Warnings to the Foolish
Principles for Life: A Study in Proverbs • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction
Good morning Emmanuel! I am so excited to get to be back up here and preach today. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Nick Bilotta. I am our Youth Director here at Emmanuel.
This morning we are going to continue in our series in Proverbs, as we look at Proverbs 26 today. If you are a guest or this is your first time at Emmanuel it is the normal spiritual diet of our church to study out different books of the Bible and go through them chapter by chapter. If you remember we are defining the book of Proverbs as wisdom literature, most of which were written by Solomon. As we go through Proverbs, it’s important to note that Proverbs is a book full of wisdom principles, not promises. And as we continue in this book of wisdom, remember we are defining wisdom as the ability to apply God’s word to practical issues in life. We also know that Jesus is the embodiment of God’s wisdom.
Last week, we got to hear Greg Mosley preach from Proverbs 25. If you remember for last week, Proverbs 25 kicks off a new section of Proverbs that runs through Proverbs 29 typically called Hezekiah’s collection. What that simply means is that each of these different chapters of Proverbs are still written by Solomon, but they were compiled and copied by King Hezekiah’s men. Which if you remember who King Hezekiah was in the old testament, this fits his character. In case you don’t know who this King Hezekiah is, you can read about him in 2 Kings specifically starting in chapter 18 and also in 2 Chronicles but I’ll kind of summarize who he was.
King Hezekiah was the king of the Southern kingdom of Judah, remember at this time the nation was divided into two kingdoms. King Hezekiah reigned for 29 years in Jerusalem and we know he remained faithful to God and never turned away from Him. King Hezekiah tore down idols, relied on God, and kept the commands of Moses. So based on his character it makes a lot of sense that he would have also valued the wisdom principles of Solomon and had his scribes copy them down and preserve them.
We also saw last week from Greg the contrasts between wisdom and wickedness, hubris and humility, and we also saw how we are to wield wise words. Greg concluded showing us that we need to be seen like Jesus in our words, our humility, and our deeds so that we can glorify God through out life.
Outline
As we get into our passage for today and look closely at Proverbs 26, you’ll notice that Solomon uses a lot of vivid and intense imagery as he condemns different actions. There’s three main actions we’ll notice Solomon condemn: the first being foolishness, the second being laziness, and the third being harmful speech. As I mentioned, Solomon doesn’t hold back when condemning these actions and so as I went about making our outline for today, I felt like I shouldn’t hold back as well. You’ll notice our outline today is a simple one, three simple commands that summarize what Solomon is saying in each chunk of verses.
Listen Up! (v. 1-12)
Get Up! (v. 13-16)
Hush Up! (v. 17-28)
In each of these three points, we’ll look at the three main actions Solomon condemns and how we are to approach these actions with wisdom.
Sermon
Listen Up!
Beginning in verses 1-12, the first action Solomon condemns is that of folly, or the act of foolishness. Throughout this passage, Solomon is going to use a lot of powerful imagery to help us visualize and get our attention to see the danger of foolishness, hence why we need to listen up.
It’s funny but just this week at Youth Group, we were playing a sort of ice breaker game where students had to debate which two things were more American. Each time it was always super silly and ridiculous things but one of them was which movie is more American Rocky or Top Gun. The teens were loving this game until we got to this question and I noticed it got really quiet which was weird. Well come to find out all of my students hadn’t seen either movie and had no idea what I was talking about.
So for my youth students, you can tune me out for the next minute because you’re going to have no idea what I’m talking about but for everyone else has anyone in hear ever seen Rocky 3? Do you remember Mr. T’s character Clubber Lang? Does anyone remember what he says? I pity the fool. The reason I bring that up is that these next few verses make me think a lot of that catchphrase of his and were going to see here that it’s not good to be the fool. And this is going to lead us straight into this first passage of Proverbs 26.
And before I read this, I want to help us get our hearts in the right place. It can be really easy to read a set of verses or a chapter like this and think “oh I’m not a fool, or “oh I’m not a fool but my coworker Jimmy is and I need help with how to manage him”. These are not good attitudes to have when we read something like this. Does this passage talk about how to handle foolish people, yes. But does that mean we ourselves are exempt from being the fool, no. A fool is simply someone who acts unwisely or lacks judgement and friend can I be honest with you for a second… I don’t know about you but I know in my life, sometimes I have moments where I don’t always act wisely which means I can be the fool sometimes. Now fortunately, as we continue to walk with God, grow in our faith, and seek out wisdom, we’ll have less and less of these foolish moments but keep this in mind as we read. Rather than think ourselves as above being the fool, view these verses as almost a warning to you to not become the fool. As I mentioned before, theres a lot of powerful and intense imagery in this passages and as we read I’m going to try and breakdown some of this imagery to help us better understand what’s going on. In Proverbs 26:1-12 it says
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.
