25:1These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied:
King Hezekiah was a good king of Judah who lived about 250 years after King Solomon. Some of his scribes found about 100 additional proverbs of Solomon. The scribes copied them. The Holy Spirit made sure that these copies became part of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.
25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and it is the glory of a king to search out a matter.
The kings of Judah and Israel did not always receive direct revelation from God. Sometimes, they had to make decisions based upon their amount of Bible doctrine. The glory of a king was to search out Bible doctrine so that he could make divine-viewpoint decisions for his people. If a king did not go through this process, then he would be reminded by the check-and-balance system of the prophets.
25:3 As the heaven is high and the earth is deep so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.
Just as God hides some of His knowledge from kings, then kings must hide some of their knowledge from their subjects. Rulers were responsible for investigating issues fully. They did not have to reveal everything that they knew.
25:4 Remove the dross from the silver, and material for the silversmith will emerge; 25:5 remove the wicked from before the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
Just as dross is removed from silver, so should the wicked be removed from before the king. A righteous king has the authority from God to execute capital punishment upon evil men who threaten his reign.
25:6 Do not honor yourself before the king, and do not stand in the place of great men; 25:7 for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,” than to put you lower before a prince, whom your eyes have seen.
It is wrong for a person to boast about himself and promote himself before the king. It is better to allow the king to promote the person in front of others.
25:8 Do not go out hastily to litigation, or what will you do afterward when your neighbor puts you to shame?
Solomon warned against hastily taking one to court. The plaintiff may lose the case and be ashamed.
25:9 When you argue a case with your neighbor, do not reveal the secret of another person, 10 lest the one who hears it put you to shame and your infamy will never go away.
It is risky to betray court evidence to friends outside of the court. They may reveal the information to others and ruin the attorney’s reputation. It is foolish and unbiblical for an Attorney General to meet in private on a jet plane with one who is involved in a federal investigation.
25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver, so is a word skillfully spoken. 25:12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to the ear of the one who listens.
It is a skill to rebuke one at the right time, with the correct words, and with the correct tone of voice. A person who possesses this skill is like gold apples set against a silver sculpture, or like a gold earring, or like a beautiful ornament.
25:13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the heart of his masters.
Snow in the mountains is refreshing during the heat of harvest time. A trustworthy messenger is just as refreshing.
25:14 Like cloudy skies and wind that produce no rain, so is the one who boasts of a gift not given.
Clouds and wind usually bring rain. If they show but do not bring rain, then the farmer is disappointed. People who promise to bring presents but never deliver are also a great disappointment. A person should not make a promise that he cannot keep.
25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a soft tongue can break a bone.
Soft words are more successful than harsh words.
25:16 When you find honey, eat only what is sufficient for you, lest you become stuffed with it and vomit it up. 25:17 Don’t set foot too frequently in your neighbor’s house, lest he become weary of you and hate you.
It is not good to eat too much honey. It is not good to visit a neighbor too often. Overdoing anything can be a problem. Frequent visits become a nuisance. It is better to visit just enough times so that the visits are valued. It is also important not to stay too long.
25:18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow, so is the one who testifies against his neighbor as a false witness.
Giving false testimony in court is like clubbing a neighbor, cutting a neighbor with a sword, or piercing a neighbor with an arrow.
25:19 Like a bad tooth or a foot out of joint, so is confidence in an unfaithful person at the time of trouble.
A person cannot eat with a bad tooth. He cannot walk with a lame foot. Relying on an untrustworthy person during a time of trouble is like having a bad tooth or a lame foot. One cannot count on them.
25:20 Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on soda, so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
When one is depressed, then singing songs will not help him. It would be like taking off a jacket on a cold day or pouring vinegar on soda. All three are useless and cause a repulsive reaction. Insensitivity and unsympathetic words cause much harm to a depressed person.
25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, 25:22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Being kind to one’s enemy is like heaping burning coals upon his head. The meaning of this is that the enemy is sitting in his home during a freezing winter. He has run out of coals, meaning that he will freeze for the winter. However, you give him enough coals to keep him warm through the winter. This act of kindness softens the enemy and makes him ashamed of his prior attitude towards you. Paul taught that believer's should share the gospel with their enemies so that they can make them their friends.
25:23 The north wind brings forth rain, and a gossiping tongue brings forth an angry look.
In Israel, the north wind does not always bring rain. Therefore, this could have been a proverb from a region outside of Israel. Just as the north wind brings rain, so does a gossiping tongue bring an angry look. Slander causes anger.
25:24 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife.
