Proverbs 25

Proverbs 25:1

V. PROVERBS OF SOLOMON COMPILED BY HEZEKIAH’S MEN (25:129:27)25:1 The proverbs contained in chapters 25-29 were composed by Solomon but copied years later by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah. There are 140 proverbs, corresponding to the numerical value of the letters in the Hebrew form of the name Hezekiah. 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing. Think of all the secrets hidden in His natural creation, in His written Word, and in His providential dealings! “He would not be God,” said Thomas Cartwright, “if His counsels and works did not transcend human intelligence.” The glory of kings is to search out a matter. In its context, this probably means that a wise king will keep himself informed of important developments affecting his kingdom and will make full investigation in order to render true judgments and formulate sound policies. The application for us is that we should be diligent in searching out the spiritual treasures that are concealed in the Bible. 25:3 The height of the heavens seems to be limitless, and the depth of the earth seem to be unsearchable. Likewise there is something inscrutable about the heart of noble kings; no one knows exactly what they are thinking. 25:4, 5 When silver is melted in a crucible, the dross or impurities rise to the surface like scum. When this scum is removed, the silversmith has molten metal that is suitable for making jewelry. The dross here symbolizes wicked counselors in the king’s court. When they are removed, the kingdom is established on a righteous basis. The first thing Christ will do when He returns to reign will be to cleanse His kingdom of rebellion, lawlessness, and everything else that offends. 25:6, 7 It is a wise policy not to push yourself to the forefront in the royal court, or to seek a place among celebrities. It is far better to be invited to a place of honor than to seize it and then be publicly humiliated in the king’s presence. This advice is reminiscent of Jer_45:5, “And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them.” Also the words of the Lord Jesus in Luk_14:8-10. The last clause “whom (or “what”) your eyes have seen” should possibly belong to the next verse, as in the RSV, “What your eyes have seen do not hastily bring into court . . . .” 25:8-10 The Bible condemns the litigious spirit, that is, the desire to rush to the law court to settle every grievance. A person might tell everything he has seen and yet be put to shame when his neighbor testifies. It is better to handle grievances privately (see Mat_18:15), and not to blab about them to others, as an unknown author advises: A little disagreement arises with some friends, and you have not the courage to go and speak about it to that friend alone, but mention it to another. The principle laid down in God’s Word is forgotten, and mischief follows. Talking about a thing of this kind does no good, and in the end widens the breach. If we would only take such a passage as our guide, and regulate our conduct by it, we would lay aside many trivial “causes” of offense, and spare ourselves many disturbings of mind. Verse 10 contemplates the third party’s rebuking you for not going directly to the offender, and your gaining a reputation as a gossipor worse! 25:11 An appropriate word . . . is like apples of gold in settings of silver. The right word is as morally beautiful and suitable as the combination of precious and attractive metals. 25:12 An earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold enhance physical beauty; so a wise rebuker adds moral beauty to the one who is willing to learn. 25:13 Ordinarily snow would be a disaster in the time of harvest. Here it means snow added to a drink of water and given to a reaper in the harvest field. Just as an iced drink refreshes a man on a hot day, so a faithful messenger . . . refreshes those who sent him. 25:14 Whoever promises a gift but fails to deliver it is like clouds and wind which make people think rain is coming but which pass away without bringing rain. Although this proverb does not deal with spiritual gifts, there is a valid application. A man may pretend to be a great teacher or preacher, but it is disappointing when he cannot live up to people’s expectations. The Indians used to have a word for it: “Heap big windno rain.” 25:15 Gentleness and patience will often persuade a prince more than if a person becomes provoked and excited. In the same way, a gentle tongue can break a bone, that is, it can accomplish more than the crunch of powerful jaws and teeth. 