by Chuck Ness
So honor is not fitting for a fool. Proverb 26:1
Very interesting in the way Solomon explains the folly of a fool in verse 1. No one but a fool would desire a snow blizzard in the middle of the Summer. Judea was primarily an agriculture society, so they needed the weather to be as it was meant to be. Just as a rain storm at harvest time would be a disaster for the farmer. So too would the weather needed for snow in mid Summer be a disaster to crops.
Israels climate is very similar to that of California's San Joaquin valley. It never, if ever, rains at harvest time, and it never snows in July. Imagine the mess a rain storm would create for workers and machinery in the muddy field as they sludge along to pick the crop, it would be very devastating.
In Northern California where I live, the walnut, and almond farmers lose millions if it rains when the trees are flowering. Their crop will be thin and they could very well fail to break even at harvest time.
Weather out of Season is a very undesirable, in fact it can and usually is very hurtful to the fruits of the earth. So only a fool would desire the weather to be different than God has ordained it to be.
When the Israelites told Samuel that they wanted a king like the other nations had, he told them their King was God, and warned them how a human king would treat them. In an attempt to bring them to their senses, he asked the Lord to send a thunder storm at harvest time to show them their folly. To Samuel, asking for a king was as foolish as asking for rain at harvest time.
“Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves.” So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.1 Samuel 12:17
If we have the faith of a mustard seed, we would accept things as they should be, and not desire the things that should not be. Whether it be rain or snow out of season, or a king to rule over us. It is but a foolish act to desire something which is not in our best interest. Who I ask, knows what is best for us besides our Lord and Creator, our Father in Heaven? So be wise in what you ask the Lord for, and understand that some things are not in our own best interest.
Proverb 26 (NKJV)
Honor Is Not Fitting for a Fool
01 As snow in summer and rain in harvest,
00 So honor is not fitting for a fool.
02 Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow,
00 So a curse without cause shall not alight.
03 A whip for the horse,
00 A bridle for the donkey,
00 And a rod for the fool's back.
04 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
00 Lest you also be like him.
05 Answer a fool according to his folly,
00 Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
06 He who sends a message by the hand of a fool
00 Cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
07 Like the legs of the lame that hang limp
00 Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
08 Like one who binds a stone in a sling
00 Is he who gives honor to a fool.
09 Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard
00 Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 The great God who formed everything
00 Gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.
11 As a dog returns to his own vomit,
00 So a fool repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
00 There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The lazy man says, "There is a lion in the road!
00 A fierce lion is in the streets!"
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
00 So does the lazy man on his bed.
15 The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl;
00 It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes
00 Than seven men who can answer sensibly.
17 He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own
00 Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
19 Is the man who deceives his neighbor,
00 And says, "I was only joking!"
20 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
00 And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
21 As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
00 So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
00 And they go down into the inmost body.
23 Fervent lips with a wicked heart
00 Are like earthenware covered with silver dross.
24 He who hates, disguises it with his lips,
00 And lays up deceit within himself;
25 When he speaks kindly, do not believe him,
00 For there are seven abominations in his heart;
26 Though his hatred is covered by deceit,
00 His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
00 And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it,
00 And a flattering mouth works ruin.
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