Isaiah 8
KingCommentsIsaiah 8:1
False Witness, False Confidence, False Comfort
“False witness” works death in society (Proverbs 25:18). Those who bear false witness are compared to “a club and a sword and a sharp arrow”, all deadly weapons. The club crushes, the sword chops, and the sharp arrow pierces. A false witness can cause the death of innocent people by his false words (cf. Proverbs 12:18; Psalms 57:4; Psalms 120:3-4). That not just one, but as many as three of these weapons are mentioned does make clear the seriousness of the evil of bearing false witness against one’s neighbor (Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20).
“A bad tooth and an unsteady foot” are both unfit to do anything (Proverbs 25:19). Chewing on a bad tooth and walking on an unsteady foot are both painful actions that keep you from eating in one case and walking in the other. The same effect has “confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble”. When things get really tough and we get tight in society or in the church, one of the greatest disappointments is that you have put your trust in a faithless man.
When this happens to us, we may remember that God is faithful though: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1b; Psalms 91:15).
Irresponsible, insensitive attempts to cheer up people who are grieving only make the grief worse (Proverbs 25:20). These are not words spoken at the right time (Proverbs 25:11). The wise compares such a person to one who takes off a garment on a cold day. He makes him stand in the cold. That is quite different from giving him extra warmth in the cold. He is totally insensitive to what the other person needs.
The second comparison is doing vinegar on soda. A non-desirable chemical reaction occurs. It fizzes, there is activity, but only empty dross is produced. Vinegar and soda cannot be combined. If this does happen, both become unusable.
We must be vigilant and sensitive with regard to the emotional distress in which people may find themselves. We must develop this sensitivity to others, otherwise we will give them a ‘cold shower’ instead of a ‘hot bath’ of compassion. There is no ‘chemistry’ between someone who sings joyful songs and someone who has a troubles heart (cf. Psalms 137:1-3). Paul holds out the following to us: “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).
Isaiah 8:2
To Embarrass an Enemy
God wants us to treat someone who hates us kindly. By treating our hater the opposite of the way he treats us, we are acting in accordance with Who God is (Proverbs 25:21). This is how He acts with man and this is how He acted with us when we did not know Him. He wants us to give our hater the most basic necessities of life, “food to eat” and “water”, when he needs them. We see a wonderful illustration of this in Elisha’s treatment of the king of Syria (2 Kings 6:18-23).
The word “for” with which Proverbs 25:22 begins indicates the reason why we should act as stated in the previous verse. By doing good to someone who hates us instead of repaying the evil he does to us with evil, we “will heap burning coals on his head”. The purpose of heaping burning coals on someone is not to consume him, but to melt him. The picture of the “burning coals” represents remorse of conscience, which arises more easily through kindness than through violence. These glowing coals cause the sharp pain of repentance through regret over the hatred that animated him (Proverbs 18:19; Proverbs 20:22; Proverbs 24:17; 1 Samuel 24:18-20). Paul quotes these verses in Romans 12 (Romans 12:20).
God attaches to this action the promise of reward in the sense of compensation. We give something away, it costs us something, and that to our enemy. As a result, however, we do not become poorer, but much richer. God does not forget that we have done this and will compensate. If we act with our enemies as God does with His enemies, it is pleasing to Him. What we invest in that, He will reward. The Lord Jesus has set the example.
Isaiah 8:3
To Embarrass an Enemy
God wants us to treat someone who hates us kindly. By treating our hater the opposite of the way he treats us, we are acting in accordance with Who God is (Proverbs 25:21). This is how He acts with man and this is how He acted with us when we did not know Him. He wants us to give our hater the most basic necessities of life, “food to eat” and “water”, when he needs them. We see a wonderful illustration of this in Elisha’s treatment of the king of Syria (2 Kings 6:18-23).
The word “for” with which Proverbs 25:22 begins indicates the reason why we should act as stated in the previous verse. By doing good to someone who hates us instead of repaying the evil he does to us with evil, we “will heap burning coals on his head”. The purpose of heaping burning coals on someone is not to consume him, but to melt him. The picture of the “burning coals” represents remorse of conscience, which arises more easily through kindness than through violence. These glowing coals cause the sharp pain of repentance through regret over the hatred that animated him (Proverbs 18:19; Proverbs 20:22; Proverbs 24:17; 1 Samuel 24:18-20). Paul quotes these verses in Romans 12 (Romans 12:20).