25:16 Honey is good when taken in moderation, but too much of a good thing is sickening. We should eat to live, not live to eat. Larry Christenson illustrates: Some friends of ours have eight children, and they all love ice cream. On a hot summer day, one of the younger ones declared that she wished they could eat nothing but ice cream! The others chimed agreement, and to their surprise the father said, “All right. Tomorrow you can have all the ice cream you wantnothing but ice cream!” The children squealed with delight, and could hardly contain themselves until the next day. They came trooping down to breakfast shouting their orders for chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla ice creamsoup bowls full! Mid-morning snackice cream again. Lunchice cream, this time slightly smaller portions. When they came in for mid-afternoon snack, their mother was just taking some fresh muffins out of the oven, and the aroma wafted through the whole house. “Oh goody!” said little Teddy. “Fresh muffins! My favorite!” He made a move for the jam cupboard, but his mother stopped him. “Don’t you remember? It’s ice cream daynothing but ice cream.” “Oh yeah . . . .” “Want to sit up for a bowl?” “No thanks. Just give me a one-dip cone.” By suppertime the enthusiasm for an all-ice-cream diet had waned considerably. As they sat staring at fresh bowls of ice cream, Mary whose suggestion had started this whole adventurelooked up at her daddy and said, “Couldn’t we just trade in this ice cream for a crust of bread?” 25:17 Moderation applies not only to honey but to visiting. It is important to know when to leave. You can overstay your welcome. “How much better is God’s friendship than man’s!” says Cartwright. “We are the more welcome to God the oftener we come to Him.” 25:18 Here are three apt similes for the man who bears false witness against his neighbor: a clubmauling and smashing to pieces. a swordwith its two sharp cutting edges. a sharp arrowpiercing and wounding. 25:19 If you bite down hard with a broken tooth, you’ll wish you hadn’t. If you put your weight on a foot that’s out of joint, it will let you down. That’s exactly what it’s like to put confidence in an unreliable person in time of troublepainful and disappointing. 25:20 To sing songs to a heavy heart is provoking, annoying, unwelcome. It is as unsuitable as taking away a man’s garment in cold weather, or as pouring vinegar on soda, causing violent agitation. Keith Weston told of a fellow minister who was making his first hospital visit. “He found a poor patient with both legs strung up to pulleys, both arms in plaster, and an intravenous in one of them. And he said with his big evangelical smile and taking out his big evangelical Bible, ‘Brother, are you rejoicing?’” Weston said, “The minister never told me what the patient said, but it wasn’t very polite.” 25:21, 22 Paul quotes these verses in Rom_12:20. We can overcome evil with good by repaying every offense or discourtesy with a kindness. An irate neighbor called a new believer and delivered a violent tirade against the believer’s five-year-old daughter for trampled flowers, a broken window, and other offenses. When the neighbor came up for air, the Christian asked her to come over to discuss the matter. By the time the neighbor arrived, the table had been set for coffee and sweet rolls. “Oh, I’m sorryyou’re having company.” “No,” replied the believer, “I thought we could talk about my daughter over a cup of coffee.” The Christian gave thanks for the food and asked for God’s wisdom. When she opened her eyes, the visitor was crying. “It’s not your daughter, it’s mine,” blurted the neighbor. “I don’t know why I lashed out at you. I just can’t cope with my children, my husband, or my home!” As soon as the neighbor made this admission, the young believer started sharing Christ. Within six weeks the neighbor and her family had been born again. 25:23 The north wind brings forth rain; likewise a backbiting tongue produces angry looks. The angry looks almost surely come from the victim of gossip and they should also come from anyone else who hears it. If people would rebuke the backbiter, he would soon go out of business. 25:24 This is almost identical with Pro_21:9, repeated to emphasize the unpleasantness of living with a nagging woman. 25:25 The gospel is God’s good news from a far countryheaven. Like cold water to a thirsty soul, the gospel is refreshing and thirst quenching. 25:26 When good men bow down before the wicked, when they compromise, yield, or fail to stand up for the right, it is like a muddied spring or a polluted well. You go looking for purity and cleanliness and are disappointed. 25:27 It is not good to overindulge in honey. “Beyond God’s ’enough’ lies nausea,” writes Kidner, “not ecstasy.” The Hebrew of the second line is obscure. It may mean, as in the NKJV, to seek one’s own glory is not glory (the “not” is supplied from the first line), or “to search into weighty matters is itself a weight” (JND), or again “to search into weighty matters is glory” (JND margin). All three make good sense. 25:28 A man who has never learned to discipline his life is like an undefended city, open to every kind of attack, exposed to every temptation.