Now we move into wisdom for leaders. The NSRV says that the collections that make up these chapters may have originally been designed for the training of diplomats and bureaucrats at court. Hezekiah's aides copied these and we will get to this King in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles...he ended up restoring the temple after his evil father Ahaz nailed the temple door shut.
Chapter 26 deals with how to relate to fools. (don't you love it~!). We can't take a fool seriously and try to reason with his empty arguments...they'll just try to win for the sake of winning. Chapter 26:9 shows us that normally a stick of a thorn gets our attention so that we take it out before it infects us. A drunkard can't feel the stick and can become infected.....a fool can't feel the sting of a proverb to apply it so that it helps their life.
I've heard 25:21-22 over and over:
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Paul references this in Romans 12: 20.....God will avenge and repay our enemy...it isn't our job...Christian living is peaceful........I always have to remember this because I would much prefer to slap my enemy.
I really like the proverbs....
ReplyDeleteHere are some that caught my attention:
25:14 "Whoever falsely boasts of giving is like clouds and wind without rain."
25:16 "Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit."
26:17 "He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears."
25:21-23 If your enemy is hungry , five him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you."