Jump to:
Proverbs
Chapter
25
{Chapter
25-29- For the People of Jerusalem
in Time of Disaster and Crisis}
{Verses
1-7: Proverbs for a King - How a Person in Responsibility should
conduct themselves}
1~~These
are also proverbs of Solomon,
which
the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
{Note: Per RBT, in Chapters 25-29, we have Proverbs of Solomon discovered by King Hezekiah's secretary when moving the files for the Assyrian invasion (see Isaiah Chapter 38). They are relied on heavily by Isaiah in the book of Isaiah - the so-called 'Hezekiah Proverbs'.}
{Policy
of Kings - (Antithetical Distich}
2~~It
is the glory of 'Elohiym /Godhead to conceal a doctrine/'doctrinal
communication' {dabar} . . .
but
the honor {sense of responsibility} of kings
is
to search out a doctrine {dabar}.
{Note: The glory of God is the essence box of all the Characteristics of God and His plan - His plan emanates from his essence. The 'far meaning' was that there were certain doctrines that were not revealed to the Jews. God was not trying to hide anything, but only to bring it to Light at the right time. There were 'mysteries' that were revealed and recorded in the New Testament and God did not consider it important to reveal it to them - for example the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit to all believers after the cross. The 'near meaning' is that certain doctrines are taken in and 'stored' but concealed in you until they are needed. So, the Jews stored up the doctrines until the time of crisis hit - and then used them.}
{Note: The honor/responsibility of a person in responsibility is to be objective and to be fair. A king is still a human and his thinking needs to be anchored in something greater than himself - bible doctrine.}
{Dignity
and Poise of a King}
3~~The
heaven for height . . . and the Earth for depth . . .
and
the heart/'right lobe' of kings is un-searchable {cheqer}.
{Note: Heaven is too far out to penetrate its mysteries - same with the depth of the Earth. So, the thinking of a man in authority should be just as obscure. His likes and dislikes should be unknown so he can be objective and fair. He can not show partiality to his friends or to avenge his enemies or operate on any mental attitude sins.}
{Verses
4-5: Stabilized Ruler Leads to Stabilized Nation (a Parabolic
Tetrastich - 1st 2 lines illustration; 2nd 2 lines 'point of doctrine')}
4-5~~Melt
away the dross/impurities from the silver,
so
that the vessel is ready for the Smith . . . 5~~
take
away the wicked {apostasy/'false doctrine'/'human viewpoint'}
from
before the king,
and
his throne shall be stabilized in righteousness.
{Note: 'Melt away' is accomplished by applying heat - suffering. Ciyg means 'Dross' and it is used 2 ways: 1) refuge and 2) for anything keeping the metal from being pure (dross is apostasy or false religion in place of God and His Word). It must be purified before it is useable. Israel needed a national purification before the nation could be preserved - one example of the spiritual revival of Isaiah.}
{Note: The 'wicked' referred to the unbelievers. For example, they would be taken away when they listened to Isaiah preach. The second example was the 'state department' (3 frightened men of Isaiah 36:3) advising Hezekiah - they had to be removed. The believers understood doctrine taught by Isaiah and stayed relaxed.}
{Verses
6-7: Warning against Arrogance}
6~~Put
not forth yourself {to display arrogance}
in
the presence of the king . . .
and
stand not in the place of the great ones {the dignitaries}.
{Note: The 'presence of the king' means at a state dinner. Do not even mentally think you should be in the king's place. This is a picture of an arrogant person with approbation and power lust.}
{Mental
Attitude Sins Reject Authority& Suffer(Comparative Distich)}
7~~
For better it is that it be said unto you, 'Come up here . . .'
than
that you should be put lower
in
the presence of the prince whom your eyes have seen.
{Note: It is pretty humiliating to be demoted. A person with a relaxed mental attitude is promoted without even trying.}
{Verses
8-18: Proverbs of Conversation}
{Verse
8: Isolation of Controversy}
25:8~~Go
not forth hastily to strive,
{result}
. . . in the end . . . what to do {?}
when
your neighbor has put you to shame.
{Note: This believer has a chip on his shoulder. He is a petty person constantly in a scrap with someone. He usually is aggressive in his bitterness. He gossips, slanders and may even use violence. 'The end' is self-induced misery! And, you add divine discipline to that and it hardly gets worse! What to do is an idiom for total isolation. In the end, you have no friends - no one cares for you - but you still have your mental attitude sins and discipline. How does your neighbor put you to shame? He puts the matter in the Lord's hands and is NOT hurt by your slander and other actions. You still have your misery and mental attitude sins - your shame.}
9~~Isolate
your controversy with a 'fellow believer'/neighbor.
Do
not reveal the secret of the controversy to another.
