Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Pr 27.1 and following. Indeed, to glorify tomorrow (verse 1) is to dispose of it as if it belonged to us: to make firm plans, to enter into long-term commitments, to endorse others (verse 13). Let’s re-read what James tells us about this (James 4:13-17). On the other hand, this verse 1 is especially addressed to those who postpone the question of their salvation. 2 Cor 6:1-3 repeats to them insistently: “This is now the day of salvation.” It is sweet to be able to count on a friend. His loving counsel comes from his heart and rejoices ours (verse 9). But the true friend is not the one who will always say kind words to us. On the contrary, he will be able to take it upon himself to rebuke us, even if our pride must be wounded (verses 5, 6). Such is Jesus, the faithful Friend. He loves us too much to spare us. Surgeons are often forced to open large wounds to reach the internal organs and extirpate the evil. It is the same in the spiritual sense. “The wounds of a wound clean the evil, and the blows, the depths of the soul” (Pr 20:30). Yes, let’s accept without murmuring these necessary wounds, recognizing the gentle and sure hand of our Supreme Friend.
These verses deal particularly with domestic life and friendship. Let’s be picky about choosing a friend. Let us make sure that He shares our faith, that we will have the freedom to kneel together, that He will be able to revive our faces (verse 17). But friendship is not a one-way street. And when we complain about lack of love in others it is always proof that we manifest little of it ourselves. For love responds to love (verse 19). Verse 20 reminds us that the character of the eyes is to be insatiable (1 John 2:15-16) – and verse 22, that foolishness is indissolubly linked to human nature (Pr 22:15; Ec 9:1-3; Rm 3:9-18). No constraint can permanently drive him out. Too pessimistic finding? Unfortunately not! Man is in a state of permanent revolt against his Creator, he refuses the grace offered, he does not cease to act against his eternal interests… And we wouldn’t call it madness? How then to become wise? By receiving through Christ the divine life.
Verses 23 to 27 tell us about human foresight, earthly goods, and a perishable crown. Christians, let us be far-sighted, but to ensure durable goods (Pr 8:12-21; Luke 12:33-34) and an incorruptible crown (1 Cor 9:24-27). This chapter offers a little less follow-up in the order of Proverbs than the previous two chapters; however, the remark at the head of Chapter 25 can be applied to it. Do not glorify yourself of tomorrow, for you do not know what one day will give birth to (v.1; James 4:13-16): To boast of what tomorrow will bring us is to put God aside in our lives. We do not even know what the consequences of the day we find ourselves in will be for tomorrow; a much more so, we do not know the turn of the day that will follow. Let another praise you, not your mouth – a stranger and not your lips: Let us not boast ourselves; let us leave praise to strangers; let’s not leave it even to our friends (v.14). Our conduct must be for all to be a cause for praise (3 John 3:12).
The stone is heavy and the sand is heavy; but the mood of a fool is heavier than both of them: It is not here the fool, but the fool, the one who has lost his mind, the fool whose mood cannot be changed by any reasoning (We take the opportunity to highlight the difference between the fool (Hebrew: Kesil) and the madman (Hebrew: Evil). For the foolish, see our definition at the beginning of this Study. Passages where the word crazy is located; Pr 1:7; 7:22; 10:8, 21; 11:29; 12:15, 16; 14:9; 15:5; 16:22; 17:28; 20:3; 24:7; 27:3,22). His company is an overwhelming burden, heavier than the stone, heavier than the sand from which it is impossible for us to free ourselves, when it fell on us. The fury is cruel and the anger overflows, but who will subsist in the face of jealousy? Thismxime is very important for the exercise of the ministry: It is not a question here of the jealousy of an outraged spouse (Pr 6:34), but of jealousy in general. He who is offended by the superiority of another (and how many times a high thought of ourselves has caused these feelings!) will only be satisfied by having morally ruined the one he considers to be his rival. The cruelty of fury and the overflow of anger are a thousand times preferable.
Better an open rebuke than a hidden love (v. 5; Gal. 2:14). For apublic rebuke is often proof of a deeper and truer love, than a love which, for fear of hurting, remains silent, refrains from resuming and deprives itself of seeing, on occasion, spiritual progress in its friend. This was Paul’s rebuke to Peter before all (Gal. 2:14). Wounds made by a friend are faithful, but kisses from the one who hates are frequent (v. 6; Pr 26:24-25). There are wounds that the wise man will be happy to have received and that demonstrate to him the faithfulness of his friend. Let him defy the many flatteries of his enemies. He will miss them all the less, as they hide their hatred under their kisses.