God attaches to this action the promise of reward in the sense of compensation. We give something away, it costs us something, and that to our enemy. As a result, however, we do not become poorer, but much richer. God does not forget that we have done this and will compensate. If we act with our enemies as God does with His enemies, it is pleasing to Him. What we invest in that, He will reward. The Lord Jesus has set the example.
Isaiah 8:4
A Backbiting Tongue and a Contentious Woman
A “backbiting tongue” is a covert tongue, a tongue of a hidden place. It is talking behind someone’s back, slandering him and speaking ill of him. Sooner or later the person about whom it concerns finds out. With him and his family, it will bring anger to their faces, just as the north wind brings rain. In Israel it is not customary for the north wind to bring forth rain; the west wind does. If it does, it is not pleasant. In the same way, a backbiting tongue works. It may speak slimy words, but instead of smiling it brings forth “an angry countenance”.
The backbiting tongue of Pro 25:23 is changed in Proverbs 25:24 to the sharp tongue of “a contentious woman”. The repetition of this verse (Proverbs 21:9) deepens its significance. Contentious means arguing about every possible thing to be done and decisions to be made. She does not accept that the husband is the head of the family. It is a proverb that is more of a sigh and implies advice.
It does not mean that the husband will withdraw from the home and live alone because he is tired of the contention. It is a warning to anyone who has yet to begin a marriage. It is better to live in peaceful solitude and simplicity than in a spacious house in the company of someone with whom you share house and home, but who constantly contends. Therefore, reflect before you begin and choose a God-fearing wife.
Isaiah 8:5
A Backbiting Tongue and a Contentious Woman
A “backbiting tongue” is a covert tongue, a tongue of a hidden place. It is talking behind someone’s back, slandering him and speaking ill of him. Sooner or later the person about whom it concerns finds out. With him and his family, it will bring anger to their faces, just as the north wind brings rain. In Israel it is not customary for the north wind to bring forth rain; the west wind does. If it does, it is not pleasant. In the same way, a backbiting tongue works. It may speak slimy words, but instead of smiling it brings forth “an angry countenance”.
The backbiting tongue of Pro 25:23 is changed in Proverbs 25:24 to the sharp tongue of “a contentious woman”. The repetition of this verse (Proverbs 21:9) deepens its significance. Contentious means arguing about every possible thing to be done and decisions to be made. She does not accept that the husband is the head of the family. It is a proverb that is more of a sigh and implies advice.
It does not mean that the husband will withdraw from the home and live alone because he is tired of the contention. It is a warning to anyone who has yet to begin a marriage. It is better to live in peaceful solitude and simplicity than in a spacious house in the company of someone with whom you share house and home, but who constantly contends. Therefore, reflect before you begin and choose a God-fearing wife.
Isaiah 8:6
What Does and What Does Not Quench Thirst
“Good news” that comes from afar and has been long awaited has the same effect as “cold water” has “on a weary soul” (Proverbs 25:25). Good news refreshes and invigorates one who yearns for news of a loved one who has left for a distant land. When the means of communication we have today were not available, it took time for news to arrive for those left behind (cf. Genesis 45:27; 1 Thessalonians 3:5-8). The time aspect does not play such a big role now, but a good message that reaches us through modern media within a second of being sent has the same effect for a loved one. A good message changes the life.
We can also apply the good news from a distant land to the gospel. The word “gospel” literally means “good news”. The gospel has come to us from a far country, heaven. The shepherds experienced this when a messenger from heaven said to them: “I bring you good news [literally: evangelize] … for today … there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). In the gospel, the water of life is offered to everyone who is thirsty. Those who are thirsty may drink from it free of charge (Revelation 22:17).
The Lord Jesus says to the weary soul: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Those who are weary by life and weighed down by the burden of their sins can find rest and refreshment with Him. The gospel is the greatest thirst quencher and transformer of life. It is an exhortation to pass on the good news to every weary soul.