Right away we can see here that Solomon is using this picture of uncharacteristic weather patterns to show that honor and foolishness can’t go together. It continues saying
Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
a curse that is causeless does not alight.
Same structure again here as verse 1. Just as a bird can fly erratically and not be caught, so do curses on the innocent. They have no meaning and won’t affect the recipient. Lets keep reading…
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the back of fools.
Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Hear we see this image of the fool again and we first notice in v. 3 that the fool is being compared to these animals that often times need coerced into doing a desired behavior. Solomon is comparing the fool to this, that the fool doesn’t have the dignity to think for themself and need someone else to do it for them.
Solomon continues in v. 4-5 which is an interesting one. Upon first glance, it kinda looks like Solomon is contradicting himself. He first says don’t answer the fool with his foolishness but then in v. 5 he’s telling us to. Well let me explain what he’s saying. Solomon is explaining two different scenarios we might face in the world which might depend on how we respond. The first scenario is probably the more common one that sometimes when we face a fool it may be wisest to not engage with the fool because you yourself will look like a fool. Other times like in this second scenario there is an exception where sometimes it might be best to engage with the fool. We know life can be full of both scenarios sometimes and these verse show us that sometimes there isn’t always a clear approach or response. In those moments, it’s up to us to use discernment and assess the situation to see what response is best. Let’s keep moving…
Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
Here it’s pretty obvious what’s being said. Don’t entrust an important message with a fool.
Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless,
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
In v. 7 we see that even when a fool utters a proverb, it’s useless because there life is in contradiction with their words. V. 8…
Like one who binds the stone in the sling
is one who gives honor to a fool.
We see this same structure we’ve seen in some verse before where Solomon uses a simile to compare an action of a fool with more vivid imagery. Here the imagery he’s using is a little harder to pick up on in our modern eyes but the image he’s making is that of a sling and Solomon is pointing out the ridiculousness if someone where to tie the stone to the sling so that it wouldn’t launch. And as ridiculous as that sounds it’s the same for someone to give honor to a fool. In v. 9 he goes on…
Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
Very similar to verse 7, we see again Solomon is showing that a fool wielding a proverb is useless because the fool fails to see that the Proverb applies to himself. Solomon explains it like a drunk wielding a branch of thorns.
Like an archer who wounds everyone
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
Here in v. 10 we see the person who hires a fool is like an archer who wounds everyone. Hiring a fool will cause damage to everything.
Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.
This is my favorite image Solomon uses in this chapter and maybe it’s because I’m a dog owner and have to deal with this but this image is so powerful, easy to picture, and honestly kinda disgusting to think about. Basically what he’s saying is that a fool is destined to repeat his foolishness just like a dog is attracted to it’s own vomit. In fact in 2 Peter 2:22 the author takes this Proverb a step further and uses the picture of a pig returning to mud after it’s been cleaned.
What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
Now v. 12
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Finally this section ends here and we see this warning of extreme foolishness where a fool is so far gone that they can’t even perceive their own foolishness anymore and think of themselves as wise. Solomon goes on to say there is more hope for the normal fool than there is for this person. And I want to point out, this sounds kind of like the sinful world we live in. We’re surrounded by a world claiming it’s own self-righteousness and claiming to be wiser than God.
Get Up!
The second action we see Solomon condemn is the actions of the sluggard or in other words laziness.
I remember growing up me and my siblings would be on summer break and naturally having worked so hard at school during the year my siblings and I would want to relax a little and be kinda lazy over break. This might not be the best parenting move but I remember this specific time my dad had a conversation with me about being too lazy and that we needed to go outside and play and I remember her talking about how in the Bible in Proverbs God condemns laziness. And I remember my mind was blown that laziness could be a bad thing. And I remember going outside after that conversation and just questioning my life at that point and thinking I can never relax again. Well fast forward some 15 years later and I think it’s a little ironic that here I am about to preach this exact passage in Proverbs. So I guess somewhere out there my Dad is smiling a little bigger today.
But in all seriousness we see this condemnation of laziness come in verses 13-16. In Proverbs 26:13-16 it says
The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
There is a lion in the streets!”
As a door turns on its hinges,
so does a sluggard on his bed.
The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who can answer sensibly.
As we see here these four verses all reflect on the action of laziness. We know as humans God has wired us to work. Even in the very beginning in the Garden Adam was tasked with tending and keeping the garden. We’re meant to work and laziness works against God’s design. Solomon makes this point that it’s foolish to be lazy first in verses 13-15, in fact here we see this character of the sluggard and the sluggard is portrayed in these sort of comically ridiculous scenarios that make fun of their laziness. The first scenario we see is in v. 13 actually mirrors a Proverb we already read in chapter 22 but essentially what this is saying is that the sluggard is using this horrible excuse that there’s a lion who’s going to get him so he can’t leave home to go to work. In fact, it’s a lot like the age-old excuse my dog ate my homework. Anyone ever heard that one? As a teacher myself, my favorite one I’ve ever heard is not about the dog but actually my goat ate my homework.
