Proverbs 27:3 A heavy weight

Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
    but a fool’s wrath is heavier than both.

Many of us have fond memories of happy times, walking in the sand near the sea. There are probably not too many of us that have ever experienced quicksand. Although the movies make it seem like it can keep sucking a human being down, science sites on the web say that you would only sink about waist deep and then stop. Of course, you'd need someone to help you out, but you wouldn't just keep going until you went under!
Wet sand, though, is awfully heavy. If you've helped a child build a sand castle, you know that the bucket of wet sand is really heavy....just as if you put stones in the bottom.

You may have read in the Bible about several large, heavy stones. One is in Genesis 39:1-3 . . . think how large a stone would need to be, to cover the mouth of a well! No wonder it took several men to move it.

Another is noted in the Gospels -- remember the stone that was rolled away when Christ arose? That one was so large that it covered the doorway to the tomb, and it took a mighty angel to move it.  

Solomon is saying here that a foolish person's wrath is as weighty, as heavy, as those stones, or wet sand. It can weigh him down, and it can destroy him and others around him. Today, wrath and anger are used interchangeably sometimes, but look at the difference in the Hebrew meanings:

                anger: ire, indignation, grief
                wrath: hot displeasure, furious, rage, poison

Kinda like wrath is anger on steroids, huh? A foolish person has a hot temper, and a quick-lighting fuse -- he boils over and his emotional outburst may turn quickly into actions that he will later regret. 

Do we sometimes excuse ourselves by saying, "Well, I have a quick temper, but I get over it just as quickly, and then forgive and forget."  Maybe we should work on omitting the first half (losing our temper) and concentrate on the second part (the forgive and forget part). 

James 1:19-20 has helped me many times:

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

I want so badly to live the righteousness that He desires . . . don't you?

PS: Please click over to our prayer request page . . . there are some updates and a new request. I know that these folks will appreciate your prayers. Thank you.

Prov. 19 : 10 - 12 Lions Roaring

Pro 19:10  Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
Pro 19:11  The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
Pro 19:12  The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favor is as dew upon the grass.

First, I want to thank Tonya for a great week of study last week! She led us in some very thoughtful discussions, and I know I learned a lot -- hope you did, too!
Verses 10 and 11 above are concepts that we've covered before -- how incongruous it is for a servant to rule over princes; how a fool lacks wisdom to know that his delightful blessings are from the hand of God; and how if we are slow to anger and forget a transgression against us, it is to our credit.
Verse 11 is where I would like to linger today. At first, I looked at this in the light of some of the kings that we read about in the Old Testament. The kings of old were true despots, and ruled with absolute power. If you look in an online dictionary, the second definition listed for "despot" is a "tyrannical" ruler.

Several kings in the Bible were compared to lions; lions are ferocious when hungry, and that is the characteristic that is being noted here. Let's look at Jeremiah 50:17.

Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

The king of Assyria, and the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, are both called lions by the prophet. Their rage was dreadful, and the results were written in the history of Israel. In the New Testament we still have accounts of despotic rulers --- Paul notes that he was delivered out of the hands of one, in II Timothy 4:7:

Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 

Of course, the opposite of the wrath of the king was his favor, and we can imagine what relief a person might feel, if the king were to smile upon him, instead of raging at him!
The reason for my interest in studying this verse was that Jesus, our Savior, is called the Lion of Judah. He is said to cry out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars, in several verses in Revelation. His wrath will be terrible to sinners, and even those who have been earthly kings and rulers . . . but His favor will truly be as dew upon the grass.
What does dew accomplish for the grass it falls upon?  Well, even when there has been no rain, the dew can cause the grass to grow and flourish. The favor and good will of our Father King will water our souls, cause joy and cheerfulness, and delight us as only His love can:

Isa 58:11  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

Proverbs 15 : 18-19 Two to Avoid

Pro 15:18  A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
Pro 15:19  The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.

Our verses today are about two characteristics or attitudes that we truly need to avoid. As I began thinking and studying for this post, I thought to myself, "These are considered to be two of the seven deadly sins by some churches. Wonder who first came up with that?" So instead of idly wondering about it, I did a google search. I could have gone upstairs and chosen a couple of books that are on our shelves, but hey -- you can find anything on the internet, right?!

So, who came up with wrath, and sloth, and all the others? According to my research, the very first one was a Greek thinker -- but he had eight.  A couple hundred years later, a pope got into the act, and narrowed the field to seven. I think since then there may have been some tweaking, but it has pretty much stayed the same.

Let's look at wrath, first, OK? The root for this word carries the meanings "heat, anger, poison" --- we're talking about rage here . . . inordinate, and uncontrolled. Not just your garden variety "I'm-mad-at-you-and-I'm-going-to-pout" but full blown, knock your socks off rage. Not a good thing. It causes too much hurt, harms our witness, and may injure the angry person or the people around him/her.
The root for "stirreth" is even more interesting (at least I think so...y'all may be yawning here!) because it is "to grate, stir, or meddle." Hmmm . . . a wrathful person IS rather grating to be around, and I've known one or two that would meddle in other people's business and get angry about that, if they couldn't find anything else to fuss about!
What's the contrast? Someone who is slow to anger -- peaceable, meek, long-suffering. Uh, oh, we're getting into the fruits of the Spirit, aren't we? And I'm going to feel badly because I know that others probably don't see those in me, as much as I'd like to think they do. (Blush)   Matthew Henry's commentary says this:

He that is slow to anger not only prevents strife, that it be not kindled, but appeases it if it be already kindled, brings water to the flame, unites those again that have fallen out, and by gentle methods brings them to mutual concessions for peace-sake.

 Ouch! I felt that one . . . I think I need to put on my boots - the ones with the reinforced toes!

Next, let's look at sloth. This encompasses laziness, indifference, and a refusal to utilize one's talents and gifts. Did you notice that Solomon uses the word "way" twice there? What caught my eye was that they were actually two different words . . . to make a long story short, let me replace those words with their roots, and see what you think:
The (course of action) of the slothful man is (imagined to be) a hedge of (briers and thorns), but the (well-trodden road) of the righteous is made plain.
So a slothful individual will make up reasons why his duty is too hard, and why he (or she) can't complete their tasks . . . that their task is too difficult or dangerous, and they are justified in their reluctance to "get 'er done," in today's vernacular. Now, am I saying that we must be automatons, robots, never tiring, always working --- nope, I'm getting tired just thinking about that! Matthew Henry says that it is an "honest desire and endeavor to do our duty" that we need to strive for.  Then God's grace will make it a "well trodden" path: easy to find, easy to stay on, and strewn with the blessings that He sends to us.

I'm going to be honest here -- I don't have a wrath problem, but sometimes I have a sloth problem. I will chafe under the load, and wish I could do something else.
Lord, please remind me that my way will be plain, if I'll make an honest effort to do what I know I'm supposed to do!