Posted on 01/26/2020 7:12:25 AM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage. The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools” (Proverbs 26:6-7).
“He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet,” how are you going to get anywhere doing that? See, you can't get anywhere cutting off the feet. If you put the message in the hand of a fool, he won't deliver it; or at least not the message you gave him.
“You cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage,” here's the case of Ahimaaz, they sent a man that had no message, he was just a fool. He was anxious, he was zealous, but he didn't have any message.
These are verses that say pretty much the same thing as 26:6.
“As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him” (Proverbs 10:26).
“A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health” (Proverbs 13:17).
“As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters” (Proverbs 25:13).
This is a very descriptive thing. Obviously, a fool will not be equal, or fair with a parable interpretation because he doesn't have any understanding. In other words, when a fool tries to interpret a parable it won't be right. It will be lopsided; it'll be out of balance. And not only that, but his interpretation will cause pain. Not only what he said won't be right, but what he does say will do damage.
In Matthew 13:10, Christ stated that the parables were for those that had understanding, and they asked him why He spoke to them in parables. In 13:11, He said because it is given on them to know the mystery of the Kingdom; but to those it is not given. So, a fool doesn't understand a parable, so obviously the parable cannot be interpreted properly by the fool.
Again, an example of this is in Ezekiel 20:49. When Ezekiel is talking about hell, they say he speaks in parables, and that's exactly the way the Seven Day Adventist and the Jehovah’s Witness handles the hell story of the rich man in Luke 16. They say that that's a parable and not an actual case. They say he's speaking in parables. That is the fool trying to interpret a passage. Luke 16 is not a parable.
Daily Bible study is necessary if we are going to begin our day with the right attitude and the right spiritual diet. Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, so let’s read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let’s keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread! Ideally, a chapter or two of Proverbs will fit in nicely with a good plan of reading our Bibles through each year.
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You made me think. Fool is not a very common word these days. In fact synonyms are not that common either. Maybe it is the political correctness (don’t offend) god of this world? Or maybe every one is wise in their own eyes?
synonyms are always interesting.
Synonyms: Noun
berk [British], booby, charlie (also charley) [British], cuckoo, ding-a-ling, dingbat, ding-dong, dipstick, doofus [slang], featherhead, git [British], goose, half-wit, jackass, lunatic, mooncalf, nincompoop, ninny, ninnyhammer, nit [chiefly British], nitwit, nut, nutcase, simp, simpleton, turkey, yo-yo
Synonyms: Adjective
absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, bubbleheaded, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, fatuous, featherheaded, foolish, half-baked, half-witted, harebrained, inept, insane, jerky, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, lunkheaded, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, senseless, silly, simpleminded, stupid, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), weak-minded, witless, zany
Synonyms: Verb
bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fake out, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on [chiefly British], hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, suck in, sucker, take in, trick
If it were not for a thesaurus, we would not be having all these modern versions. It’s all about changing a few words to a different maybe, possibly, acceptable word that means essentially the same thing and viola! They get to copyright a new version and make a few more bucks.
Take an N.I.V. and a K.J.V. and read them side by side and ask yourself . . . does this change really clarify the verse?
Thank you !
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