Proverbs 25:16

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:16, “Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.” This verse is about self-control and doing things in moderation. Most things in this earth have a good purpose, but goodness can easily become evil if things are taken to excess. A good example of that is food. We need food, and God gives us food to enjoy, but if you go to an excess in your eating of food, then you are committing the sin of gluttony. Also, you do not want to be ruled or controlled by any bad habit. Christians are reminded in Philippians 4:5, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” Part of having a good testimony for Christ to this world is to be under control: a person who does things with the right measure. Do not go after anything either too weakly or too strongly.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:17, “Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbor’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.” This is a verse about honoring and respecting another person’s possessions and another person’s dwelling. The Bible is a book that supports and advances the good principles of capitalism with an emphasis on the rights of private ownership. God gives to every person a little piece of this world. God may only give the clothes on your back, but He expects you to take care of whatever He gives you and to use it for His glory. Even so, God gives you a free choice and a free will. And so it is a basic human need to have your own space where you can live your own life without interference from anyone else. That is one of the reasons that the Bible describes what should be a basic pattern for everyone’s life when it says in Genesis 2:24 that a man should “leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife.” There is a time when the children need to leave the home and go live their own lives where they are master in their own homes.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:18, “A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.” A “maul” is a type of mallet used as a weapon such as a club or a mace. In other words you are doing great damage to someone if you are a false witness. It is a great evil to be a false witness. A lot of harm can be done to someone if they are the object of lies. A person can be put away for years if lies are told on the witness stand. We need truth just to live a normal life without great disasters. At least we always have the truth that Jesus is our Savior and the King of kings.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:19, “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.” Everyone knows how painful a broken tooth or a foot out of joint would be. Severe pain is a terrible thing. It is also terrible when someone is unfaithful. A faithful person discharges their responsibilities in the right way and at the right time. A faithful person follows up on their word. A faithful person is consistent. They can be counted on. God wants us all to be faithful as servants to Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:20, “As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.” Nitre is potash, a substance that would effervesce when mixed with vinegar. In other words it would cause a reaction like a chemical reaction. This verse is saying that we need to learn to be sympathetic with others. We need to feel their pain, so that we can comfort them. Life can be hard, and so we should not pretend that it is not. We will make things worse if we do not understand this in our dealings with people. They have spiritual needs, and there might be an opportunity to deal with those needs with the Gospel of Christ, but only if we sympathize with them.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:21-22, “If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:[22] For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.” Do not take vengeance on others. God is over them. The truth is that most people do take vengeance. But if we believe in God and believe that Jesus is the King of kings, it should be no problem for us to put everything in God’s hands. This verse not only tells us not to take vengeance, but to also do good things to those whom we consider to be our enemies. Jesus went even one step further in His teachings. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute.” Of course, this is talking about our personal relationships, and not talking about government responsibilities to punish criminals. But the command, “Love your enemies,” sounds really good until you have an enemy who does something against you. But it is the command of Christ, and we sin against His will for us if we do not obey it.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:23, “The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.” King Solomon observed the weather, and evidently in the time and place where he lived when the wind came out of the north, the rain would stop. In other words one event can happen that will stop another event. That is also true concerning human behavior. “A backbiting tongue” is a bad thing. Many things that people do are bad. How can human behaviors be improved? Those who love the truth and who have the right response to the bad behaviors will help fix the problems. We are social creatures and we learn from others. We learn from others based upon how they react to us. It is good to have righteous indignation against evil. God hates wickedness and so should His children. One thing to notice about verse 23 is that sometimes we do not have to even say anything to stop evil. “An angry countenance” will do it. You will give off the right vibes just by your facial expressions.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:24, “It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.” God’s original plan for the marriage relationship is stated when Eve was created. In Genesis 2:18 the Bible says, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” A “help meet” does not mean a servant. It means someone working alongside: a companion. Notice also Genesis 2:21-25, “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;[22] And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.[23] And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.[24] Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.[25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” The emphasis that God makes is on oneness. The woman was taken from the side of the man to be next to him: not from the head to rule over him, nor from the feet to be dominated by him. But when the man and the woman were banned from the Garden of Eden, God said to the woman in Genesis 3:16, “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Rule means rule. It does not mean anything else. If the husband is smart he will delegate as much as possible to the wife, and let her be in charge of whatever her gifts are. If she is better at finances, then let her pay the bills and handle the checkbook. If she is better at real estate, then let her make the real estate decisions. But there will be situations where they cannot come to an agreement of who is going to decide a particular matter. How does that get handled? First of all, hopefully both husband and wife are Christians, and both are seeking to live a Christian life for Christ. One thing that Christians are told in the New Testament is to learn to be submissive. Do not be selfish. Learn to give in to what other people want, including your spouse. Both the husband and wife should have the submissive quality to their Christian character. It says in Ephesians 5:21, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” But in order to follow the teaching of Genesis 3:16 and to handle the situation where they cannot agree, it says in Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” Proverbs 25:24 is saying that when you have a wife who rebels against the teaching of Genesis 3:16 or Ephesians 5:22, then you have a miserable situation. Being submissive to your husband is part of being submissive to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:25, “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” Let’s concentrate on the words “good news.” We all like to hear good news. Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad news, or so it seems when all that is reported is bad news. But there is a lot of good news too. There is probably a lot more good news than bad news. Every time that some racially charged incident is reported, on that very same day there are undoubtedly thousands of good and decent interactions between people of different races. Most people are polite and fair and friendly no matter what race they are. But most of the good interactions are never reported. The fake MSM news has become bad about this: always looking at things from the most negative side possible, and always criticizing, and attacking those whom they consider to be political opponents. In such an environment “good news” is so welcome. Something interesting here: the word gospel means literally “good news.” The best news of all is that God loves you, and He came and died for you on the cross so that you can be forgiven of all your sins and be with Jesus forever in heaven.

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:26, “A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.” One of the things that can happen to believers to ruin them is compromise followed by capitulation to “the wicked.” Who are the wicked? Those who do not know God and who do not serve God. It is a challenge to live for God in this world, and there are certain Biblical principles that must be followed. A Christian serves Jesus first, and everyone and everything else comes in second. A Christian must understand that they are called to walk a straight and narrow path, following Jesus and staying in fellowship with Jesus. A believer must know how to be in the world without being of the world: knowing how to be a witness, but be separate from the world and from the people of the world. If the Lord gives you wisdom to understand such things, then you will be a good witness. You will be light and salt. You will also be a fountain of life-giving water through the presence of Christ in your life. You will be a leader instead of a follower. It is a terrible thing when someone should know all these things, but then falls down “before the wicked.” That means to give in to the wicked, and to adopt the ideas or ways of the wicked . Why would someone do this? To avoid conflict or to gain acceptance are among the most common reasons to give in to the wicked. From a practical standpoint, we see this happen in politics and among religious leaders. Someone talks a good game. They get elected or appointed to a position of power or influence, but instead of opposing the wicked or at least staying separate from the wicked, they give in and fall down at the feet of the wicked. This happens all the time, and someone who could have been righteous in their life and influence becomes “a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.”

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