Proverbs 25-26
1 Kings 4:29-34(NLT) God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. 30 In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. 34 And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.
Proverbs in their basic elements are statements about life. Solomon composed some 3000 proverbs according to the record in 1 Kings. They are comparisons of concrete examples of physical life with the eternal truth of God’s message to us. In our reading today we see a familiar set of verses which are quoted by Paul in Romans in a section of Romans dealing with how to get along with others in the church and without. Our two chapters we are reading today have many statements which should help us govern our hearts and how we relate to others. Let’s look at the section in Proverbs and quoted in Romans.
Proverbs 25:21-22(NKJV) 1 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head,
And the LORD will reward you.
Romans 12:17-21(NKJV) Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
One common explanation of these verses are that we will heap coals of fire on our enemy to burn him up when we do good to him. My understanding of this section is much different. In the ancient cultures they didn’t have boxes of safety matches or Bic lighters to make fire with. When it was cold especially the household would try to keep a fire going all the time so that when fire was needed for cooking or heating it would be available. As anyone who has tried to start a fire with friction or flint and steel will attest, this is no small matter to get a fire going when needed. An easier method would be to go to the neighbors who have an existing fire and borrow some coals from them. If their fire went out, borrowing coals from you would be very neighborly. When they took the coals, they would put them in a clay pot to handle them. It was very common to put the pot on the top on their head to carry it, and they would have a pad to protect the head even. This would warm up the person carrying the coals to the other household and the proverb is comparing this physical action that this would warm them, be a blessing, to them in their hearts. By doing this we overcome the evil of having an enemy with the blessing that we give them by our actions.
In Proverbs 26 there are sections that deal with our speech and how it should be handled. This first one shows us a comparison of a lie to a deadly weapon against another.
Proverbs 26:18-26(NLT) 18 Just as damaging
as a madman shooting a deadly weapon
19 is someone who lies to a friend
and then says, “I was only joking.”
How about this next section that deals with gossip and quarrels. Would we have quarrels in our churches if we followed the wisdom found here? Jesus echoes this when he tells us that out of our hearts we speak what we really believe whether for good or evil. As we read God’s Word it is drawn into our hearts by God’s love found there and this becomes the way that we react when in the situations of life.
Proverbs 26:20-26(NLT) Fire goes out without wood,
and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.
21 A quarrelsome person starts fights
as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.
Rumors are dainty morsels
that sink deep into one’s heart.
23 Smooth words may hide a wicked heart,
just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot.
24 People may cover their hatred with pleasant words,
but they’re deceiving you.
25 They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them.
Their hearts are full of many evils.
26 While their hatred may be concealed by trickery,
their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.
One of my favorites of these wisdom sayings of Solomon is in this verse:
Proverbs 27:17(NLT) As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
Praying that you all will be sharpened by the love and wisdom of these lessons which you are reading every day.
Love in Christ, Tom Siderius
Reflection Questions
- In today’s Bible reading which verses stood out to you as particularly wise? What stood out as something you need to work on?
- How do you treat your enemies? How can you follow the wisdom of Solomon and Paul and the teaching of Jesus in how you respond to them?
- When would you do well to remember Solomon’s wisdom regarding quarrels?
- How can you help sharpen a friend? Who has helped sharpen you?
Seek Grow Love 