Opposite the cold, refreshing water is “a trampled spring”, for example, because animals have run through it (cf. Ezekiel 34:18b), and “a polluted well”, for example, because something dead has fallen into it (Proverbs 25:26). They are a disaster scenario for the easterner traveling through the hot wilderness. When he comes to such a spring or well tired and thirsty, he sees to his dismay that he cannot drink the water from that spring that he so needs. Not only does it taste foul, but it is often poisoned, making drinking from it harmful to the body and ultimately fatal.
The wise Solomon uses this picture to describe a righteous person who, in the presence of a wicked one, loses his steadfastness in faith through fear or favor. This is as discouraging as finding a polluted well where you are eager to quench your thirst. Lot was such a righteous one (2 Peter 2:7) who gave way before the eyes of a wicked one. He was in Sodom. That was a trampled spring and a polluted well from which he had drunk so much that he himself had become such a trampled spring and polluted well (Genesis 19:4-23; 30-38). He could not be a refreshment to others. What was his way of life with Lot also occurred with Jacob as an incident, in an encounter with his wicked brother Esau (Genesis 33:3).
The above applies today to Christians who merge into the world. They are supposed to be a source of life for others, but they live a worldly life. What they have to say comes from a trampled spring and a polluted well. They are unable to refresh others. When they get into trouble, they falter, while the wicked see it. They are an anti-witness.
It can happen to people who go into politics, go into business or go to college. They come into contact with all kinds of wrong things or teachings, for example, the theory of evolution. If they are influenced by that, they become like “Good news” that comes from afar and has been long awaited has the same effect as “cold water” has “on a weary soul” (Proverbs 25:25). Good news refreshes and invigorates one who yearns for news of a loved one who has left for a distant land. When the means of communication we have today were not available, it took time for news to arrive for those left behind (cf. Genesis 45:27; 1 Thessalonians 3:5-8).
The time aspect does not play such a big role now, but a good message that reaches us through modern media within a second of being sent has the same effect for a loved one. A good message changes the life.
We can also apply the good news from a distant land to the gospel. The word ‘gospel’ literally means “good news”. The gospel has come to us from a far country, heaven. The shepherds experienced this when a messenger from heaven said to them: “I bring you good news [literally: evangelize] … For today there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). In the gospel, the water of life is offered to everyone who is thirsty. Those who are thirsty may drink from it free of charge (Revelation 22:17).
The above applies today to Christians who merge into the world. They are supposed to be a source of life for others, but they live a worldly life. What they have to say comes from a trampled spring and a polluted well. They are unable to refresh others. When they get into trouble, they falter, while the wicked see it. They are an anti-witness. It can happen to people who go into politics, go into business or go to college. They come into contact with all kinds of wrong things or teachings, for example, the theory of evolution. If they are influenced by that, they become like a trampled spring and a polluted well.
Isaiah 8:7
What Does and What Does Not Quench Thirst
“Good news” that comes from afar and has been long awaited has the same effect as “cold water” has “on a weary soul” (Proverbs 25:25). Good news refreshes and invigorates one who yearns for news of a loved one who has left for a distant land. When the means of communication we have today were not available, it took time for news to arrive for those left behind (cf. Genesis 45:27; 1 Thessalonians 3:5-8). The time aspect does not play such a big role now, but a good message that reaches us through modern media within a second of being sent has the same effect for a loved one. A good message changes the life.
We can also apply the good news from a distant land to the gospel. The word “gospel” literally means “good news”. The gospel has come to us from a far country, heaven. The shepherds experienced this when a messenger from heaven said to them: “I bring you good news [literally: evangelize] … for today … there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). In the gospel, the water of life is offered to everyone who is thirsty. Those who are thirsty may drink from it free of charge (Revelation 22:17).
The Lord Jesus says to the weary soul: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Those who are weary by life and weighed down by the burden of their sins can find rest and refreshment with Him. The gospel is the greatest thirst quencher and transformer of life. It is an exhortation to pass on the good news to every weary soul.
