LESSONS ABOUT WISDOM PROVERBS _KEITH SIMONS_ CHAPTER 26 V1 Snow should not fall in summer. Rain should not fall during the harvest. And a fool should not receive honour. V2 A bird does not stop as it flies. And the effects of an insult do not pause. Instead, the insult continues to cause tr... [ Continue Reading ]
We all know the seasons in our own countries. We know when to expect rain or snow. We know what should happen. And we know the reaction that an evil man deserves. A fool is an evil man who hates wisdom. And he does not deserve any honour.... [ Continue Reading ]
A flying bird does not pause. It continues to fly. Otherwise, it would fall. An insult is like the bird, because an insult continues to cause trouble. Perhaps the insult was only one word. Perhaps you spoke that word many months ago. But the insult upset your friend. And he is still unhappy. You ou... [ Continue Reading ]
When a horse pulls a cart, the driver whips the horse. This is because the driver needs to control the animal. A fool is an evil man. He refuses to listen to wise advice. If you are a judge, then you must punish this evil man. Unless someone controls an evil person, that person will continue his ev... [ Continue Reading ]
The fool is an evil man who hates your wise words. Solomon uses humour here, because verse 4 is the opposite of verse 5. But both verses are correct. Verse 4 The fool hates wisdom. So his words are foolish. You do not want to be foolish. So do not answer him with foolish words! Verse 5 Do not answ... [ Continue Reading ]
The person who causes his own injury is stupid. But the person who sends a fool is also stupid. A fool will not do the right things. Perhaps he will not deliver the message. Perhaps he will change the words. Perhaps he will deliver an enemy’s message instead. If you send a fool with your message, t... [ Continue Reading ]
A fool might repeat a proverb (wise words). But a fool is stupid, so he does not understand the proverb. He says the right words, but he is still stupid. If he understood the words, the fool would stop his silly behaviour. But he refuses to do this. So his proverb cannot help him. Even the devil ca... [ Continue Reading ]
Solomon’s father was David. David used a stone from a bag to kill his enemy, Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40). But David did not tie the stone to the bag. This action would be stupid. This action would waste both the stone and the bag. And only a stupid person gives honour to a fool. A fool is an evil pers... [ Continue Reading ]
This drunk carries a thorn bush. (A thorn bush is a weed with sharp points.) The drunk will hurt himself. And he might hurt other people. This fool speaks a proverb (wise words). But he is a fool. So he is evil, and he hates wise words. He repeats the proverb as an evil scheme. He wants people to t... [ Continue Reading ]
The man who shoots arrows everywhere is clearly dangerous. But the employer might not seem to be dangerous. In fact, this employer is also dangerous. He would even employ a fool. The fool is an evil man. He might steal from his employer. And the fool might cause many troubles. The employer will suff... [ Continue Reading ]
You cannot cure a fool. A fool is an evil person. He will repeat his evil behaviour. This is terrible. You cannot change this man. Only God can stop the fool’s evil behaviour. A fool is not like a simple person. A simple person is someone who has not learned to be wise. But you can teach a simple p... [ Continue Reading ]
Solomon thinks that this man is even worse than a fool. (But perhaps Solomon uses humour here.) This man imagines that he is wise. But he is not wise. He thinks that his advice is good. But his advice is wrong. He tries to help everyone. But really, he causes problems for them. We must be very car... [ Continue Reading ]
Solomon uses humour whenever he discusses a lazy man. The lazy man has his excuse. And perhaps there is a lion. But we know that, really, this man is lazy. He only wants an excuse not to work.... [ Continue Reading ]
This man is very lazy. He is still in his bed. He might turn. He might even move. But he will not get up. He is too lazy. So Solomon says, this man is like a door. The door moves. But it is still in its doorway. The door never goes anywhere.... [ Continue Reading ]
Now, the lazy man has a meal. He is lazy. But he knows how to take things. And lazy people often take things from other people. For example, a lazy person might ask for a gift. But the lazy person does not know how to enjoy these things. And he does not know how to use them. The lazy man takes the... [ Continue Reading ]
This lazy man is like the man in verse 12. Both men think that they are wise. But the lazy man thinks that he is the wisest of all men. The lazy man thinks this because he refuses to work. But he is not clever when he avoids a task. The lazy man may become poor. He may suffer for his attitude. He mi... [ Continue Reading ]
A dog is angry if you grasp its ears. It will bite you. Some people are angry if someone interrupts their argument. Perhaps that person wants to help. Perhaps he supposes that he can help them to be calm. But when he interrupts, he will have to deal with their anger too.... [ Continue Reading ]
Everyone can see that this mad man is dangerous. But the other man is also dangerous. His lie caused trouble. Then he claims that the lie was just a joke. So his humour caused trouble for everyone.... [ Continue Reading ]
A fire will not burn without fuel. When someone gossips, their words are like fuel. And an argument is like fire. So, if people do not gossip, they avoid arguments. We should learn to be careful with our words. See James 3.... [ Continue Reading ]
You need wood to start a fire. A man who disagrees is like the wood. He can start a terrible argument. But we cannot always agree with everyone. And we cannot avoid every argument. But we should think before we speak. If we say nothing, we might avoid the argument.... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse is the same as Proverbs 18:8. Solomon uses humour here. When someone gossips, their words are like a special food. People enjoy it when someone gossips. Food enters the stomach. And when someone gossips, their stories enter the mind. People remember the stories. And they repeat the stor... [ Continue Reading ]
You cannot believe everything that you see. Some pots seem silky on the outside. But they are just cheap pots. You cannot believe everything that you hear. Some evil men speak clever words. But they are still evil men. You must not trust them V24 A cruel man uses his clever words to hide his true... [ Continue Reading ]
Here is an evil man who speaks clever words. And some people think that his words are wonderful. They do not realise that his plans are evil. They do not know his evil ideas. And if they trust him, they will suffer. Soon everyone will know the man’s evil scheme. And a judge will punish that man. V... [ Continue Reading ]
These men wanted to cause trouble for other people. But in fact, these men suffered because of their own cruel actions. Everything that went wrong in their lives was their own fault. It is never good to hate other people. We should never try to cause trouble. If we do, we shall cause trouble in our... [ Continue Reading ]
Both men cause trouble because their words are not sincere. When the first man lies, the people believe him. Then they do the wrong thing, because of the lie. The second person pretends that someone else is great. He does this because he wants a gift from that person. These words also cause troubl... [ Continue Reading ]