Proverbs 19:25 Commentary and Bible Study

As always Solomon requires his readers to stretch to his meaning, and his words are elliptical. Are they ambiguous or unclear? Not when we take account of his method, his spiritual perspective on all things, his context, and his purpose in writing these things. Those considerations narrow the field of possible meanings and allow us to rule out many interpretations, even some which appear on the surface to be the most obvious. He is never talking about mere mundane matters, not even those which qualify as the most sophisticated that the natural man can reach to. Certainly there are proverbial sayings and human insights encapsulated in proverbs that are current in the world, but they do not reach to God’s truth, and they only help us in our relations on earth. The Book of Proverbs is designed to lead us to heaven and contains eternal truth, which God calls wisdom and not just man.Strike a scoffer not in rage or in wickedness, but in kindness, in an attempt to teach wisdom and to correct, and he will respond. It is taken for granted that man is born in such a state that he will need correction. The one in view here lacks wisdom, but he is ready to receive correction, even firm correction, and he will not rebel against it. He is currently a scoffer, but when he is punished for some misdemeanour, he is willing to learn from that. Many of course will not, but Solomon sets the scene for our thinking by identifying one that will respond. In fact there is no other remedy, and if he refuses this one, his case is dismal. For him to receive it requires that he does not see the correction as disproportionate, and this will only be true if he grasps the danger of sin and foolishness. Then he will admit that such harsh measures were necessary. At times, the matter may hang in the balance in his mind, but the spiritual man or woman will respond through the influences of the Spirit. To some, reproof is like a spark thrown into a powder keg, and they react with an enormous explosion, but others allow their hearts to be reshaped by the hand of reproof and these gain a huge advantage.Especially is this true when the hand that corrects is the hand of God, for God’s training goes far beyond what any parental or human training is capable of. The Lord trains the heart, but the most part man can only train what he is aware of – the outward behaviour. The training of unconverted parents works for our good in this life, but God’s training works for our eternal good. We submit to our natural parents if we are wise; how much more should we submit to God, the Father of our souls?