Opposite the cold, refreshing water is “a trampled spring”, for example, because animals have run through it (cf. Ezekiel 34:18b), and “a polluted well”, for example, because something dead has fallen into it (Proverbs 25:26). They are a disaster scenario for the easterner traveling through the hot wilderness. When he comes to such a spring or well tired and thirsty, he sees to his dismay that he cannot drink the water from that spring that he so needs. Not only does it taste foul, but it is often poisoned, making drinking from it harmful to the body and ultimately fatal.
The wise Solomon uses this picture to describe a righteous person who, in the presence of a wicked one, loses his steadfastness in faith through fear or favor. This is as discouraging as finding a polluted well where you are eager to quench your thirst. Lot was such a righteous one (2 Peter 2:7) who gave way before the eyes of a wicked one. He was in Sodom. That was a trampled spring and a polluted well from which he had drunk so much that he himself had become such a trampled spring and polluted well (Genesis 19:4-23; 30-38). He could not be a refreshment to others. What was his way of life with Lot also occurred with Jacob as an incident, in an encounter with his wicked brother Esau (Genesis 33:3).
The above applies today to Christians who merge into the world. They are supposed to be a source of life for others, but they live a worldly life. What they have to say comes from a trampled spring and a polluted well. They are unable to refresh others. When they get into trouble, they falter, while the wicked see it. They are an anti-witness.
It can happen to people who go into politics, go into business or go to college. They come into contact with all kinds of wrong things or teachings, for example, the theory of evolution. If they are influenced by that, they become like “Good news” that comes from afar and has been long awaited has the same effect as “cold water” has “on a weary soul” (Proverbs 25:25). Good news refreshes and invigorates one who yearns for news of a loved one who has left for a distant land. When the means of communication we have today were not available, it took time for news to arrive for those left behind (cf. Genesis 45:27; 1 Thessalonians 3:5-8).
The time aspect does not play such a big role now, but a good message that reaches us through modern media within a second of being sent has the same effect for a loved one. A good message changes the life.
We can also apply the good news from a distant land to the gospel. The word ‘gospel’ literally means “good news”. The gospel has come to us from a far country, heaven. The shepherds experienced this when a messenger from heaven said to them: “I bring you good news [literally: evangelize] … For today there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). In the gospel, the water of life is offered to everyone who is thirsty. Those who are thirsty may drink from it free of charge (Revelation 22:17).
The above applies today to Christians who merge into the world. They are supposed to be a source of life for others, but they live a worldly life. What they have to say comes from a trampled spring and a polluted well. They are unable to refresh others. When they get into trouble, they falter, while the wicked see it. They are an anti-witness. It can happen to people who go into politics, go into business or go to college. They come into contact with all kinds of wrong things or teachings, for example, the theory of evolution. If they are influenced by that, they become like a trampled spring and a polluted well.
Isaiah 8:8
What Determines One’s Own Glory
Eating much of what may be eaten in itself (Proverbs 24:13), is not good. The emphasis is not on the goodness of it, but on the not-goodness of it. Honey represents the sweetness of good earthly things. We may enjoy that while thanking God for it (1 Timothy 4:4-5). But there is also a danger in it. That danger is that we may search out our own glory in it. This is evident from the second line of verse.
If anyone brought a grain offering, he was not allowed to prepare it with honey (Leviticus 2:11). The grain offering is a picture of the Lord Jesus in His perfect life. In His life, He never let Himself be guided by the natural relationships that He too had. His mother could not make Him depart from the way His Father wanted Him to go, yet He always maintained due respect for His mother (Luke 2:48-51). In our serving God, it should be the same.
“Eating much honey” seems to be about searching out one’s own glory in the natural things such as family, work, position. However, our glory should be in “examining weighty things”, as the second line of verse is translated in the Dutch translation I use. It is not about our glory in relationships, but about gaining understanding of the important things God has prepared for us based on the work of His Son. Examining weighty things focuses attention not on ourselves, but on God and His will with and for us. Then we examine His Word, of which it is written that it is “sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalms 19:10).
