Proverbs 26:1 Snow in July

1  Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
    honor is not fitting for a fool.

I believe this verse is talking about when things seem appropriate, and when they don't.We've all heard the expressions and cliches about having snow in the summertime --- it just doesn't seem right. Snow belongs in the winter months, right? When it does happen, it is so unusual that it is heralded on the news!

Rain in the harvest times of Solomon's era would have seemed just as unusual. The typical weather for their harvests was fairly dry . . . and it needed to be. Their agricultural methods were uniquely different from today. There were no huge combines to creep across the fields and harvest ripened grain --- they actually cut their grain before it was ripe, and gathered it into "sheaves" or bundles that would stand upright in the fields. Standing up like this allowed rain and dew to drain away, and avoided trapping the moisture as would happen if the bundles were lying on the ground. (Later then the grain was ready, the sheaves would be taken to the threshing floor, where the husks would be shaken or gently beaten to release the grain.) Of course, if there were unusually heavy rains when the sheaves were standing in the fields, some of the crop would be lost.

Just like snow in the summer, and heavy rains in the ancient harvest times; it is unusual, and it is not fitting to praise someone for foolish behavior. David told us in Psalm 14:1,

The fool says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

But in our culture, it is troubling (and not fitting) that wicked men and women are praised as heros and held up as people whom we should emulate! Their sins and their excesses are celebrated.
Let's look at Psalm 12:7-8:

⁷ You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
    and will protect us forever from the wicked,
⁸ who freely strut about
    when what is vile is honored by the human race.

We learned in the very first chapter of Proverbs that fools despise wisdom and knowledge, and won't listen to instruction.
We need to make certain that the people that we honor, the people we praise and celebrate and allow to influence us and our families, are godly people --- not foolish people!