Greetings everyone. Turn with me please to Proverbs 26:1 and we will continue in the Bible Study through this wonderful book. Proverbs 26:1:
1 As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool.
Or fitting for a fool. I mean it’s out of place when there’s a snowfall in the summer. And it’s out of place when there’s rain in the harvest. Summertime is a warm time and all of a sudden a cold front comes in and snow falls and everyone is shivering. And in harvest you want to get the crop in. You don’t want a six–inch pouring down rain to muddy the field up and to rot the crop that might be cut and laying on the ground. That’s not a good thing.
And the same is true when it comes to a fool; honor, respect, exaltation doesn’t fit for a fool. A fool is somebody who is going to cause tremendous harm and damage and you can’t reconcile that with someone who ought to be honored. It’s a contradiction. That’s what verse 1 is talking about. Snow in the summer is a contradiction. Rain in harvest is a contradiction. Honor connected with a fool is a contradiction. Doesn’t fit, doesn’t work.
2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
This is talking about a bird like a sparrow or like a flying swallow. They just flip and fly and go here and go there and go everywhere, but they don’t fly somewhere and just land on a branch and stay there, and then fly somewhere else and land on a tree top and stay there, or on a power line and stay there. They’re just always flitting here and flitting there and everywhere else, and landing here and landing there but not staying long.
2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
In other words, there’s no such thing as a curse that lands on someone without a cause. That’s what it’s saying. There’s cause and effect involved here. Whatever you sow, you reap. The analogy is drawn here regarding birds that wander around and swallows that fly around, but there they are and they’re landing and then flying off and landing and then flying off.
2 —so the curse causeless shall not come.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the fool's back.
We should never be cruel to animals, but sometimes there has to be a whip used to move them along, and certainly usually there has to be a bridle and a bit put in a horse’s mouth or a donkey’s mouth in order to guide them wherever you want them to go. Sometimes a fool has to be corrected, to be reined in. A fool has to be held back, be given parameters, or he’ll cause tremendous damage to himself and to others.
The first part of this chapter, by the way, is verse after verse talking about fools, empty–headed, selfish, shallow, destructive individuals who do not want to serve God and their fellowman.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like unto him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
And that looks like a contradiction, but as we’ve said before, there are no contradictions in the Bible. There are only apparent contradictions and it’s all a matter of getting the facts, reading the context, putting other scriptures with it and you will see that it’s not really a contradiction. The scriptures cannot be broken.
God inspired all of the scriptures and Jesus Christ said in Matthew 4:4 that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” So scriptures complement one another and they tie in with one another.
So what does this mean? Well, it’s talking about two different fools and two different situations and therefore two different ways to handle these different situations.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like unto him.
Don’t descend to his level, you know. If he is sarcastic, don’t be sarcastic back. If he is being stupid, don’t be stupid back. If he is conducting himself in a way that is wrong, don’t conduct yourself in a way that is wrong in answering back. Otherwise, you’re going to be just like him. Don’t practice what he’s practicing. Don’t do what he’s doing. Don’t say what he’s saying. Don’t act like he’s acting. If you do, you’re just going to be like him. Don’t descend to his level. Just simply don’t act and do and be the way he’s doing. That’s what it’s saying here.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like unto him.
So here’s a fool who is conducting himself in a way that’s just ridiculous and he wants you to conduct yourself in a way that’s ridiculous, but this verse is telling us, don’t do that or you’re just going to be like him. You’re not going to be any better than he is.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
This is a situation where an individual says something that is wrong or incorrect or puffs himself up or promotes himself or puts somebody else down and exalts himself. Well, in a case like that, you might have to correct the situation and you might have to correct the fool or else he’s going to walk away thinking he’s right or making himself look right and be full of self conceit. And others might think he’s right and be harmed by it. And so you simply step in and say, “No, you’re wrong there. You have the facts wrong. You’re taking the wrong approach. This is the right approach and these are the right facts.” And therefore you diffuse the situation and the fool is not left looking right, but is exposed for being wrong. And maybe he’ll get the point, but if he doesn’t, those around him won’t be fooled by him.
In the first example of a fool, verse 4, you do not want to answer the fool the way he is acting, or else you’ll make yourself look like that fool.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like unto him.
See, when you conduct yourself the way he’s conducting himself, then you’re going to look like a fool. In verse 5, you answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. You answer because if you don’t, your silence will make him look right and make him look right in the eyes of other people and be confusing to them and he’ll walk away full of conceit.
So there’s two different fools in two different situations that have to be handled in two different ways. There’s no contradiction here.
6 He that sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off the feet, and drinks damage.
You don’t want to let a fool speak for you. You only want to let someone who is wise and who is diligent and who is dependable speak for you. So, don’t ever rely on a foolish individual to represent you in any situation because if you do, it’s like getting the legs cut right out from under you, and it’s like drinking poison.