The satiated soul tramples on the honeycombs, but for the hungry soul all that is bitter is sweet (v. 7; Pr 25:16). For themost legitimate natural affections are not enough to fill the void of a worked heart. There comes a time when the soul, satiated with these sweets, tramples on them to satisfy its hunger. This hunger will find even in what is bitter more sweetness than in family relationships. So it is with the soul in its relationship with God. The judgment pronounced, the word “lost” inscribed on the sinner, the ruin of any claim to obtain justice before God, are the bitter herbs of the Passover. The soul must feed on it, but it finds salvation in it, the Paschal Lamb having carried and removed these judgments forever before God.
As a bird wanders here and there far from its nest, so is the man who wanders far from his place: One might think that the sweet natural affections that bind us to the family must be trampled underfoot. Far from it. He who abandons the place where he finds his affections is like the bird without a nest, and therefore without a family, wandering here and there. It is in the family that affections are warmed and selfishness is held in bridle – and this fits perfectly with the spiritual life.
Oil and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is the fruit of a piece of advice that comes from the heart: they are elements with which we receive distinguished guests and which delight the heart of those who feel appreciated in this way (Luke 7:46). In the same way the sweetness with which a friend surrounds us is the fruit of a deep thought that of me, replacing my absent family. Will I make a long journey on the day of my calamity to seek from my brother the consolations I need? No, I will not enter his house on that day. This maxim touches on the question of natural ailments, which is in sight throughout this passage. Jonathan, David’s friend, was at his source in his affections. Isn’t this proverb applicable to Christ and our relationship with Him? Do not abandon your friend, nor your father’s friend, and do not enter your brother’s house on the day of calamity. Better a close neighbor than a distant brother (v.10; Pr 18:24). For the friend is the one in whose company I spend my life; to my father’s friend are attached my memories and my family affections. In my difficulties I find him close to him a better counselor than his own brothers. This passage carries our thoughts back to the Friend par excellence.
My son, be wise and rejoice my heart, so that I have something to answer to the one who offends me: There are people who outrage the divine Wisdom (Christ) by invoking the faults of those who were born of it. The way to silence these enemies is not for the son of Wisdom to recklessly engage in struggle, but to reproduce the traits of the Wisdom that gave rise to him, and to rejoice His heart with his obedience. “They will not be ashamed,” it is said, “when they talk with enemies in the door.” (Ps. 127:5). The wise man sees evil and hides; the simple ones override it and bear the additional penalty of v. 11. When evil comes, the man who has profited (v. 12; Pr 22:3). This passage is repeated here as a teaching of the teachings of wisdom and does not seek to stand up to attacks, which would be presumption, but hides, and lets act the One who alone can resist evil; while the “simple” do not see the danger, ignore in their blindness and self-righteousness, and become the prey of the Enemy.
Take his garment, for he has bonded others, and take from him a pledge, because of the stranger (v.13; Pr 20:16). For tothink about the future, about oneself, and leaving God aside, is ruin, and moreover one is ruined by the covenant with the corrupt world. To the one who blesses his friend aloud, getting up early in the morning, he will be counted as a curse (v. 14). Because therelationship with the friend has a modesty of intimacy that does not include a raucous advertisement. If he communicates to me all his secrets and shows me such touching confidence, the praises he would give me shouted aloud, in public, at unusual hours, would be the opposite of communion with him. This puts off the assistants and produces the effect of a curse and not a praise. Is it not the same for some public manifestations of admiration for the Lord that afflict his true friends and give them the painful impression of a lack of truth in the heart?
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Boasting, the madness of the
Ps 10:3 For the wicked glory with his lust, and the kidnapper outrages, despises the Lord. Ps 49:7-8 They trust in their possessions, and boast of their great wealth. 8 They cannot redeem each other, nor give God the price of redemption. John 3:5 Similarly, language is a small limb, and it boasts of great things. Behold, as a small fire can ignite a large forest. John 4:16 But now you are glorifying yourself in your proud thoughts. It is wrong to glorify oneself in this way.
- Uncertainties, Seven things that are uncertain
-Beauty Pr 31:30 Grace is deceiving, and beauty is vain; The woman who fears the Lord is the one who will be praised.
