this is talking about taking potash and mixing it with soap, and if you pour vinegar on that, it’ll cause it to bubble and become effervescent and it will reduce it down to nothing. That’s the way it is when somebody is very discouraged. Perhaps they have a death in the family. Perhaps they lost a job. Perhaps they have a tragedy that they’re trying to work their way through. And instead of comforting them and encouraging them and caring for them and empathizing with them, this individual just blows it off and says, “Oh, what’s your problem?” or “Perk up!” or “Cheer up!” or “Forget about it.” or “Why are you so sober and why are you so sad? You should be laughing and giggling and having a big time.” That’s out of place and that will make the person feel even worse. That will put them in a state of even greater discouragement, and that can really take the wind right out of their sails. That’s not a good thing to do. That’s not Christian love at all.
We need to be able to identify with each individual in whatever situation they’re in, or as Paul said, “Be all things to all men” within God’s law, obviously. If somebody is happy and we can enjoy that moment with them, great! But if they are sad and they have a heavy heart, that’s not the time to start singing rollicking songs and pretending it’s time to have a big happy get together. That’s the time to settle down and to put yourself in their shoes and to try to empathize and feel some of what they’re feeling and try to help them out and go through it with them and help bring them out on the other side. That’s what Christians will do and that’s what verse 20 is telling us.
21 If your enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
Now, this is what I call graduate Christianity. It’s not natural. It’s not just humanly natural to do that. If we have an enemy and he’s hungry, the natural human tendency is, “Why should I do anything for him? He hates me. And if he’s thirsty, well, tough. Why should I give him water?”
But see, we’ve been called to a different way of life as Christians. We’ve been called to think like God thinks and to be like Jesus Christ was. We fall short of those two things, and yet if we strive to be like Jesus Christ and think like God, then we will get help from God to grow toward that and will become more and more like that.
You remember what Jesus Christ did when He was hanging on the stake and they were ridiculing Him and they were cursing Him and they finally killed Him. Remember His prayer? He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” That’s what God wants us to do. He wants us to put things in the bigger picture and in the bigger context and to have an attitude of forgiveness and to have an attitude of not just helping those that love us, but helping those that don’t love us if they really need the help—not to the point to where they take advantage of us and make us into a throw rug, but to the point to where it’s good for them and it’s something that we can actually do.
Once again, here’s an example of yet one more scripture, and they’re many more than this. But here’s an example of one that’s found in the New Testament. Let’s turn to Romans 12:19. God inspired the apostle Paul to write this:
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.
You can find that in the Old Testament. One place you can find it is in Leviticus 19:18. Romans 12:20:
20 Therefore if your enemy hunger, feed him;—
That’s what we just read in Proverbs, right?
20 —if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Now you can find an example of if your enemy hungers, feed him in the Old Testament. You can find in verse 19
19 —avenge not yourselves—
as I said in Leviticus 19:18. And you can find “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” one place in the Old Testament you can find that is in Deuteronomy 32:35.
So let’s go back now to Proverbs 25. You see how that ties in with New Testament scripture. It’s wonderful to cross reference when you have time. Throughout the Bible, you’ll see it all ties together. There’s never a contradiction anywhere in the Bible. The scripture cannot be broken. And when you find something that looks like a contradiction, it’s because you have not gotten it in context or you have not put all the scriptures together on that subject and letting the clear scriptures interpret the unclear scriptures.
You see, we don’t interpret the Bible. We must let the Bible interpret the Bible, and if you do that and if you put it in context and you really get the full meaning, you will see there’s never a contradiction of any verse in the Bible with any other verse in the Bible. It all ties together beautifully. But it’s a little bit here and a little bit there, line upon line, and we have to dig and search and apply ourselves to really get all the meaning because then it means more to us.
But with God’s help and Him guiding us through the power of His Holy Spirit and in His church and by His ministers, we can grow in our understanding of all the verses in the Bible that God has opened up. And those He hasn’t opened up, He will open up.
So, it says here that if we do good to those who do bad to us then that’s what He wants us to do.
21 —if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
22 For you shall heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord—
Will do what? He will reward you. Now you don’t do it so you can make him squirm and suffer. That’s not the motive. The motive is to do the right thing. The motive is to return good for evil, and He might not appreciate it. He might appreciate it. He might not appreciate it. But the point is, you did the right thing and you pleased God and that’s the big thing. And you also helped somebody whether he’s an enemy or not, and that’s also an important thing and God will reward you for doing that. And that individual will be helped by you. That’s practical Christian living and it’s explained here in Proverbs. God inspired these verses.
23 The north wind drives away rain: so does an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
A better translation of verse 23 is this: The north wind brings forth rain and a backbiting tongue, an angry countenance. That’s a little clearer there. Quite often, storms and rain—depending on where you are geographically located on the planet—quite often, north wind will bring rain and virtually every time a backbiting tongue will bring an angry countenance. It will generate an unpleasant situation. So the best thing to do is just don’t do that. Don’t be a gossip and don’t stab people in the back. Speak the truth and don’t expose people’s problems to others and generate problems for yourself.
