Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Reflections on Proverbs 26

 Proverbs 26 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. Expecting snow in summer and rain in the dry season makes more sense than honoring a fool.
  2. A curse you don't deserve will take wings and fly away like a sparrow or a swallow.
  3. Horses and donkeys must be beaten and bridled-- and so must fools.
  4. Don't make a fool of yourself by answering a fool.
  5. But if you answer any fools, show how foolish they are, so they won't feel smart.
  6. Sending a message by a fool is like chopping off your foot and drinking poison.
  7. A fool with words of wisdom is like an athlete with legs that can't move.
  8. Are you going to honor a fool? Why not shoot a slingshot with the rock tied tight?
  9. A thornbush waved around in the hand of a drunkard is no worse than a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
  10. It's no smarter to shoot arrows at every passerby than it is to hire a bunch of worthless nobodies.
  11. Dogs return to eat their vomit, just as fools repeat their foolishness.
  12. There is more hope for a fool than for someone who says, "I'm really smart!"
  13. Don't be lazy and keep saying, "There's a lion outside!"
  14. A door turns on its hinges, but a lazy person just turns over in bed.
  15. Some of us are so lazy that we won't lift a hand to feed ourselves.
  16. A lazy person says, "I am smarter than everyone else."
  17. It's better to take hold of a mad dog by the ears than to take part in someone else's argument.
  18. It's no crazier to shoot sharp and flaming arrows
  19. than to cheat someone and say, "I was only fooling!"
  20. Where there is no fuel a fire goes out; where there is no gossip arguments come to an end.
  21. Troublemakers start trouble, just as sparks and fuel start a fire.
  22. There is nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth.
  23. Hiding hateful thoughts behind smooth talk is like coating a clay pot with a cheap glaze.
  24. The pleasant talk of an enemy hides more evil plans
  25. than can be counted-- so don't believe a word!
  26. Everyone will see through those evil plans.
  27. If you dig a pit, you will fall in; if you start a stone rolling, it will roll back on you.
  28. Watch out for anyone who tells lies and flatters-- they are out to get you.

The proverbs of chapter 26 are directed to four primary topics with a couple of random proverbs. The first of these random proverbs tells us it is wise to stay out of someone else's quarrel. It is like grabbing a dog by the ear. One is bound to get bitten. A second random proverb advises us against deceiving a neighbor and then pretending it was a joke. This could be a deceit with devious intent or maybe a practical joke. Either way, it is compared to randomly shooting flaming darts. People are going to get hurt and it may include more than the two originally involved.

Here are the four primary topics of the chapter --

Fools: We are advised against honoring a fool. It is inappropriate and potentially damaging. Neither is it advisable to correct a fool with words. He only understands punishment. One may as well try to deliver a message without any feet as to send it by a fool. It is also as useless as lame legs to give a fool a proverb, and is potentially dangerous, "like a stick with thorns, brandished by the hand of a drunkard." Furthermore, it is dangerous to hire a fool. One may as well shoot arrows randomly wounding people wherever they fall.

The Lazy: Those who are lazy will use any excuse, however absurd, to get out of work, such as, "There's a lion in the road." Though a lazy person may toss and turn in bed, he still is unwilling to get out of bed and go to work. Though it seems absurd to think of a person with their hand in a bowl of food starving to death because they are too lazy to take their hand out of the bowl to feed themselves, this is the picture of the lazy person unwilling to work to provide food for himself and his family. What is even more absurd is that the lazy person views himself as wiser than others. No doubt wiser, especially, than those who are diligent in getting their work done.

Gossip: Two quick thoughts concerning gossip. As wood feeds a fire, so gossip feeds strife. And, as a fire dies out without wood, so a conflict will die out without gossip.

Deceit: Deceit is always disguised, which is the nature of deceit. A lie made to look like the truth. Like a worthless piece of earthenware glazed with a shiny finish, deceit is delivered with a smile and smooth words, covering the lie that is underneath. But don't be fooled, abomination is in the heart of the deceiver. He may say he has your best interest at heart, but hate is in his heart.

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