Isaiah 8:9
Lack of Self-Control
“A city that is broken into [and] without walls” is completely unprotected. Any malicious person can just walk in and carry out his evil intentions. He can also choose his victims with care, for there is no one to prevent him from doing so. “A man who has no control over his spirit” is “[like] a city that is broken into [and] without walls”; it is someone who cannot control himself. As soon as there is something he does not like, he lets himself go. As soon as there is something he wants, he lets himself go too. He is uninhibited in his actions. This makes him a very easy prey for (spiritual) enemies who are out to destroy him. Without realizing it, his person is taken possession of by powers stronger than he is.
In this life-threatening situation, a change for the better can only come when the Holy Spirit takes control of a person’s spirit. For that he must repent and put his life under the authority of Christ. Then the Holy Spirit can work in him and give him the power to control his spirit, that is, control himself (Galatians 5:22-23).
Isaiah 8:11
Honor Is Not Fitting For a Fool
The fool, of whom Proverbs 26:1-12 speak, is not someone who is spiritually disturbed, but a rebellious person who denies God and has no interest in becoming wise. He is blind to his folly and does not seek deliverance from it. The fear of the LORD does not interest him at all.
To “a fool” does not fit “honor”, just as “snow in summer and rain in harvest time” do not fit together. They simply do not belong together. A fool should not find recognition, should not be clothed with authority, should not be given a position of influence. If he were given honor, it would not change him, for he is and remains a fool in his thinking, speaking and acting.
Not only does it violate the laws of nature, like snow in summer is not fitting, but it also harms what serves for food, like rain in harvest. One of the evils Solomon saw was “the fool” being “placed on great heights” (Ecclesiastes 10:6).
Isaiah 8:12
A Curse Without Cause Does Not Alight
The flitting of “a sparrow” and the flying of “a swallow” is unpredictable and happens without any destination. Nor are they catchable. It is useless to try to do so. So it is with a curse that a fool utters for no reason. It has no effect.
Only fools utter such curses. The foolish Saul uttered a curse that did not alight (1 Samuel 14:28; 45). The foolish Goliath “cursed David by his gods” (1 Samuel 17:43-44) and then was made a head shorter. Simei cursed David and was punished for it (2 Samuel 16:5-14; 1 Kings 2:8). The curses pronounced on Jeremiah by his enemies also dissolved into nothingness (Jeremiah 15:10b).
It is fitting for the Old Testament believer to ask God for the wicked who harms him: “He also loved cursing, so it came to him” (Psalms 109:17). When we, New Testament believers, have to deal with people who curse us, who wish evil upon us, we may respond in the way that the Lord Jesus tells us: “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28).
Isaiah 8:13
A Fool Is Like a Mule Without Understanding
“Fools” are as difficult to urge and control as “the horse” and “the donkey”. Neither fools, nor these animals, respond to words. The animals must be driven by “a whip” and “a bridle” (cf. James 3:3; 7-8; Psalms 32:8-9). The fool must be called to order by the rod because he cannot be appealed to his reason. He must not be given authority, but authority must be exercised over him. The comparison with the animals mentioned makes it clear that the fool has lost his human dignity and must be treated in the same way.
We can apply this spiritually to “empty talkers and deceivers” (Titus 1:10), whom we can see as fools. Strict action must be taken against them: he “must be silenced” (Titus 1:11). We can consider that strict action against them as the use of the rod.
Isaiah 8:14
When Should We Answer or Not Answer a Fool
After an instruction in Proverbs 26:3 on how to deal with the fool, an instruction on how to speak to the fool follows in Proverbs 26:4-5. The two verses are very similar and at first glance seem to contradict each other. But what appears to be a contradiction turns out to be perfection on closer inspection. It comes down to close reading.
In Proverbs 26:4 the instruction is “noy to answer a fool according to his folly”. The second line of verse explains why that should not be done. The issue here is the consequence for him who would answer. If you answer him, you will be like him. If you answer him, you become a fool yourself. This happens when you descend in your answer to his level of thinking. Therefore, you should not do that. Do not lower yourself to the level of the fool by answering his foolish question and arguing with him as if he were a wise man.
We can apply this instruction to what Paul preaches to Timothy: “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:23). We are not to respond to foolish and incongruous contentious questions, or else we will cooperate in producing quarrels.