24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
Well, houses, as mentioned in Proverbs or at that time, quite often had roofs and in a mild climate people could live up there, but it wasn’t the most desirable place to live. And yet Solomon is saying it’s better to live there than in a house shared with a contentious woman, than in a nice house but it’s just contention and tension and someone who is just always creating trouble and always stirring up strife. It’d be better just to live up on a housetop and avoid that than to live down where the beautiful area of the house is and have to put up with that on a day by day basis.
What’s the lesson? Be careful who you marry and when you marry them, serve them and care for them—wives toward husbands and husbands toward wives. Why live life in a brawling situation? Even though the surroundings might be pleasant, they can’t be enjoyed because of all the tension. So please let’s notice verse 24 and let’s be instructed by it.
25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
Or a weary soul. You’ve experienced this I’m sure. You might be weary, you might be thirsty, you might be tired, you might be just pooped out, you might think, “I just can’t go any longer or any further.” And then you hear some good news—some good news about a loved one or a relative or a development somewhere in the world, or a good deed that was done, or a real breakthrough that’s going to be good for the future—and it’s just like a giant cool glass of fresh spring water when you’re really thirsty. It just refreshes you, it strengthens you, it uplifts you, it invigorates you.
And so if we’re positive and we care for others and we’re thinking the way God thinks, we’re not going to be spreading a bunch of negative, discouraging things around. We’re not going to be pollyannas either. But we’re going to be upbeat, we’re going to be positive. We’re going to anticipate the future because we’re living life God’s way and we know we’re in His hands and He’s going to help us. We’re going to spread good cheer around. And when we have good news, we’re going to be glad to share it with others because it uplifts everyone.
26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
A clearer translation of this is: A righteous man who falters before the wicked—he caves in, he appeases, he compromises, he stumbles, he is intimidated. Maybe he’s bribed, maybe he’s blackmailed, but instead of standing his ground and not budging on what’s right and taking whatever that brings and letting the chips fall where they may, he caves in, he compromises, he falters, and he falls before the wicked.
Here’s what that’s described as: That is as a murky spring. It’s clouded. It’s polluted, or a murky spring and a corrupt spring or a polluted well.
So a good translation is: A righteous man who falters before the wicked is as a murky spring and a polluted well. The water no longer is clean, crisp, fresh, unpolluted. It now is corrupted. It now is poisoned. It’s not useful anymore because it has been compromised. So we don’t want to do that. We don’t want to be intimidated. We don’t want to be bribed. We don’t want to appease. We don’t want to compromise with wickedness. We want to stand our ground against wickedness and not budge, and God will take care of us and help us if we do.
27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
Or for men to seek their own glory. Just like a little bit of honey is all we need, then a little bit of recognition or a little bit of acclaim or a little bit of praise is all we need because if we seek more than that and we start promoting ourselves and we start bragging about ourselves, that’s not glory, that’s vanity. And that’s repugnant and that turns people off.
Moderation, once again, is what we ought to follow in everything. And even if we say something about ourselves and about what we’ve accomplished, we need to make sure it’s not bragging, it’s just sharing with others, but just a little and don’t overdo it. And think of the others way more than we think of ourselves. Love our neighbor. Don’t just take care of us. Take care of our neighbor and love our neighbor, God says. And listen to our neighbor and encourage our neighbor.
28 He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
You’ve seen people out of control like a loose cannon. You’ve seen people that don’t control what they say, they don’t control what they do, they don’t control their appetites. They just want to be gratified. All the time looking for a rush, all the time looking for something, all the time get, get, get, get, get, get, get. They won’t listen to anything. They won’t follow the rules. They won’t follow leadership. They won’t abide by others’ needs. They won’t blend in and be a team player. They’re just out of control.
Well, it’s described here in verse 28 is like a city that’s just broken down and not defended. It’s just wide open and therefore it’s just going to be constantly run over. Well, one who’s out of control will be constantly jerked around and misused, pushed around, and constantly in trouble and having to deal with trouble.
What’s the point? The point is: Let’s ask God to help us to practice self control, temperance. Let’s ask God to help us to think before we speak, to think before we act, to settle down and mature and do the right thing, and then He’ll protect us and then we’ll be successful and then we’ll learn lessons and not be in trouble all the time because we’re thinking of others and we’re cooperating and we’re following the right path and being a team player.
Many lessons in this book, many lessons in this chapter, and many lessons in verse 27 and 28—just like in all the other verses of chapter 25 of Proverbs. We’ll stop there and begin with chapter 26 next time.
This is Charles Bryce with the Enduring Church of God.