7 The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
It’s a tragedy to see people who are lame. We yearn for the time when God will heal people with afflictions like that. But there are people who have to endure that trial and it just points out that it is a problem. They cannot run. They cannot jump. They cannot do what otherwise they could do. Well, it’s really sad and it holds them back in terms of just physical strength and activity, although they can excel in other ways.
7 —so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
A fool who tries to be smart or wise or pontificate or teach or lecture or spout this that and the other great axiom cannot make it work. It doesn’t have legs. It won’t fly. It won’t stand up, this parable, because it’s coming from the mouth of a fool. So like a man who is lame cannot stand up, a parable in the mouth of a fool will not stand up. It will not stand the test of time. Doesn’t fit. It’s contradiction again.
8 As he that binds a stone in a sling, so is he that gives honor to a fool.
You put a stone in a sling and what do you do? You throw it away. And you give honor to a fool and what does he do? He throws it away. He doesn’t have enough common sense to respect the honor and to learn to be an honorable person and to use it properly. He’s still a fool, so he’s just going to throw the honor away, just like a man who puts a stone in a sling and throws it away.
9 As a thorn goes up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
It’s a painful thing. It hurts. It causes pain to go in every direction, has a ripple effect. I’ve leaned on thorns before, perhaps you have. Perhaps you’ve reached in to get a flower or a rose or you’ve been picking berries or something and you jam a thorn up into your hand. It’s a very, very excruciatingly painful thing. And some people who drink too much, rather than sticking a thorn in their hand from working, they could get drunk and wobble around and fall on a thorn. And so they can experience pain. But they probably won’t feel as much pain, because they’re drunk, as you would feel or I would feel when we’re sober.
9 —so is a parable—
or a proverb
9 —in the mouth of fools.
They won’t sense the importance of saying the right thing if they’re going to try to instruct someone or if they’re going to try to pass along some useful information, like a drunkard won’t sense a thorn in his hand as much, but the end result is great pain both in the hand of the drunkard and in the case of a fool uttering parables and proverbs. It’ll end up being painful for the fool and painful for those who have to listen to it.
Once again, it’s a painful contradiction. All of the things that we’re reading about here regarding fools show contradictions between what could be a good thing and what always ends up being a bad thing because it’s connected to a fool.
10 The great God that formed all things both rewards the fool, and rewards transgressors.
Now, this does not mean that He blesses the fool and blesses the transgressor, but it means that they get their comeuppance, so to speak. They’re going to be punished. Their reward is pain and suffering and punishment. Let’s just turn over here to Romans 6, and that will clarify that. It says here in Romans 6:23:
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So what is the reward of sin? It’s death. What are the wages of sin? Death. What is the reward of transgressors? Death. And what is the reward of the fool? Well, it’s folly, it’s failure, it’s pain and suffering, and ultimately destruction. It’s hurt, not only on themselves, but on others.
This is not talking about God blessing fools and blessing transgressors. This is talking about God rewarding them and giving them what they deserve, which is in the case of a fool is bad and in the case of transgressors is bad—and even death ultimately.
11 As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.
And this is kind of a disgusting picture here, but it’s very vivid and it makes the point. I’ve seen this. You’ve probably seen it where a dog will eat really good food and turn around and vomit it up and then eat it again. Well, that’s the way a fool is. A fool will do ridiculous things, dumb things, obnoxious things, stupid things, hurtful things, sinful things. But instead of learning a lesson from it and not doing it anymore, he just turns and does it all over again and repeats it all over again—and continues to be a fool and digs the hole deeper and finally buries himself.
I hope we’re learning as we go through these verses here about fools, about bad decisions, about bad actions, about selfish motives, about irresponsibility, and about bad choices because that’s what fools do and that’s the way fools are.
God has called us to be wise. He’s called us to think the way Jesus Christ thinks. He’s called us to live by what He says in His word. He’s called us to be teachable, pliable, resilient, to be responsive, easily entreated, to be Christians in every sense of the word. And what I just described is the antithesis of being a fool.
A fool is stubborn. A fool is a know–it–all. A fool will not be taught. A fool will make the wrong choices and go the wrong way because he’s so full of himself. That’s all he thinks about is himself and he cares nothing about others. And over and over and over again we’re reading what that leads to—trouble, trouble, trouble and more trouble. And we can avoid that if we will take heed and be taught by these verses.
12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
Now after saying all that Solomon has said about fools—and it was all bad— look what he says about someone who is full of vanity and full of pride and full of conceit. He says, “As bad as the fool is, there’s more hope for a fool than somebody like that.” Because, you know, someone who is so full of himself and so full of conceit and so full of pride and vanity, it’s very hard to get through to them and it’s very hard for them to see themselves.
But occasionally, a fool can be pounded by circumstances and situations and the results of sin to the point to where sometimes he’ll begin to ask himself, “Do I need to go through all this all the time?” And he’ll begin to ask himself, “Maybe I’m wrong and maybe I ought to smarten up and maybe if I smarten up, this will ease up and maybe if I get the point, I can begin to be happier instead of just being miserable all the time.”
