Proverbs 27
McGeeCHAPTER 27This chapter deals with the subject of friendship.
Proverbs 27:1
There is a philosophy of procrastination that is very familiar to all of us. It puts off until tomorrow what could be done today. South of the border, our Mexican friends have a word for it: “mañana"tomorrow. That is the easy route. There is a Spanish proverb that says, “The road of by-and-by leads to the house of never.” Usually when one says, Ma$Ltnana, it really means, “Never.” It is not that there is no intention of doing the thing in question. It is just put off.
We have another proverb that puts it very bluntly. “The way to hell is paved with good intentions.” The English have a proverb that says, “Procrastination is the thief of time.” The Word of God puts it likes this: “…Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb_4:7, italics mine). And again, “(…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)” (2Co_6:2, italics mine). Isaiah writes, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD …” (Isa_1:18, italics mine). The tendency of man is to want to wait for another time. Remember that the governor Felix trembled when he heard the gospel from the apostle Paul. Paul, though a prisoner, talked to him about his soul’s salvation, and Felix responded, “…Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Act_24:25).
As far as we know from the Word of God, that “convenient season” never came for Felix. Also, Pharaoh in Egypt was always going to let the children of Israel go tomorrow, not today. Finally his repeated postponements cost him his oldest son and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Today is always the day of salvation. You do not know what tomorrow will bring.
Proverbs 27:2
Goliath should have listened to this proverb. He paraded in front of the army of Israel every day, flexed his muscles, told them how great he was and what a miserable bunch of cowards they were. Eventually he got into trouble with a boy named David.
Proverbs 27:3
If you have a fool angry with you, you are in trouble, because a fool has no discretion. He will say and do anything.
Proverbs 27:4
Envy is jealousy. “…jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame” (Son_8:6). You will remember what jealousy did in the family of Jacob. The brothers sold Joseph into slavery because of their intense jealousy.
Proverbs 27:5
This is a contrast of which we have many examples in the Bible. Paul rebuked Simon Peter when he withdrew from eating with the Gentiles. Peter needed that rebuke, and he accepted it from Paul. There was no ill feeling between them. It is a wonderful thing to have a friend who will call attention to your faults in a helpful way. That’s the reason a preacher needs a good wife. She can keep him humble and tell him what is wrong with him. I have come out from a service puffed up like a balloon. When we get into the car, my wife pushes a pin into the balloon. I recognize that she is the one who is right rather than the one who was flattering me. Now the contrasting thought is, of course, exemplified in Judas who betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
Proverbs 27:7
This is the reason we have gourmet cooking in our day. We are a pampered people who have so much to eat that the food must be prepared in unusual ways or the foods must be exotic and unusual to whet our appetites. Some people need hummingbird wings or peacock tongues served to them before they can really enjoy their food. That is why cooking reached such a high degree of perfection in the European countries like France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. The ruling class had such plenty that they got tired of eating plain food. A tenderloin steak or filet mignon or strawberries and ice cream were just not good enough for them. So the chefs of that day had to concoct unusual and tasty foods for them. Contrast this with the hungry man. Food, all food, any food tastes good to him. One can also apply this to the Word of God. We are to eat it, chew it, ruminate on it. Actually, this is what it means to meditate on the Word of God. May God give us an appetite, a real hunger for His Word!
Proverbs 27:8
There are many folk in churches and in other Christian works who are like round pegs in square holes or square pegs in round holes. They just don’t fit in. The reason is that God has given to every believer a gift: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (1Co_12:7, italics mine). And God has a particular place for every believer to exercise the gift he has been given: “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him” (1Co_12:18). We should get into that place and exercise our gift. In the New Testament we have examples of folk who apparently didn’t exercise their gifts.
For instance, Paul spoke of a young man by the name of Demas: “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica …” (2Ti_4:10). He went back into the world. As far as we know, he never did fit into the place that God had for him.
Proverbs 27:9
I have always felt that this is a California proverb. When I first came to California, I was shocked at the few people who attended funerals. I had come from Texas, where people came from far and near to attend a funeral. The largest crowds I ever addressed were at Texas funerals. When I came to California, I conducted a funeral for a dear saint of God who lived alone. She had brought her husband out here from the East because he was sick, and she spent much of her time caring for him until he died.
