Proverbs 27

Proverbs 27:1

27:1 No one is sure of tomorrow. Therefore, don’t boast about all you will do, like the rich fool did (Luk_12:16-21). See also Jam_4:13-15. 27:2 It is in poor taste and very inelegant to praise yourself. A truly refined person tries to keep himself in the background, while praising others. “Beware of autobiographies” (Berkeley margin). 27:3 The persistent, provocative remarks of a fool are harder to put up with than a heavy physical burden. A man would rather carry stone or sand than be constantly annoyed by a loudmouthed fool. 27:4 Wrath and anger are cruel and overwhelming, yet often they are short-lived. But jealousy continually gnaws away at a person and is therefore more grievous. This would apply, for instance, to one whose marriage has been disrupted by a third person. 27:5 A forthright open rebuke benefits the recipient but no one benefits from secret love, that is, love that refuses to point out a person’s failings or is never acknowledged to exist. 27:6 Most people do not want to be honest with you about your faults; they are afraid that you will turn against them. It is a true friend who is willing to risk your goodwill in order to help you by constructive criticism. The kisses of an enemy are deceitful, or profuse (RSV). Judas gave a sign to the mob in advance to help them distinguish Jesus from the disciples; the sign was a kiss. The universal symbol of love was to be prostituted to its lowest use. As he approached the Lord, Judas said, “Hail, Master!” then kissed Him profusely. Two different words for kiss are used (Mat_26:48-49). The first, in verse 48, is the normal word for kiss. But in verse 49, a stronger word is used, expressing repeated or affectionate kissing. 27:7 A man who is overfed loses his appreciation of the choicest, sweetest foods. A hungry person is grateful for the slimmest pickings. This is true of material possessions and of spiritual privileges. 27:8 A man who wanders from his home is one who is discontented and restless. He has the wanderlust. He is like a bird that strays from its nest, shirking responsibilities and failing to build anything solid and substantial. 27:9 The pleasantness of ointment and perfume is compared to the fragrance of loving advice from a friend. There is something truly heartwarming about fellowship with a friend. 27:10 Friendships must be cultivated and kept alive. Often the oldest friends are the best. So don’t lose touch with your friends or old friends of the family. “Nor go to your brother’s house"obviously meaning the home of one who has been offended, one who is far off. When trouble comes, you will get more help and sympathy from a faithful neighbor than from a near relative who is estranged from you. 27:11 A son’s behavior reflects on his father’s instruction. A disciple brings either joy or shame to his teacher. Berkeley’s footnote says it well: “The teacher’s one defensethe success of his students.” 27:12 Noah was a prudent man, hiding himself and his family in the ark. The rest of the people went on their way carelessly and indifferently and suffered for it. (See notes on Pro_22:3.) 27:13 In modern idiom, the first line means that the man who is surety for a stranger will “lose his shirt.” The second line reads, “and hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.” In other words, be sure you have a legal claim on the property of anyone who will guarantee the debts unworthy of strangers, for if the debtor can’t pay, the surety will have to. 27:14 A man doesn’t appreciate loud, flattering greetings early in the morning when he is trying to sleep. They are more of a nuisance than a blessing. 27:15, 16 The continual drip, drip, drip of water through the roof on a very rainy day has this in common with a scolding, nagging wife. They are both enough to “drive a person up the wall!” Whoever restrains her restrains the wind, and grasps oil with his right hand. No matter what you say, she will evade, excuse, blame othersand go right on nagging. 27:17 It used to be common to see the host at a table sharpening the carving knife by drawing each side of the cutting edge against a hardened steel rod with fine ridges. Just as the action of iron against iron sharpens, so the interchange of ideas among people makes them more acute in their thinking. Sharing each other’s opinions gives a helpful breadth of view. Asking questions sharpens wits. Friendly intercommunication hones the personality. 27:18 Whoever takes good care of a fig tree is rewarded by a good crop. Diligence in attending to one’s occupation insures food in the pantry or deepfreeze. It is also true that the one who faithfully waits on his employer will be honored. Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (Joh_12:26). 27:19 As you look into a clear pool, you see your face reflected in the water. Even so, as you study other people, you see much that you find in yourselfthe same emotions, temptations, ambitions, thoughts, strengths, and weaknesses. That is why it happens that if a man preaches to himself, he is surprised by how many other people he hits. 27:20 Hell and Destruction (Heb. Sheol and Abaddon), death and the grave never reach the point where they don’t claim more victims. So the eyes of men are never satisfied by anything the world has to offer. Arthur G. Gish illustrates: Tolstoy tells of a farmer who had a lust for more and more land. Finally he heard of cheap land among the Bashkirs. He sold all he had, made a long journey to their territory, and arranged a deal with them. For one thousand rubles he could buy all the land he could walk around in one day. The next morning he set out and walked far in one direction and then turned left. He made many detours to include extra areas of good soil. By the time he made his last turn, he realized he had gone too far. He ran as fast as possible to get back to the starting point before sunset. Faster and faster he ran and finally staggered and fell across the starting point just as the sun set. He lay there dead. They buried him in a small hole, all the land he needed. Fortunately, the craving of man’s heart is fully satisfied in Christ: O Christ, He is the fountain, The deep sweet well of love! The streams on earth I’ve tasted, More deep I’ll drink above! There, to an ocean fullness, His mercy doth expand. And glory, glory dwelleth In Immanuel’s land. Anne Ross Cousin27:21 As a refining pot or crucible tests silver, and a furnace tests gold, so “a man is tried by his praise.” This may mean that a man is tested by how he reacts to praise. Does it go to his head and ruin him, or does he accept it calmly and humbly? Or it may mean that a man is tested by the things that he praises (ASV margin). His standards or sense of values are a reflection of his character. Or again it might mean, as Barnes suggests, “So let a man be to his praise,” that is, “let him purify it from all the alloy of flattery and baseness with which it is too probably mixed up.” 27:22 You have probably seen a mortar and pestle on display in a drug store. The mortar is a bowl-shaped object. The pestle is a short, thick rod with a globular end and is used for pounding or pulverizing things in the mortar. Even if you could put a fool in a mortar with wheat and pound both with the pestle, you wouldn’t be able to separate the fool and his foolishness. In other words, you can separate the wheat from the chaff, but folly is too much a part of a fool to take it from him. 27:23-27 This paragraph extols the virtues of agricultural life, but puts ample stress on the importance of the farmer’s diligence. Unwearied and unceasing care must be exercised in tending the flocks and herds. Pastoral prosperity can only be maintained by constant diligence. This applies with equal force to the shepherding of sheep in a local church. Riches do not last and the honors of royalty soon pass away unless constant care is exercised in attending to one’s affairs. There is tremendous satisfaction for the farmer in seeing the crops appearing, and in harvesting the vegetation from the hills. The lambs will provide wool for clothing, and by selling goats he can buy additional fields. There is plenty of food for his family and for his servants.