Untimely cheerfulness is unbearable. When you have a heavy heart, you are in no mood to sing or have someone to sing to you. To take away someone’s coat when it is cold, would be a cruel thing to do.
To pour vinegar upon nitre (Baking soda), is to cause it to hiss and lose its component power. Vinegar stings when applied wrongly.
When our brothers and sisters are sad, it is cruel to rejoice in their sorrow.
God’s form of retaliation is most effective and yet difficult to do. Paul quotes this proverb in
Romans 12:19-21. In Mathew 5:44, Jesus encourages us to pray for those who hurt us. By returning good for evil, we are acknowledging God as the balancer of all accounts and trusting him to be the judge.
(From the end of verse 23 to verse 25), we see that injustice is evil and destabilizes society. There is nothing worse than an unjust judge. The people can tell when someone is playing favorites, and they do not like it. They demand justice. Fair play is not only wanted but demanded by the people.
The people want the guilty punished and the innocent to go free. The judge that does just that, without playing favorites, is respected, and loved by the people and by the Lord as well.
These words introduce a brief section forming an appendix of further wise sayings that finish the first group of proverbs complied by Solomon to add to his own.
Acts 10:34 “Opening his mouth, Peter said: I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality:”
James 2:1 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.”
You should read (all of James 2:1 thru 2:9), God is not a respecter of persons, as well. We should judge all the same with no prejudice because of wealth or prominence.
Mathews 6:27-28 You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ 28But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
The Old Testament law said that it is wrong for a person to have sex with someone other than his or her spouse (Exodus 20: 14). But Jesus said that the desire to have sex with someone other than your spouse is mental adultery and thus sin. Jesus emphasized that if the act is wrong, then so is the intention. To be faithful to your spouse with your body but not your mind is to break the trust so vital to a strong marriage. Jesus is not condemning natural interest in the opposite sex or even healthy sexual desire but the deliberate and repeated filling of one’s mind with fantasies that would be evil if acted out.
Some think that if lustful thoughts are sin, why shouldn’t a person go ahead and do the lustful actions, too?
Acting out sinful desires is harmful in several ways: (1) It causes people to excuse sin rather than to stop sinning; (2) it destroys marriages; (3) it is deliberate rebellion against God’s Word; (4) it always hurts someone else in addition to the sinner. Sinful actions are more dangerous than sinful desires, and that is why desires should not be acted out. Nevertheless, sinful desires are just as damaging to obedience. Left unchecked, wrong desires will result in wrong actions and turn people away from God.
The Steve Harvey morning show plays pranks on people in the morning with nephew Tommy portraying a fictitious person. Some of these are Church members that by being prank or lied too, it brings out the worse in them, to find out later it was a joke. As much as we laugh and joke about, it is not of God and He do not like. This goes for social media and anything else that a person uses to have you sinning against God.
Proverbs 26:18-19 Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon 19is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.”
He that sins in prank, must repent in serious, or his sin will be his ruin.
Mark 9:42 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck.
This caution against harming little ones in the faith applies both to what we do individually as teachers and examples and to what we allow to fester in our Christian fellowship. Our thoughts and actions must be motivated by love (1 Corinthians 13), and we must be careful about judging others (Matthew 7: 1-5; Romans 14: 1– 15: 4). However, we also have a responsibility to confront flagrant sin within the church (1 Corinthians 5: 12-13).
We see some of the things of wisdom and understanding teaches (in verses 26, 27, 28). The first verse is another warning to listen to. The word prostitute is a very clear word showing just how disgusting this sin is.
These terms refer to any immoral woman. Falling into her clutches should be as frightening as the prospect of falling into a deep pit or well, from which there is no escape.
We have said before that devastating diseases are associated with whoredom today. A man or woman of wisdom will not get involved in this type of sin. This sin involves the body, and the body (if you are a Christian), is the TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. This sin, more than others, involves God in the sin; and this is an abomination to God.
Don’t let the desires of the flesh; draw you out of fellowship with God.
We see here “Incline your ear and hear” means humble yourself enough that you will hear. Someone can talk all day, but if you do not receive it, you have done nothing. “Apply your mind to knowledge” is speaking of the knowledge of God being applied to the heart.
Verse 18 is an extension of verse 17. The knowledge of God applied to the heart is a pleasant thing. If you keep it hidden away in your heart forever, your words will be coming from a pure heart and you will be speaking pure words. The knowledge God has revealed to you should not be a shame to you, but a joy to speak.
Proverbs 22:19 So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, even you.
We see, we are not to trust in ourselves or even the people around us, but in the Lord who will never let us down. God has revealed Himself to us. This last sentence in verse 19 is saying (believe it or not), I have revealed it unto you.
Proverbs 22:20 Have I not written to your excellent things of counsels and knowledge.
The previous counsels have been the same. He is just reminding them here that they already have been instructed in God’s way.
Proverbs 22:21 To make you know the certainty of the words of truth That you may correctly answer him who sent you?
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who ask you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.
One of the reasons we learn the truth is so that we can pass it on to others after we have applied it to our lives. Not only are we to get saved by the truth of God, but we must minister truth everywhere we go
We see here “bow down thine ear” means humble yourself enough that you will hear. Someone can talk all day, but if you do not receive it, you have done nothing. “Apply thine heart unto my knowledge” is speaking of the knowledge of God being applied to the heart.
Verse 18 is an extension of verse 17. The knowledge of God applied to the heart is a pleasant thing. If you keep it hidden away in your heart forever, your words will be coming from a pure heart and you will be speaking pure words. The knowledge God has revealed to you should not be a shame to you, but a joy to speak.
This is a continuation of verse 25. In contrast to the evil, lazy person who has nothing and wants everything is the righteous who works hard and gives away a great deal of what he earns.
The sin of covetousness marks the lazy man as the virtue of benevolence marks the righteous.
Under Gods command 