It is better to live on the roof of a housetop than in a spacious house with a nagging wife. Nagging wives are out of the will of God. They are commanded in Ephesians 4 to be submissive to their husbands "in all things". If a wife is submissive "in all things", then all problems will be solved. There is no more discussion or argument. Even if the husband is an unbeliever, then the believing wife is still to be submissive to her husband. This biblical imperative is not popular in the modern age of feminism, but this is the biblical model.
Beware of feminists. They are haughty women who elevate their human opinion above the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. They will demean their natural divinely-given position and politically support programs which promote fornication and murder of innocent babies in the womb. It is important to note that a mother's body is only the host of the baby. The host does not have the right to kill the guest, especially when the guest is innocent and placed inside of the house by God Himself.
What if a woman is raped or a victim of incest? This type of pregnancy only occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. This type of argument is used by feminists to murder the innocent babies in the other 99% of pregnancies by fornication. It is never convenient to murder another human being. A child is a gift of God. A baby cannot be born unless is was the sovereign will of the Holy God. The Triune Godhead made these birth decisions before the foundations of the world were even created. The child in the womb was not responsible for the rape or incest. Therefore, let the child be born and allow God to avenge the mother. The mother may not want the child born at that time in her life, but God has a plan for that mother and that child. It is better to allow God, and not fornicating feminists or greedy doctors or ungodly politicians, to decide who lives and who dies.
Feminist wives who are weak in bible doctrine have no problem with nagging. The purpose of nagging is to control the husband. A wife with strong Bible doctrine will wisely use her smile, her beauty, her sweet words, and her prayers to communicate her needs and requests to her husband. A wife with weak Bible doctrine will resort to nagging.
On the other hand, the husband must love his wife as Christ loves the church. The husband must sacrifice everything for his wife. He must make her the #1 priority in his life (after God). He should love his wife more than himself, his children, his family, his church, his job, and his hobbies. This unconditional and sacrificial love for the wife does not mean that he is to give in to her every request. The husband is to listen and to work within his wife's requests as much as possible. However, when the husband says no, then the wife should accept the no and move on. If the husband is wrong, then the wife should pray and ask God to change her husband's mind. Prayer works much better than nagging.
It is important to note that many biblical counselors are actually the blind leading the blind. Most biblical counselors have not studied the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level in the original languages. This laziness leads them to become fragmented in their theology and fragmented in their counsel. They know a few verses on different areas of biblical counseling, but many of these verses are misapplied.
In most cases the main problem of most marriages is that the couple is not equally yoked in the entire counsel of the Word of God. Either both coupes are fragmented, or one spouse is fragmented but the other is not. The fragmented spouse is making human viewpoint decisions while the mature spouse is making divine viewpoint decisions. This difference in application of bible doctrine causes stress in the marriage.
It is the counselor's responsibility to teach the couple four basic steps. First, the couple has to pray for biblical wisdom. Second, the couple has to study the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level and become equally yoked in the Scriptures. Third, the couple has to attend the right church. Fourth, the couple needs to seek advice from the local elders of that right church. This is the biblical model. The Scriptures never suggest that the couple is to seek counseling outside of the local church. In almost every case, the elders of a strong biblical church know the Word of God and the couple much better than outside counselors. This is why the Apostle Paul laid out these exact counseling guidelines in Scripture. Those who violate Paul's plan will end up spending a lot of money for ungodly advice.
It is important to note that these four counseling steps can all be done in one counseling meeting. If a counselor sets up additional meetings at $100 per hour, then his motive may be money and not meeting the needs of his brothers and sisters in Christ. The satanic world system does not want believing couples following the imperatives of the Apostle Paul. The enemy would prefer that couples spend time and money on unqualified counselors. If married couples would follow God's plan, then this time and money could be spent on other ministries.
For more solid biblical information on marriage issues, the author recommends the book "Marriages That Glorify God" by Todd Wright. Another good resource is the mp3/cd Biblical Marriage series by the late Dr. John Danish at www.bereanchurch.org.
25:25 Like cold water to a weary person, so is good news from a distant land.
Receiving good news from a friend or relative who lives far away is like drinking refreshing cold water when one is tired and weary.
25:26 Like a muddied spring and a polluted well, so is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.
Once a well of clean water is contaminated, then it can never again pump pure water. A righteous man who allows his reputation to be compromised is like a pure well which has been contaminated. When one mixes pure water with dirty water, then the water will always remain dirty. It will never be pure again.
25:27 It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable for people to seek their own glory.
Seeking to exalt oneself is just as bad as eating too much honey. It makes one sick.
25:28 Like a city that is broken down and without a wall, so is a person who cannot control his temper.
Ancient cities without walls were open to the attack by her enemies. A person who cannot control his temper is like a city without walls. He leaves himself open to attack.