We are almost done reading through Proverbs now. I think that we have learned a lot through this study! Hezekiah’s men, king of Judah helped Solomon compile the Proverbs in this chapter. Let’s look at Proverbs 25 now. There are many practical life lessons in all of these verses that we can learn from.
Verses 1-7 Speaks of the character of kings as well as what to do in their presence.
Verse 2: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”
God gets the glory when we let things go, when we conceal a matter. Kings, though, like to uncover what is going on and bring wrong out in the open.
Verse 3: “As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.”
The heavens are high, the earth is deep, as it is hard to search this high and this deep, it is also so difficult that a king’s heart is unsearchable. We can’t even look through a king’s heart! It is impossible for us to see what is going on in his heart. With God, ALL things are possible though!
What God Does With Us
Verse 4: “Remove the dross from the silver,
and a silversmith can produce a vessel;“
so “remove” what is worthless from the silver! I researched just in the dictionary, what dross is. It is something that is worthless. It has no value, in fact, it is scum- mineral waste on the surface. So according to this verse, if scum, or waste is removed from silver, then a silver-smith can actually use it to produce a vessel. This is similar to what God does with us, isn’t it? He has to remove the garbage, the waste, the scum out of our life, then He can use us for great good. What kind of dross does He need to remove out of your life at the moment, so that He can use us?
Verse 5: “remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.”
Verse 5 is actually a continuation of Verse 4. When wicked is removed from the king’s presence, then the kings throne will be established in righteousness. When evil, wickedness is taken from a king or anyone really, they can then live their lives much better than if they are surrounded by evil friends, evil family, etc. Just like in Verse 4, when the dross is taken away, then the silversmith can produce a vessel. The king(or authority) can rule when the evil is gone.
Do Not Brag
Verses 6-7: “Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;
it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.”
So, don’t brag or boast on yourself when you are in the king’s presence. Although we are not likely to be in a king’s presence, we can still keep from bragging about ourselves when we are around others. This is humility, when we don’t have to make ourselves look good. “God resists the proud but gives grace unto the humble!”(James 4:6)
Wait until someone else notices you! It is better for him to tell you to come to him than for him to humiliate you before other important people.
In Court
Verses 8-10 Don’t be quick to take your neighbor to court. Even if you do, don’t spread gossip and talk bad about him!
Verse 11: “Like apples of gold in settings of silver
is a ruling rightly given.”
It fits perfectly when a person is judged correctly.
Verse 12: “Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.”
Verses 11 and 12 pertain to a wise judge ruling, rebuking and the one who is tried, listening. It is beautiful and pure!
Trustworthy
Verse 13 It is very refreshing to a master, for his messenger to deliver and return. The messenger is trustworthy.
Verse 14, like clouds and wind without rain- how believable is it when we see something that is supposed to happen, yet it doesn’t happen? It is discouraging, isn’t it? We come to expect something then never get it. This is how it is when we promise or say a gift is coming and it never happens. It breaks trust in relationships!
Verse 15. This verse seems odd to me when the second half says that a gentle tongue can break a bone! The first part of the verse though speaks of a ruler being persuaded by patience. When we have good character, we can influence much better. We can make an impression that lasts. It surprises people too!
Gratitude
Verse 16. If you find honey, eat just enough!… Don’t take too much of a good thing! You will have bad consequences if you take too much. It is hard to appreciate something when it makes you sick. This verse speaks of only having just enough or else it will make you vomit! You won’t want it anymore either. Just be grateful for a small amount! Think Gratitude!!!!
The Right Way To Treat Your Neighbor
Verse 17 Don’t go visit people(your neighbor) too much! It won’t be special anymore. You will not appreciate them and they won’t care for you so much either! It is too easy to get on each other’s nerves and you will irritate each other. Lesson: Give Each Other Space!
Verse 18 It is dangerous and also hurts when you lie against a neighbor, friend, co-worker, etc. You will be hurt if they did the same thing against you.
Verse 19 It is a pain and uncomfortable when you rely on someone in a hard time and they are not dependable!
Verse 20 Singing to someone or really trying to cheer them up or make them laugh when they are in real hard times is like taking away their jacket when it is cold or pouring vinegar on a wound. It hurts, it is uncomfortable and not what a person needs in a real tough situation. Be Sensitive!
The Right Way To Treat Your Enemy
Verses 21-22 These 2 verses go together as they speak of what to do your enemy. Be kind, be loving, be helpful! When you do this, you will ‘heap coals of fire on their head.” It will burn them when they see that you are being kind even though they have been so nasty to you! This is REALLY HARD to do!!!! We feel like being nasty right back to them! In doing this, the Lord will reward us though! This is not natural for us to do, but supernatural, only because we are allowing the Lord to work in us to do what is right! Lesson- live a supernatural life. God-controlled!
Verse 23 Just like weather can be so unexpected, people can say mean, cruel nasty things to each other so unexpectedly. It really surprises the person that it happens to! Watch our mouths!
Refreshing Relationships
Verse 24 3 times, this similar verse has appeared in Proverbs! It must be very important to us to listen to then. Arguing is so common, it is not good though. It is better to go to the corner of a roof than to live with a wife that is quarrelsome. Why does it always mention a wife though, and not a husband quarreling? Maybe us wives tend to do this more and need to learn from it. Lesson- Don’t quarrel or it will ruin your marriage!
Verse 25 It is so good to hear good news from far away! This verse explains it this way: “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.” My family lived for a while overseas and it is always good to know that they are doing well! It is refreshing! A person who is tired or hot and tired, needs a drink. They need something to help them feel better.
Self-Control
Verse 26 Dirty or even nastier, polluted water is terrible! Even so, those who were righteous at one point, giving way, changing their life and going in a wicked direction is terrible as well! It displeases us when we see something dirty. So, it really displeases God when he watches the righteous go on a different path. This really hurts Him! He doesn’t want to see someone righteous change. The polluted water will make us sick. It will make God sick too when we go against His ways!
Verse 27 Verse 16 mentions not eating too much honey as well! It can make us sick if we get too much. It is also not honorable to check into matters that are too deep. We have to mind our own business or we can get find things out that are really hard on us. It is better to not go far into people’s past. We can get tied up with gossip also. Lesson- Take care of ourselves, mind our own business. Don’t get into other’s business.
Verse 28 Many verses in Proverbs, I have discovered, speak to us to use self-control in our life to be righteous, use wisdom that we are given and everything else that we have learned so far. It is a matter of making choices based on living God’s way which is a supernatural life, or our own natural lives in the flesh. We have to choose and God will give us the strength and the ability.