Daily Devotional Thursday 26th May 2022
by William Moody
Proverbs 26
26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
a curse that is causeless does not alight.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the back of fools.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless,
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling
is one who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer who wounds everyone
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.1
11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
There is a lion in the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so does a sluggard on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who can answer sensibly.
17 Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own
is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I am only joking!”
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
23 Like the glaze2 covering an earthen vessel
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips
and harbors deceit in his heart;
25 when he speaks graciously, believe him not,
for there are seven abominations in his heart;
26 though his hatred be covered with deception,
his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.Footnotes
[1] 26:10
Or hires a fool or passersby
[2] 26:23By revocalization; Hebrew silver of dross (ESV)
This chapter begins with proverb after proverb on the fool (v1-12) and then on the sluggard (v13-16).
Honour is inappropriate for a fool (v1, 8). A fool is like a horse that needs a whip or a donkey that needs a bridle (v3). They’re so hard to teach. In answering a fool, we must not do so in the same foolish way he speaks (v4). If we go down to his level we will make him seem wise in his eyes (v5). Most of us can spot foolish talk a mile away, and then still jump right into it.
Using a fool to pass on a message or to work for you is graphically warned against (v6, 10). This is important in the church that wise people are used and not just anyone who is willing. But the wise need to step up to the mark. Wise sayings like a proverb are pretty useless to a fool and even hurts him (v7, 9). He is just not equipped to benefit from them.
The sluggard on the other hand makes excuses for his inactivity (v13, he loves his bed (v14), is to lazy even to feed himself (v15) and yet is very wise in his own eyes (v16). We all need to be careful we don’t think too highly of ourselves (v12).
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