{Note: Means to contend quietly with the fellow believer with whom you have a problem and don't get others involved. That leads to people taking sides and a schism/faction/division happens.}
10~~With
the result that he who hears it {the controversy}
puts
you to shame, and your infamy turn not away.
{Note: When others hear you are a troublemaker, they are to isolate YOU! To separate from you. Keep it to yourself and you are within doctrine. Spread the 'rumor' - right or wrong - and it is terrible sinning.}
{Verses
11-13: Effectiveness of Doctrine in Isolating Controversy}
{Verse
11 is a Parabolic Distich - Illustration in first line and then
doctrine in the next line}
11~~Golden
apples 'on silver trays'/'in silver frame' . . .
a
doctrine {dabar} "correctly applied to any circumstance in life".
{idiom: literally: 'on its wheels'}
{Note: This is 'divine viewpoint' - making the issue clear. Doctrine correctly spoken is compared to something beautiful to people in this day - a golden apple. The silver tray represents service - doctrine will serve YOU well. This also could be a picture of a golden apple in a silver frame. The frame then would be a picture of your soul which holds the doctrine. Finally, a chariot could move through good conditions or bad. So the chariot on its wheels could handle anything. So doctrine is good for all the circumstances of life.}
{Verse
12 another Parabolic Distich - Illustration in first line and then
doctrine in the next line}
12~~As
an earring of gold and a golden necklace,
so
is 'the communicator of doctrine'/'wise reprover'/
'one
who communicates a divine norm or standard correctly'
upon
an obedient ear.
{Note: Female jewelry compliments where it is used. Here it is used as the illustration for doctrine (the only thinking that has value) in a person with positive volition to the Word (the obedient ear).}
{Function
of Doctrine - Refreshment of the Soul - (A Tri-stitch (a
three line Proverb - 1st line is illustration for next 2 lines)}
13~~Like
the cold of snow in the time of harvest . . .
so
is a faithful messenger
{the water boy of the day/Gives the Water of the Word}
to
those who send for him {the teacher of correct doctrine} . . .
for
he causes refreshment for the soul of his masters.
{Note: The messenger is a faithful teacher of doctrine and the senders are those positive to his teaching. Doctrine refreshes the soul as snow refreshes the body of those heated up. There were not 'ice cubes' to grab from the freezer when this was written. Workers would go to the snow of near by mountains and bring back snow to put in water to cool the workers harvesting in the August sun.}
{The
Ineffective Word - the word of Legalism/Religion}
{Verse
14 another Parabolic Distich - Illustration then doctrine}
14~~Clouds
and wind without rain . . .
is
like the man who glorifies himself with a false gift.
{Note: Under grace, God does the Work and rightly receives the credit. Under legalism/religion, man does the work and therefore is rewarded for his own work - man would receive the credit - wrong!}
{Note: Clouds and wind usually indicate rain - in an agricultural society this was a sign of great prosperity coming. So a false preacher gives 'no Water'. His content is not divine viewpoint. Maybe his message appeals to human emotion or human good or legalism or an appeal to lusts - no doctrine, no blessings. This false teacher claims to have spiritual gifts that they do not have.}
{Verses
15-17: Balance or Moderation of Doctrine - Keeps you from Too far
Right or Too far left}
15~~By
restraint of anger/'mental attitude sins' is a judge persuaded
and
a soft tongue breaks the bone.
{Note: A good judge is an objective judge. Is he lining up a series of facts in accordance with the law of the land? Today it is pure subjectivity and pure evil. It is 'How much of a clown can you be'. Judges should only be concerned with getting to the truth - the facts of the case. And law should be based on bible doctrine. A soft tongue is someone who speaks from doctrine instead of from anger/'mental attitude sins'. 'Patience breaks iron'.}
{From
What you Say to What you Eat}
16~~Have
you found candy?
{idiom: literally 'honey' - the sweet of the ancient world}
Eat
so much as is sufficient for you . .. .
{idiom: literally: 'eat to your enough'}
lest
you 'over eat'/'become super filled' and vomit it.
{Note: Honey is beneficial but you can over-do it. The principal here is eat in moderation. Do not let your taste buds dictate your eating habits. As honey is to the taste buds, so is stimulation to the emotions. Don't let your emotions become the norm or standard in your soul and rule your life - doctrine/reason should rule your life.}
{Moderation
of Conviviality Among Acquaintances Creates Acrimony}
17~~Make
rare your foot on your neighbor's footstep
lest
he be weary of you
and
so hate/'have mental attitude sins toward' you.
{Note: People do have friends that you can be around all the time and not destroy rapport. But for most acquaintances, 'familiarity breeds contempt'. Friendship should be based on doctrine- it takes up the slack. Whether you have a sweet or nagging personality, make your visits short and infrequent. Don't turn intimacy into intrusiveness - respect the privacy of others, respect the volition of others.}
{Verse
18 Condemnation of Gossip (Parabolic Distich)}
18~~A
hammer, a sword, and a sharp arrow
{good trajectory and sharp} . . .
a
man who bears 'false witness'/'sins of the tongue'
against
his neighbor.