In Proverbs 26:5, the instruction is to answer “a fool as his folly [deserves]”. The second line of verse explains why this should be done. The issue here is the consequence for the fool. He who punishes a fool discourages him from thinking highly of himself.
The purpose of putting these two verses together is to show that human problems are often complicated and cannot always be solved by appealing to a single rule. It depends on the situation. In one case, one should not lower oneself to the level of a fool, for then one joins the circle of fools. In the other case, one should, for then the fool is put in his place.
Paul, of necessity, spoke once as an unwise, that is, as a fool. That was to correct the Corinthians, who were wise in their own eyes (2 Corinthians 11:16-17; 2 Corinthians 12:11). The prophet Micah did both the one and the other toward Ahab (1 Kings 22:15; 17). If there is grace in our heart and also the will to take nothing away from God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will let us know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:6).
A preacher once answered a fool according to his folly. When he was asked a foolish, unanswerable question, he replied: ‘You can find the answer in the second chapter of the letter of Jude’.
Another comment that may help understand these two verses is found in the Jewish Talmud. The Talmud contains the commentaries of the main rabbis and other scholars on the Tenach, that is the Old Testament. It states that Proverbs 26:4 presumably refers to foolish commentaries that one should ignore and Proverbs 26:5 refers to a misrepresentation that one should correct.
Isaiah 8:15
When Should We Answer or Not Answer a Fool
After an instruction in Proverbs 26:3 on how to deal with the fool, an instruction on how to speak to the fool follows in Proverbs 26:4-5. The two verses are very similar and at first glance seem to contradict each other. But what appears to be a contradiction turns out to be perfection on closer inspection. It comes down to close reading.
In Proverbs 26:4 the instruction is “noy to answer a fool according to his folly”. The second line of verse explains why that should not be done. The issue here is the consequence for him who would answer. If you answer him, you will be like him. If you answer him, you become a fool yourself. This happens when you descend in your answer to his level of thinking. Therefore, you should not do that. Do not lower yourself to the level of the fool by answering his foolish question and arguing with him as if he were a wise man.
We can apply this instruction to what Paul preaches to Timothy: “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:23). We are not to respond to foolish and incongruous contentious questions, or else we will cooperate in producing quarrels.
In Proverbs 26:5, the instruction is to answer “a fool as his folly [deserves]”. The second line of verse explains why this should be done. The issue here is the consequence for the fool. He who punishes a fool discourages him from thinking highly of himself.
The purpose of putting these two verses together is to show that human problems are often complicated and cannot always be solved by appealing to a single rule. It depends on the situation. In one case, one should not lower oneself to the level of a fool, for then one joins the circle of fools. In the other case, one should, for then the fool is put in his place.
Paul, of necessity, spoke once as an unwise, that is, as a fool. That was to correct the Corinthians, who were wise in their own eyes (2 Corinthians 11:16-17; 2 Corinthians 12:11). The prophet Micah did both the one and the other toward Ahab (1 Kings 22:15; 17). If there is grace in our heart and also the will to take nothing away from God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will let us know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:6).
A preacher once answered a fool according to his folly. When he was asked a foolish, unanswerable question, he replied: ‘You can find the answer in the second chapter of the letter of Jude’.
Another comment that may help understand these two verses is found in the Jewish Talmud. The Talmud contains the commentaries of the main rabbis and other scholars on the Tenach, that is the Old Testament. It states that Proverbs 26:4 presumably refers to foolish commentaries that one should ignore and Proverbs 26:5 refers to a misrepresentation that one should correct.
Isaiah 8:16
To Cut Off Feet – Lamed Legs
He who uses a fool as a messenger causes himself great trouble (Proverbs 26:6; cf. Proverbs 25:13). In the first place, it is equivalent to cutting off his own feet. Sending a messenger is like having another pair of feet. The feet of the messenger are the feet of the sender. Nothing comes of the message with which the fool is sent on a mission. He does not arrive at the address or he delivers the wrong message.