In V. 14 Solomon continues with these ridiculous comparisons this time with a door. We know doors turn on their hinges so does the sluggard on his bed right?
V. 15 we see the sluggard depicted as being so lazy that when they’re eating food out of a bowl they can’t even bring themselves to lift the food up to their mouth.
This section concludes in v. 16 showing us that actually in the sluggard’s eyes they are wise and in full control of their life. This is in contrast to someone who is truly wise, we know they would never claim something like this.
Hush Up!
As we move to this last section in Proverbs 26, I want us to consider our words for a second. Maybe you’ve heard the old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”. Well whoever made that up is a liar and the Bible is very clear that words can have lasting consequences. For each of us, I’m sure we can all think of words that have changed our lives. Maybe it’s the first time you heard someone tell you they love you, maybe it’s when you heard the words you’re going to be a mother or father for the first time. Unfortunately, words can have the opposite effect as well. Maybe you can think of the opposite scenario of words that have deeply hurt you or shape how you view yourself. Our words matter, and often times they reflect our hearts. The question then becomes, are our hearts more aligned with wickedness or with God.
This is the last action we’re going to see Solomon condemn is our speech. He’s specifically going to key us in on these different scenarios where our speech can be dangerous. Let’s take a look now at Proverbs 26:17-28 and specifically I want to look at v. 17-22 first.
Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own
is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death
is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I am only joking!”
Let’s pause for a second… The first takeaway we can see is in v. 17. here we can see that our words can be harmful when we interfere in other people’s arguments. In fact, the warning we get here is like if someone were to go up to a dog and grab it by the ears. 99% of the time if you grab a dog by its ears, you’re probably not going to get a great response from it. The same goes for meddling in other people’s arguments. If it’s not our business it’s wisest to just stay out of it.
The next takeaway we see comes in v. 18-19. Here we can see that our speech can be harmful when we try to deceive people as a joke without concern for the consequences of that joke. Solomon compares this part of our speech like a madman launching flaming and deadly arrows. Let’s continue and keep looking at how we need to be careful how we use our words.
For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
In these next set of verses were now looking at gossip and especially how gossip can provoke conflict. We see first in V. 20 just like how a fire can’t continue to burn without wood, fighting stops without gossip. If you remove gossip from the equation, most arguments die down. In V. 21 we see this comparison again to fire specifically objects that charge a fire, an argumentative person charges strife and tension. This section concludes with v. 22 and we see that gossip is seductive. It can engross us in just like one bite of a tasty treat can pull us in to eating the whole thing. As we keep reading the rest of Proverbs 26, you’ll notice V.22 serves as a bridge to this next section that continues looking at our speech but now we’ll specifically look at lying.
Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips
and harbors deceit in his heart;
when he speaks graciously, believe him not,
for there are seven abominations in his heart;
Again just like V. 22 showed us that gossip can be seductive, we see here in V. 23-25 that the same goes for the liar. We first see that the liar is compared to a glaze covering an earthen vessel. What this means is the idea that people put a glaze on pots to make them look beautiful and enticing but at the end of the day no matter how beautiful it looks, you still have the same cheap piece of pottery.
We see a similar comparison in V. 24. A deceitful heart can be disguised by elegant speech. We then see in V. 25 this warning not to trust the liar even when they use eloquent speech and what they say might sound really good because we’ll see in V. 26-28 that the liar’s deceit will be exposed. Let’s look at those last verses.
though his hatred be covered with deception,
his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.
These last sets of verses make it obvious that a liar will bring on himself his own ruin. His wickedness will be exposed, they’ll fall into their own pit, the stone they push will come back to them. V. 28 makes it very simple, a lying tongue hates its victims. It’s clear from these sets of verses that we can see that our speech has the potential for great destruction. If we misuse it, we have enormous potential for destruction and evil.
There’s a song out there that has a really great chorus that I always try to let reign true in my mind when I’m about to use my words. The chorus to that song goes like this “Let my words be life. Let my words be truth. I don’t wanna say a word unless it points the world back to you.” Let that sink in for you. If our words aren’t going to point the world back to our creator, are they even worth saying? Clearly, Solomon shows us from this passage that words are important and can cause damage if used carelessly.
Conclusion
As we look to conclude this chapter in Proverbs it’s important to remember that we constantly choose wisdom otherwise we’ll end up like the fool, the sluggard, and the one who’s careless with their speech.
Thought of the Week
All this leads to our thought out the week and it’s this: I must avoid foolishness, laziness, and careless speech, while advocating for wisdom, integrity, and deliberate speech. We’ll keep that on the screen for those of you taking notes and I’ll say it again. (Repeat but slower).
The last thing I want to leave you with is this: Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Let Proverbs 26 be a cautionary tale to each of us. Fools despise wisdom and instruction but for us as followers of Christ we must fear the Lord and seek out His wisdom.
At this time Greg Mosley is going to lead us in communion.
