Lecture

Now we have additional proverbs from the ancient Near East that are very similar to the proverbs that we have in the Bible. And one of them has to do with how to treat your enemies. And we know that Proverbs has very specific instructions on the treatment be given to opposing forces or enemies or that type of thing. So in Proverbs 24:17–18, we read, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, or let your heart be glad when he stumbles, or [the LORD] may see it as evil as evil in His eyes, and turn his wrath away from him” (TLV). So don’t turn a situation ... evil towards an enemy. Let God be the judge. And He can take care of your enemies, or else God will turn His wrath on you.

Proverbs 25, we read, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap coals of fire on his head and [the LORD] will reward you” (vv. 21–22 TLV). So this is something that we’ve heard probably more often, how to treat people who mistreat us. Well, there’s a Babylonian proverb that reads this way, “Do no evil to the man who disputes with you. Do good to the one who does evil to you. Be fair to your enemy and let your mood be cheerful to your opponent. Treat your ill-wishers generously.” In other words, let God be the judge and continue to act with grace and with forgiveness and with love towards those who come against you. So in other words, let your mood be cheerful to your opponent. So don’t let your opponent steal your joy. Continue to walk with God and trust that God will deal with the situation.

There’s another theme in Scripture that is dealt with in the book of Proverbs quite often, quite systematically in many books of the Bible, but one of them is on the power of the tongue. And I listed a number of Proverbs here in chapter 10, in chapter 15, chapter 17. I’ll read a few verses ... In Proverbs 10:19–20 we read, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth” (ESV). In Proverbs 10:31–32, “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse” (ESV). In Proverbs 15:1–2, 4, and 7, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.... A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.... The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools” (ESV). So reads several passages ... also of Proverbs 17:28: “Even a fool,” I like this one, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent” (ESV). Isn’t God wonderful? He says, “Keep quiet and you’ll look smart. Keep your mouth shut and you’ll look intelligent.” And so I think, “Oh wow, how gracious that is from God, that we are tempted sometimes to say things before thinking very much.” But God says, “Just don’t say anything and don’t lose your good reputation over just the opening of your lips.”

And so all of us get convicted at point in our lives, sometimes daily, of saying things that we ought not to say. And James is very clear about that. In James 3:2–10, James says, “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (ESV). And we need to be instructed, reminded, reprimanded, and told over and over to be careful of what we say, because there is power in the tongue, there is power in speech.

Now there’s a Babylonian proverb that corresponds to this. I read, “Hold your tongue. Watch what you say. A man’s pride is in the great value of his lips. Insolence and insult should be abhorrent to him. Speak nothing slanderous, no untrue report.” So even in Babylonia, they knew to be careful of what you say. We can so easily destroy ourselves, destroy our own reputation by what we say, hurt individuals that we love by what we say. And so ... kings and rulers can destroy a whole nation by wrong instructions, by speaking the wrong thing, by not speaking wisdom. So it is important for everyone, at all levels, to be careful of what we say. Parents tell children, “Don’t say that. This is unacceptable. You shouldn’t use this language, do not use this it’s destructive.” So we need to say what lines up with Scripture, what pleases God. And then if we can just tame the tongue and come to a point where we can increase or grow in perfection ... we’ll never be perfect until we meet the Lord, but we can grow and be sanctified in our lives by learning to tame our tongue.

There’s another set of proverbs also that were originally written in Aramaic, the proverbs of Ahiqar, that also speak about the tongue. And here we read, in Proverbs 16:13, “Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right” (ESV). In Ahiqar, we read, “A king’s word is gentle, but keener and more cutting than a double-edged dagger.” So people can destroy at whatever level of society we are. We all have the power to build or to destroy, to heal or to hurt with our tongue. And the book of Proverbs has so much to say about this topic.

Another topic that’s interesting, that is found in the book of Proverbs and is also found in ancient Near Eastern literature, is the discipline of children. In Proverbs 13, we read, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” (v. 24 ESV). Discipline is good. Discipline is important. Discipline is needed for us to learn how to walk with God. And I remember sometimes in my life when I didn’t enjoy the discipline I received from my parents, but I still remember some of those times. But I can tell you that I really learned not to do the bad behavior again and to what was pleasing to them and pleasing to God.

In the proverbs of Ahiqar, we find, “Withhold not your son from the rod, else you will not be able to save him. If I smite you, my son, you will not die. But if I leave you to your own heart, understood you will die.” So in other words, the importance of really teaching the next generation, sometimes with the rod of discipline. I know it’s very controversial. Should you even touch a child when you discipline them? We live in a culture that debates whether a child should ever be disciplined in physical ways. But Scripture says, “Whoever spares the rod,” and we’re not talking about beating a child to hurt him. We’re talking about using the rod as an instrument of correction and not as an instrument of destruction, but to really give the child what is needed to drive out of the child the evil ways that the child has succumbed to.

We also find in Sirach, “He who loves his son will whip him,” quite drastic translation, “whip him often, so that he may rejoice at the way he turns out ” (Sir 30:1 NRSV). In other words, some discipline is not bad for you. It may feel like a whipping, but throughout the centuries, we read exactly the same thing. An Egyptian proverb reads, “You beat my back. Your teachings entered my ear.” So in other words, “I remember the days when you used the rod on my bottom, and then I heard what you said, I remember what you said, and I took heed to your instructions.”

So what we can see from all these examples is that proverbs, sayings of the wise, are found in every culture. At all times they’re universal statements that instruct human beings, created in the image of God, on what to do and what not to do, how to live in wisdom and how to avoid the pitfalls of life, and how to live in the fear of the Lord.