The consequences are that the sender has to deal with the violence of the addressee. The addressee has not received the message he was waiting for or he has received it mutilated, causing him to draw wrong conclusions. That damages existing good relationships. The lesson is that it is better not to send a message than to use a fool.
We can apply this to religious organizations that use unbelievers to spread the message of the gospel through them. Those organizations see themselves as a business to be run by skilled ‘businessmen’ who are good at selling a message, in this case the gospel. The annual spectacle called The Passion, a God-dishonoring display of the suffering and crucifixion of Christ, is a case in point. DC’s (Dutch Celebrities) are hired to sell the ‘product’ as successfully as possible. The effect is that nothing is left of the gospel and it damages the testimony of the biblical gospel.
Proverbs 26:7 complements Proverbs 26:6. A paralytic has legs, but they are useless to him because he cannot use them. He cannot move a step with them. Thus, a fool can utter a proverb, but he does not know what it means. The proverb hangs there as limp as the legs of a cripple; it is without power in his mouth. Such is the case with all those wicked fools – people who don’t want to know anything about the fear of the LORD – hired to play in The Passion. They parrot the Bible, but they don’t know what they are saying.
Isaiah 8:17
To Cut Off Feet – Lamed Legs
He who uses a fool as a messenger causes himself great trouble (Proverbs 26:6; cf. Proverbs 25:13). In the first place, it is equivalent to cutting off his own feet. Sending a messenger is like having another pair of feet. The feet of the messenger are the feet of the sender. Nothing comes of the message with which the fool is sent on a mission. He does not arrive at the address or he delivers the wrong message.
The consequences are that the sender has to deal with the violence of the addressee. The addressee has not received the message he was waiting for or he has received it mutilated, causing him to draw wrong conclusions. That damages existing good relationships. The lesson is that it is better not to send a message than to use a fool.
We can apply this to religious organizations that use unbelievers to spread the message of the gospel through them. Those organizations see themselves as a business to be run by skilled ‘businessmen’ who are good at selling a message, in this case the gospel. The annual spectacle called The Passion, a God-dishonoring display of the suffering and crucifixion of Christ, is a case in point. DC’s (Dutch Celebrities) are hired to sell the ‘product’ as successfully as possible. The effect is that nothing is left of the gospel and it damages the testimony of the biblical gospel.
Proverbs 26:7 complements Proverbs 26:6. A paralytic has legs, but they are useless to him because he cannot use them. He cannot move a step with them. Thus, a fool can utter a proverb, but he does not know what it means. The proverb hangs there as limp as the legs of a cripple; it is without power in his mouth. Such is the case with all those wicked fools – people who don’t want to know anything about the fear of the LORD – hired to play in The Passion. They parrot the Bible, but they don’t know what they are saying.
Isaiah 8:18
Dangerous and Painful
“One who binds a stone in a sling” (Proverbs 26:8) shows that he has no understanding of a sling. A stone should not be bound in a sling, but laid loose in it. If the stone is bound in a sling, you can spin the sling all you want, but the stone will not fly out. When it comes down to it, it can be life-threatening because the defensive weapon does not work by misuse. David would have been killed by Goliath if he had bound his stone in his sling. Because he had put the stone loose in the sling, he killed Goliath with it.
So someone “who gives honor to a fool” has no understanding of a fool. A fool cannot handle responsibility. He does not know what he is doing. He who gives a fool a position of responsibility will suffer the consequences to his own detriment.
A drunkard is unable to think soberly (Proverbs 26:9). Nor can he go a steady course. He utters gibberish and staggers down the street. In his drunken state, he randomly grabs a thorn bush, causing the thorn to penetrate his hand. Because he is drunk, he does not notice it. The thorn is a symbol of sin; after the Fall, thorns came (Genesis 3:18). The hand is a symbol of working, of doing something. Thus, sin clings to everything he does, even though he doesn’t notice it.
This picture applies to fools who take “a proverb” in his “mouth”. As a drunkard is without feeling for the thorn in his hand, so are fools without understanding for the proverb they take into their mouth. They are darkened in their understanding, but they think they can say wise words. A fool can read or speak a proverb, but is mentally and spiritually incapable of understanding it. He will misuse and misapply it.