She didn’t have many friends although she had become active in the church to a certain extent. I thought the place would be crowded for her funeral, but there were about fifteen people there. Her family and friends were back in the East. “Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.” We all need friends, and it is better to make friends among our neighbors than depend on family and old friends who are great distances from us.
Proverbs 27:12
This is one of the great benefits of the study of prophecy: We know what is coming. Frankly, I would be very discouraged and pessimistic if I had to look to men to solve our problems today. I don’t think man has the solution. We are moving to a crisis and a catastropheI don’t think there is any question about that. Any man is very foolish to think that he can solve the problems of the world. The Word of God makes it clear that there is trouble ahead, and the judgment of God is coming upon this old world. There is another thought in connection with this proverb. I will state it in rather terse language: Buy insurance. The Lord intends for you to make plans for the future. “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself.” He prepares for the difficult day that is coming. Some people have the idea that a man ought not prepare for retirement, ought not to carry insurance. The foolish reason given is that we ought to trust the Lord. Let me say that when the Lord has given us means for providing for the future, we should avail ourselves of them.
Proverbs 27:14
There is a great deal of irony in this statement. There are those who make such loud protestations of love and affection that you know there is some motive behind it all. Watch out for the man who is praising you more than you ought to be praised. A scriptural illustration of this is the way in which Absalom won the hearts of the men of Israel (see 2Sa_15:1-6). He got up early and came to the city gate to talk to the men who came to the king with a controversy. Absalom flattered them and pretended to love them and show an interest in their cases. But his true interest was in gaining their support when he seized the throne. (Politicians have been following this same procedure from that day to this!) I always tell this to young preachers when I am speaking in seminaries: “Young men, regardless of what church you go to, there will always be a dear saint in that church who will tell you what a wonderful preacher you are. Generally it is a sweet old lady; sometimes it is a man. The Lord puts them there to encourage young preachers. They will tell you that you are the greatest preacher they have ever heard. They will have you think you are another apostle Paul, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Billy Sunday, and Billy Graham all wrapped into one individual. It’s wonderful that such a person is there to encourage you, but don’t you believe what you hear. It’s not true.” A modern proverb goes something like this: Flattery is like perfume. The idea is to smell it, not swallow it.
Proverbs 27:15
We are back to the subject of the contentious woman. I have already quoted the first verse of the ballad of the backseat driver. The man shot his wife because she was a backseat driver and, of course, he was brought to trial in court. They attempted to convict him, but the last verse and chorus tell you what happened: The judge and jury listened, then rose and set him free. “Your act was justified,” they said, “We do agree. We know how much you suffered , how tortured was your mind Each time you took her driving, and this is what we find: (Chorus) “I am the lady’s husband. Long years have we been wed. I loved her very dearly and shot her through the head. I perhaps should not have killed her; it is not right to slay But with those backseat drivers, it is the only way.” That’s all I’ll say about the contentious woman!
Proverbs 27:17
It is a wonderful thing to have a friend with whom you can sharpen your mind. You can discuss certain things with him with real profit. I used to have such a friend, and we could sit down and talk about spiritual matters. I always came away refreshed and strengthened, and I always had learned something. It is wonderful to have a friend like that.
Proverbs 27:19
It is wonderful to have a friend to whom you can open your heart, knowing that he will not betray you. A friend is one who knows you and still loves you.
Proverbs 27:20
We never see enough. We want to keep on seeing. That’s the reason some of us love to travel around the world.
Proverbs 27:21
Be careful of praise. Make sure it has the right effect upon you. Dr. Ironside (Notes on the Book of Proverbs, pp. 390-391) has this comment: “There is no hotter crucible to test a man than when he is put through a fire of praise and adulation. To go on through evil report, cleaving to the Lord, and counting on Him to clear one’s name is comparatively easy, though many faint in such circumstances; but to humbly pursue the even tenor of his way, undisturbed and unlifted up by applause and flattery, marks a man as being truly with God.”
Proverbs 27:24
“Riches are not for ever"in our materialistic age we need to recognize the truth of this. You won’t be taking your riches with you. There is no pocket in a shroud. “And doth the crown endure to every generation?” Dynasties rise and fall in this world of changes. God is the only One on whom we can depend. He is the only unchangeable Friend. This has been a great chapter on friendship.