That’s very unlikely and very seldom that a fool will do that. But it’s more likely that a fool would do that than for someone who is so full of himself, and thinks he knows everything and he’s so full of pride and conceit, to get the point. What a sad commentary. There’s more chance of a fool getting the point and learning than there is for someone who is full of conceit. And for a fool, that’s very unlikely. That means it’s almost impossible for someone who’s full of conceit.
And of course God can crush someone who’s full of themselves and they can repent and change. But it’s pretty tough for an individual who is lifted up with pride to see himself and change. It’s also tough for a fool to see himself and change. But compare the two, God says, “There’s even more hope for a fool than for someone who is full of pride and conceit and vanity.” What a powerful verse to help us avoid both of those things, conceit and foolishness.
13 The slothful man says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
Now, you’ve probably known some slothful people and you probably don’t know a single one of them that said, “There’s a lion in the street.” But the principle is finding excuses to not go to work, finding excuses to not get up and get going. That’s all this is talking about. Solomon was talking about lazy people who would say, “I can’t get out of here. I can’t go to work. I can’t get busy. There’s a lion in the street. There’s a lion in the plaza.”
Now, how likely in all the history of human kind would there ever be a lion out there in the street or would there ever be a lion out at the shopping center in the plaza? It’s almost unheard of. And yet a slothful man will claim that as a ridiculous, ludicrous, inane reason for not going to work or not being busy. And not just a lion in the street, but it’s raining or it’s cold or the car won’t start or I might get run over by a truck or I might get in an automobile accident or I might slip and fall. Anything and everything to keep from working, to keep from getting busy, to keep from accomplishing things, to keep from being engaged in life. And so, just curl up, pull the curtain shut, shut the door and lay around and eat and drink and be lazy and let others support you. That’s the way a slothful, lazy man is, or woman for that matter.
14 As the door turns upon his hinges, so does the slothful upon his bed.
That’s very graphic. You know, you have doors in your house. The door doesn’t walk out on the porch and out in the yard and get in the car and go to work. It’s just hooked to hinges and just turns back and forth. It opens, it closes, it opens, it closes, but it never moves off of those hinges. That’s the point here in verse 14.
The slothful—it’s like they are tied to their bed. They turn over this way, then they turn over that way, then they turn over again another way, but you can’t detach them from their bed like you can’t detach a door from its hinges. Every time they walk by a bed, it’s like a magnet. Into the bed they go, pull up the covers and start snoring. Somebody else has got to feed them, somebody else has got to cloth them, somebody else has got to pay the bills because there’s a lion in the street, they might get eaten alive and they’re going to stay on that bed like a door is staying on its hinges. What a pathetic, disgusting state to be in.
Now a person who’s in that condition can repent, they can change, they can overcome it. But they have to come alive and they have to become determined to do something with their lives. If they don’t, they’re just going to continue to be lazy and slothful and rust out and rot out and then roll over and die someday and they will not have accomplished a single solitary thing, and life would have been completely useless as far as they’re concerned. What a tragedy. Let’s make sure that that never happens in our case.
God wants us to be alive, vigorous, full of vitality, doing everything that we do with our might. Really accomplishing things in a balanced way and He’ll help us do that. But we’ve got to want to do it. And sometimes we’ve got to go when we don’t feel like going, and sometimes we’ve got to do when we don’t feel like doing. And sometimes we’ve got to take on tough things, but we’ll learn from it and God will help us and good things will come out of it.
15 The slothful hides his hand in his bosom; it grieves him to bring it again to his mouth.
Once again, what a pitiful picture that is. The slothful, lazy man is so indolent and so selfish that he can’t even be bothered to feed himself. He can’t even be bothered just to move anything to just take his hand out of his pocket or take his hand out of his shirt, or take his hand out of his coat and it’s a big effort to even feed himself, to take food and put it in his mouth.
As you can see, God certainly does not intend us to be lazy and slothful. He does not want us to disengage and do nothing. We were made in His image. We were made to be busy, to be active. We were made to be creative and innovative, to accomplish things. And that’s fulfilling and that’s tremendously rewarding.
So let’s make sure that we don’t slide into this attitude of unplugging and shutting down and just sleeping and eating and making excuses and dropping out of life and finally accomplishing absolutely nothing. And we get so lazy that we can’t even be bothered to get food for ourselves or even to feed ourselves.
That is not what God intended when He created human beings. That does not respect and represent God our Father and Jesus Christ. Rather that’s the attitude, both spiritually and physically, that Satan the devil wants us to fall into and it does lead to failure and a person like that will simply self destruct in one way or the other.
Okay, we’ll stop there in Proverbs 26:15 and pick it up with verse 16 next time.
This is Charles Bryce with the Enduring Church of God.