People who do not have a living relationship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus can quote sayings from God’s Word, but sin clings to what they say. This is especially true of liberal theologians who read texts from God’s Word and then add their own sinful explanation to them.
Isaiah 8:19
Dangerous and Painful
“One who binds a stone in a sling” (Proverbs 26:8) shows that he has no understanding of a sling. A stone should not be bound in a sling, but laid loose in it. If the stone is bound in a sling, you can spin the sling all you want, but the stone will not fly out. When it comes down to it, it can be life-threatening because the defensive weapon does not work by misuse. David would have been killed by Goliath if he had bound his stone in his sling. Because he had put the stone loose in the sling, he killed Goliath with it.
So someone “who gives honor to a fool” has no understanding of a fool. A fool cannot handle responsibility. He does not know what he is doing. He who gives a fool a position of responsibility will suffer the consequences to his own detriment.
A drunkard is unable to think soberly (Proverbs 26:9). Nor can he go a steady course. He utters gibberish and staggers down the street. In his drunken state, he randomly grabs a thorn bush, causing the thorn to penetrate his hand. Because he is drunk, he does not notice it. The thorn is a symbol of sin; after the Fall, thorns came (Genesis 3:18). The hand is a symbol of working, of doing something. Thus, sin clings to everything he does, even though he doesn’t notice it.
This picture applies to fools who take “a proverb” in his “mouth”. As a drunkard is without feeling for the thorn in his hand, so are fools without understanding for the proverb they take into their mouth. They are darkened in their understanding, but they think they can say wise words. A fool can read or speak a proverb, but is mentally and spiritually incapable of understanding it. He will misuse and misapply it.
People who do not have a living relationship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus can quote sayings from God’s Word, but sin clings to what they say. This is especially true of liberal theologians who read texts from God’s Word and then add their own sinful explanation to them.
Isaiah 8:20
What a Fool Does, Causes Wounds
This verse is difficult to translate because the different Hebrew words have very different meanings. The most likely translation is the one given here, which is also in a similar wording in a footnote in the Darby Translation: “As an archer that wounds all, so is he that hires the fool and hires passers-by.” The general meaning is that undisciplined mercenaries have the same effect as the random shooting of an archer.
Hiring “a fool” or “those who pass by” shows the folly of the one who does so. One who hires such people is compared to an archer who shoots arrows at random, which can hit and injure anyone. “A fool” is just as unreliable an employee as a random “passerby” whose laziness you also do not know. Anyone who hires, i.e. employs, a fool or a passerby, thereby gives them the opportunity to cause great harm.
Isaiah 8:21
A Fool Who Repeats His Folly
“A dog” that “returns to his vomit” to eat again what it once regurgitated is quite a disgusting image. At the same time, it is a very powerful image of “a fool who repeats his folly”. A fool never learns. No matter how many negative experiences he may have and how many times he may have said he will break with his folly, he always returns to his life in sinful folly.
Peter quotes this verse in his second letter (2 Peter 2:21-22). He uses this proverb because it truthfully portrays what happens when a person has professed the Christian faith and then returns to the world. A dog is an unclean animal that voraciously and shamelessly feeds on whatever it finds or gets (cf. Isaiah 56:11). A dog is never satisfied. When it has eaten too much, it vomits it up. If it gets hungry again, it eats its own vomit.
This image applies to people who first bid farewell to the world, but, spurred on by teachers of error, returned to it. They had found no inner satisfaction in the world and had left it. Now they return to it anyway. This shows that inwardly they have not really changed. The dog has remained a dog.
Isaiah 8:22
A Man Wise in His Own Eyes
There is someone even worse than a fool and that is a man who is wise in his own eyes. In fact, self-conceit is part of the foolishness described in this book. A snooty ignoramus is the greatest fool of all. Arrogant self-assertion and an imagined sense of superiority place a person beyond the reach of any help or correction. The prophet Isaiah says to such people, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:21). All that remains for them is a “woe”, a judgment without end.
We are “not to think more highly” of ourselves than we “ought to think” (Romans 12:3; Galatians 6:3). We are also told: “Do not be wise in your own estimation” (Romans 12:16).