{Note: This is the conclusion verse. A hammer smashes everything to pieces - reputations and friendships are smashed. A sword is an instrument that kills someone up close (like judging others or gossiping in a church). An arrow kills at a distance (like a slander on a TV show or in a newspaper). Slander, maligning, nitpicking - all sins of the tongue - drives people always.}
{Comparative
Distich - (1st line 'Better Than' something in 2nd line)}
19~~A
worthless/broken tooth and an unsteady foot . . .
{better
than} 'having confidence in'/'trust in'
an
unstable/unfaithful man in time of disaster.
{Note: With a broken or torn out tooth, you could not enjoy food in these days. An unsteady foot has no strength for walking. And they are better than having confidence in unfaithful mankind. Trust in God, not in man. But in this verse, if you must trust in man, make sure he has doctrine in his soul so he may be stable/faithful.}
{Verses
20-22: Self-Induced Misery and its Remedy (a Parabolic Distich - 1st
line illustrates principal in 2nd)}
20~~As
he who takes off his clothes in cold weather
and
as {putting} an acid/vinegar in a 'soap'/nitre,
so
is he that sings songs {shiyr} to an heavy heart/'right lobe'.
{Note: Taking off your clothes in the cold is self-induced misery - 'clothes' represents doctrine. So in the 'cold weather'/'tragedies of life' they throw off their clothes and get hysterical, emotionalism, escapism etc. And pouring an acidic liquid on soap you neutralize the cleansing ability of the soap. Soap is the principal of rebound. The acid/vinegar is the refusal to use it.}
{Note: Shiyr means to live it up in singing songs. Like a bunch of partiers singing together making 'beautiful music'. Then a 'party pooper' shows up - a man under pressure, heart-ache, facing tragedy, lost his money, got fired. Or he hates, is bitter, jealous - the joy does not reach him. So, the analogy is you can not find happiness via the details of life. First, you need doctrine.}
{Signs
of Relaxed Mental Attitude - Free from Self-Induced Misery}
21~~If
your enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat . . .
and
if he be thirsty, give him water to drink.
{Note: Be Relaxed. Don't have mental attitude sins. Save yourself the self-induced misery.}
22~~For
you shall heap coals of fire on his head,
and
Jehovah/God shall reward {shalam} you
{for
staying out of His way}.
{Note: If he wants to be hostile toward you, stay out of it. That is between him and God! Shalam means to give you something of value in place of something that is no good - He takes away glass and gives you diamonds - He takes away 'fool's gold' and gives real gold.}
23~~The
north wind forms rain
and
a slandering tongue forms an angry face.
{Note: The north wind picks up the moisture from the Mediterranean sea that is cold and hits the dry hot air of Palestine and it forms rain there. Rain is the trouble of the person. The north wind is bringing in the troubles and the person without doctrine has no solutions. Sins of the tongue bring troubles.}
{Verses
24-25 Nagging Woman and Her Solution}
24~~Better
to live in the battlement/'corner of the housetop' . . .
than
to share a beautiful house with a nagging wife.
{Note: Most houses had a fort or battlement on top of the house. The battlement has no roof over your head. So, you get the rain and 'bitter cold' or 'hot sun' on your head . . . but it is better than being with a woman with no doctrine and has the sins of the tongue.}
{Parabolic
Distich}
25~~As
cold water to a thirsty soul/person . . .
so
is good news from a far country.
{Note: A letter that is sustaining is received is very enjoyable. The letter is doctrine. If the nagging woman gets doctrine, it will be wonderful for those around her.}
{Imitation
of an Unbeliever (Parabolic Distich - Illustration -doctrine)}
26~~A
troubled fountain and a ruined spring . . .
the
righteous man tottering before the 'principal of wickedness'.
{Note: Illustrates the Old Sin nature and sins from the area of weakness compared to a believer operating just like an unbeliever. He performs 'good' and 'sins' all out of fellowship and brings no glory to God (energy of the flesh production) and there is no divine good (energy of the Spirit).}
{Principal
of Sublimation}
27~~It
is not good to eat too much honey . . .
but
consider My Doctrine valuable . . . as wealth.
{Note: The principal here is compulsive eating in times of trouble - sublimation. This also could be compulsive drinkers and gamblers, etc. Instead, of sublimating in times of problems, use the doctrine in your soul - inner happiness, divine good . . . and you have a life that counts for Him! No circumstance of life gets to you!}
{Parabolic
Distich - Illustration then doctrine}
28~~A
city broken down without walls . . .
is
like a man without self-control over his spirit.
{means he has no self-control to sit and consistently listen to
doctrine.
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