Proverbs 26:17 He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
18 As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
19 So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?
We see a different kind of person in these verses that need help also. It begins by telling we do not need to meddling in places and peoples affairs we have no business in. It is like pulling on a dogs ears, he could bite you, and meddling could cause some serious trouble for you. The next two verses kind of tell the tale because if you deceive someone by slandering them in some way and say it is just in fun then you causing probably even more trouble. Do not forget once words come out of your mouth you cannot take them back. I am sure we know people who love to meddle in other peoples business and then go off talking about but didn’t mean anything by it. These people to are in much need of pray and salvation and some of them are even in church every Sunday.
Proverbs 26:13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.14 As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.15 The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.16 The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
These four verses deal with a lazy man. We saw earlier that a lazy person uses any excuse not to get out of the house to work. Next he will lay in bed and toss and turn all day as to not get up and go to work, just like a door that swings both ways and goes no where. As it goes on we see he is to lazy to even lift a hand to feed himself. Last we see he thinks to knows more than 7 wise men who could tell him what he needs to be doing. We all know people like these examples and most of them will not listen to reason, so just that have to pray that God will have mercy on them because it usually takes something tragic to wake them up.
Proverbs 26:10 The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
11 As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
In these verses we begin by seeing that fools and transgressors will be reward for there actions by God who formed all things. there reward will be an eternity in in hell if they do not repent while the righteous will enjoy an eternity in heaven. Next we see that a fool will continue to return to the sin he has committed in his life unless he can gain the wisdom of God. And last we see that there is hope for the fool because someone who is wise in his conceit feels he need no improvement. He is so deep in sin he is unaware that he needs help. A fool knows he is doing wrong so therefore there is a chance he knows he needs help. As we have seen in these 12 verses these people that are not close to God need our help and our prayers to help them see the glory of God.
Proverbs 26:8 As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour to a fool.
9 As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
These two verses continue to show us the errors of the fool. We know that if you plan to hit something with a slingshot you have to turn loose of the stone for it to go anywhere. Likewise someone who gives honor to a fool is not only doing disservice to himself but also to the fool because he will never be able to live up to what was given him and he will never hit the mark. For anyone who knows about the affects of alcohol it dulls the senses to almost everything so the person drinking feels little or no pain not realizing the damage they are doing to themselves. The same with a fool who is trying to tell something he knows nothing about injuring himself because his pride has dulled his senses to what he has done. We all know people like this and we should do all we can to help them to understand the error of their ways with the love Christ.
Proverbs 26:6 He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.
7 The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
We see in this first verse to use a fool to send a message is the wrong thing to do because he will not get it delivered right. It will cause more damage than good and it might be irreparable. Self inflicted wounds come to the person who chooses to depend upon a fool. The next verse says about same thing with a slant on the message in one direction or another. The message would be awkward and useless. Please attend a good Bible believing church today and learn as much as you can to help you be able to make wise decisions in your life.
Proverbs 26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
In these verses we start by seeing that a rod of correction is used again to correct a someone who is not acting the way they should, just like a whip is used to control a horse and a bridle to control the ass. these next two verses help us to see that we do not need to answer a foolish question because they do not deserve an answer. The question could be to trap you and to answer it could cause the fool to think his question was worthwhile. If you must answer the question answer it to confute his folly and expose his senselessness.The only reason to answer at all is to show him not to be conceited. Again the fool is a person who needs guidance from good Godly people so let us stay prayed up and ready to assist in the way God would want us to.
Proverbs 26:1 As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.
2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
For the next 12 verses we will be dealing the fools foolishness. In verse 1 we learn that honor is not something becoming a fool, just like snow is not common in the summer and rain in harvest time is disastrous. Next we see when a curse is uttered by a fool is meaningless and will have no consequences to the one it is spoken against. If it has any consequences at all it come back on the one that spoke the curse. This is represented by the swallow that is just flying by or the birds just wandering aimlessly. We need to keep the fools of this world in our prayers that they will come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 25:27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
We see two good lessons here, the first is that when we brag about ourselves and promote our own agendas people will get sick and tired of us. Just like the analogy used of eating too much honey making one sick. Next we see if someone has no control over their emotions and passions they are opening themselves up for all kinds of sin in their life. This is like a city without any walls that is being attacked there is no hope for it. From these verses we should learn that if we just live our life in a way that shows the love of God we do not have to say a word and we need to stay strong enough in the word of God that we can control our spirit in a Godly way.
Proverbs 25:25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
This first verse is good news to us in that it tells us that when we receive good news from something or someone that we have been waiting for is like when you are so hot and thirsty a cool drink of water is the best thing you could have. Next we see when a righteous man slips up and backslides then you do not want to here from him for answers, just like you do not want that cool drink of water from a spring that is poisoned. Let us always try our best to stand strong by leaning on the word of God every day and always be ready to here from God the news you have been waiting for.
Proverbs 25:23 The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
This first verse is telling us just as any wind will blow away the rain so will an angry from stop a person from saying something they should not. We should keep ourselves so in tune with God that we do not have to have someone give us a stern look to keep us from saying something we should not. Next we see that what makes a home is not the size of a house but that there is peace between the people that live there. There is never enough room in a home for a fighting person, man or woman, because it will make for a miserable lifestyle.Again we can see by these verses we need to learn to control our speech and our temperament and this is done by following the Biblical principals of God’s Word.
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." I John 5:7
