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Monday, September 30, 2013

Burning Coals On Enemy's Head

Proverbs 25:1-28 NIV


More Proverbs of Solomon


1These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

2It is the Glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
3As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.
4Remove the dross from the silver,
and a silversmith can produce a vessel;
5remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.
6Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;
7it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.
What you have seen with your eyes
8do not bringa hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
if your neighbor puts you to shame?
9If you take your neighbor to court,
do not betray another’s confidence,
10or the one who hears it may shame you
and the charge against you will stand.
11Like applesb of gold in settings of silver
is a ruling rightly given.
12Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.
13Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time
is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
he refreshes the spirit of his master.
14Like clouds and wind without rain
is one who boasts of gifts never given.
15Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
16If you find honey, eat just enough—
too much of it, and you will vomit.
17Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—
too much of you, and they will hate you.
18Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow
is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.
19Like a broken tooth or a lame foot
is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.
20Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
or like vinegar poured on a wound,
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
22In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.

23Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain
is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.
24Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
25Like cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.
26Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
are the righteous who give way to the wicked.
27It is not good to eat too much honey,
nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.
28Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.




Verses 21-22


By this it appears that, however the scribes and Pharisees had corrupted the law, not only the commandment of loving our brethren, but even that of loving our enemies, was not only a new, but also an old commandment, an Old-Testament commandment, though our Savior Jesus has given it to us with the new enforcement of His own great example in loving us when we were enemies before.

It shows how we must express our love to our enemies by the real kindness, "If they are hungry and thirsty, instead of pleasing yourself with their distress and contriving how to cut off supplies from them, relieve them. It will be a likely means to win on them, and bring them over to be reconciled to us; we shall mollify them as the refiner melts the metal in the crucible, not only by putting it over the fire, but by heaping coals of fire upon it. The way to turn an enemy into a friend is, to act towards him in a friendly manner.


If it does not gain him, it will aggravate his sin and punishment, and heap the burning coals of God’s wrath upon his head, as rejoicing in his calamity may be an occasion of God’s turning His wrath from him, Proverbs 24:17. However, we shall be no losers by our self-denial. Whether he relent towards you or not, the Lord shall reward you; He shall forgive you who shows yourself to be of a forgiving spirit. He shall provide for you when you art in distress as you do for your enemy; at least it shall be rewarded in the resurrection of the just, when kindnesses done to our enemies shall be remembered as well as those shown to God’s people.

Love Your Enemy


Proverbs 24:1-34 NIV


Saying 20

1Do not envy the wicked,
do not desire their company;
2for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble.


Saying 21

3By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.


Saying 22

5The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
6Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.


Saying 23

7Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.


Saying 24

8Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
9The schemes of folly are sin,
and people detest a mocker.


Saying 25

10If you falter in a time of trouble,
how small is your strength!
11Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
12If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not He who guards your life know it?
Will He not repay everyone according to what they have done?


Saying 26

13Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.


Saying 27

15Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,
do not plunder their dwelling place;
16for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.


Saying 28

17Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
18or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn His wrath away from them.


Saying 29

19Do not fret because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.


Saying 30

21Fear the Lord and the king, my son,
and do not join with rebellious officials,
22for those two will send sudden destruction on them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?



Further Sayings of the Wise



23These also are sayings of the wise:

To show partiality in judging is not good:
24Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.
26An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
28Do not testify against your neighbor without cause—
would you use your lips to mislead?
29Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”
30I went past the field of a sluggard,
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.




Verse 17, 18


Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn His wrath away from them.



These words are spoken not to the wicked man, Proverbs 24:15; but to the just man, or Solomon's son, or the children of Wisdom; for by the “enemy” is meant such who are at enmity with the people of God, as the seed of the serpent, and those after the flesh, are: and when these “fall”, saints should not “rejoice”; as when they fall into sin; or rather when they fill into calamity and distress; for this is also the part which wicked men act towards the people of God, and should not be imitated in.




“You(Edom) should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble.


As private revenge is not to be sought, nor acted, so joy at the calamity and ruin of a private enemy, or a man's own enemy, should not be expressed; but rather he is to be pitied and helped; for to love an enemy, and show regard to him, is the doctrine both of the Old and of the New Testament.




If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.


Even secret joy should not be indulged, gladness in the heart, though it does not appear in the countenance, and is not expressed in words; no, not at the least appearance of mischief, when he only stumbles and is ready to fall; and much less should there be exultation and rejoicings made in an open manner at the utter ruin of him.


But Joy may be expressed at the fall of the public enemies of God and His people, as was by the Israelites at the destruction of Pharaoh and his host, Exodus 15:1; and as will be by the church at the destruction of antichrist, and which they are called upon to do, partly on account of their own deliverance and safety, and chiefly because of the Glory of God, and of His justice displayed therein.




Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.




It’s because God sees all things, not only external actions, but the heart, and the inward motions of it; and though men may hide the pleasure they feel at the misery of an enemy from others, they cannot hide it from the Lord; nor is this said by way of doubt, but as a certain thing; and which the Lord not barely sees, but takes notice of, and to such a degree as to resent it, and show His displeasure at it by taking the following step and he turn away his wrath from him; remove the effects of it, raise him out of his fallen and distressed condition, and restore him to his former prosperous one; and not only so, but turn it upon you, so that there is a strange and sudden change of circumstances; you who was pleasing yourself with the distress of your enemy are fallen into the same, and he is delivered out of it, which must be a double affliction to such a man; so that by rejoicing at an enemy, he is doing his enemy good and himself hurt.

Warning Against Drunkeness


Proverbs 23:1-35 NIV


Saying 7

1When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well whata is before you,
2and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.


Saying 8

4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.


Saying 9

6Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;
7for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.b
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.


Saying 10

9Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.


Saying 11

10Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender is strong;
He will take up their case against you.


Saying 12

12Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.


Saying 13

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.


Saying 14

15My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.


Saying 15

17Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the Fear of the Lord.
18There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.


Saying 16

19Listen, my son, and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
21for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.


Saying 17

22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.

24The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!


Saying 18

26My son, give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,
27for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28Like a bandit she lies in wait
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.


Saying 19

29Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”




Warning Against Drunkeness


Solomon warns against drunkenness. Those that would be kept from sin, must keep from all the beginnings of it, and fear coming within reach of its allurements. Foresee the punishment, what it will at last end in, if repentance prevent not. It makes men quarrel. Drunkards willfully make woe and sorrow for themselves. It makes men impure and insolent. The tongue grows unruly; the heart utters things contrary to reason, religion, and common civility.

It stupifies and besots men. They are in danger of death, of damnation; as much exposed as if they slept upon the top of a mast, yet feel secure. They fear no peril when the terrors of the Lord are before them; they feel no pain when the judgments of God are actually upon them. So lost is a drunkard to virtue and honor, so wretchedly is his conscience seared, that he is not ashamed to say, I will seek it again.


With good reason we were bid to stop before the beginning. Who that has common sense would contract a habit, or sell himself to a sin, which tends to such guilt and misery, and exposes a man every day to the danger of dying insensible, and awaking in hell? Wisdom seems in these chapters to take up the discourse as at the beginning of the book. They must be considered as the Words of Christ to the sinner.