-The promises of man Ps 146:3 Do not entrust yourselves to the great, to the sons of man, who cannot save.
-Riches Pr 23:5 Do you want to pursue with your gaze what will disappear? For wealth is made of the wings, and like the eagle, it takes its flight to the heavens.
-The future Pr 27.1 Do not boast of the next day, for you do not know what one day can give birth.
-Life Jam 4:14 You who do not know what will happen tomorrow! for what is your life? You are a vapor that appears for a little while, and then disappears.
-Eternal glory 1 Pet 1:24 For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass. The grass dries, and the flower falls;
Friendship Jn 16:32 Behold, the hour is coming, and it has already come, when you will be scattered on your own, and where you will leave me alone; but I am not alone, for the Father is with me.
- The seven certainties that await the unrepentant sinner
-The certainty of Revelation Nb 32:23 But if you do not do so, you are sinning against the Lord; know that your sin will reach you.
-The certainty of disappointment Dt 32.32 But their vine is of the plant of Sodom and the terroir of Gomorrah; Their grapes are poisoned grapes, Their bunches are bitter;
-The certainty of leaving the earthly goods 1 Tim 6:7 for we have brought nothing into the world, and it is obvious that we cannot take anything away from it;
-The certainty of death Ec 8:8 Man is not master of his breath to be able to hold it, and he has no power over the day of death; there is no deliverance in this battle, and wickedness cannot save the wicked.
-The certainty of judgment Ec 12:14 Moreover, my son, draws instruction from these things; one would not finish, if one wanted to make a great number of books, and much study is a fatigue for the body.
-The certainty of the separation of sinners and the righteous Mt 25:31-32 When the Son of man comes in his glory, with all the angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All nations will be assembled before him. He will separate one from the other, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
-The certainty of the banishment of the divine presence 2 Thes 1:9 They will have as punishment an eternal ruin, far from the face of the Lord and the glory of his strength,
- The glory of men, transitory
Ps 49:18 For he takes nothing when he dies, His treasures do not descend after him. Isa 5:14 That is why the sojourn of the dead opens his mouth, widens his mouth too much; Then descend the magnificence and wealth of Zion, and its noisy and joyful crowd. Hos 9:11 The glory of Ephraim will fly away like a bird: No more birth, no more pregnancy, no more conception. 1 Pet 1:24 For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass dries, and the flower falls;
From all the above, we note that the sheol and the abyss are insatiable and the eyes of man are insatiable (Pr 30:16; Hab 2:5). For theinvisible place is insatiable to engulf souls, the abyss, to engulf the whole of man; and the eyes of sinful man never get tired of contemplating the objects of their lusts and the desire to take possession of them. It is man’s gaze that makes him look like the abyss. Here we find an absolute contrast with the previous verse. The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold, so the man for the mouth who rents it (v. 21; Pr 17:3). For fromthe crucible and the furnace come out the silver and gold stripped of their alloy. Praise is the crucible of man. What will come out of it? The money of grace, the gold of divine justice, or the slags of the old man, his pride and satisfaction of himself, his flesh in a word, in which no good dwells? When you crushed the fool in a mortar, in the middle of the grain, with a pestle, his madness would not withdraw from him (v. 22). For thegreatest grind cannot change the natural man, the one whose character is madness, a state that no human resource can alter (Rom. 1:22). To escape it you have to be born again. In addition, itknew well the face of your small cattle, watch over your flocks; for abundance is not forever, and does a crown last from generation to generation? The hay disappears, and the soft grass shows up, and the grass from the mountains is collected. The lambs are for your garment, and the goats for the price of a field, and the abundance of the milk of your goats for your food, for the food of your house, and for the life of your servants: For thesmall cattle and the flocks always represent in Scripture the wealth given of God to men. The crown is always in Proverbs the emblem of what is given to Wisdom or dispensed by it: earthly blessings, extension of life, numerous posterity. But all this does not last from generation to generation. Livestock feed, by which our life is maintained here on earth, either as clothing, as food, or as an exchange, can disappear. Continuous monitoring is required to renew it when hay is consumed; it is necessary to monitor the new grass, harvest the herbs on the mountains. Thus the house, the family, the domesticity, are maintained. Thisone dignifiedly closes a chapter that deals primarily with life and domestic relationships. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” Continuation of the proverbs on the moral life; Miscellaneous maxims (Pr 28).
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.