Proverbs 25-29 - Copied by King Hezekiah's Men

The transcription is about the wisdom literature of Proverbs, specifically chapters 25-29. It discusses King Hezekiah, his reign, and his relationship with the Lord. It explores various themes found in these chapters, such as proper conduct towards kings, the power of speech, dealing with fools and folly, the sluggard, and wise leadership. The transcription emphasizes the importance of wisdom, seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, and addressing real issues in life. It concludes with proverbs about general topics like friendship, home life, justice, and self-trust. I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at theab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are veering off from 2 Kings and Isaiah to take a look at the wisdom literature of Proverbs, chapters 25-29. This section of Proverbs is entitled, These are more Proverbs of Solomon copied by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, chapter 25 verse 1. Hezekiah was king around 716-687 BC, his story is found in 2 Kings chapters 18-20, 2 Chronicles chapters 29-32, and Isaiah chapters 36-39. In 2 Kings chapter 18 verse 3 it says, He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. And in chapter 18 verses 5 and 6 it says, Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord, and did not cease to follow him. He kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. King Hezekiah cared about the word of the Lord. In 2 Chronicles we learn that he purified the temple, re-established the Levites and priests for their job, and celebrated the Passover as a nation. King Hezekiah reigned during the time that Assyria conquered Samaria, the capital of the ten northern tribes of Israel, and removed the Jews from their land, and brought in people from other nations to come and live in Israel. That happened in 722 BC. Assyria tried to attack Jerusalem, but because King Hezekiah prayed, and sought Isaiah the prophet's wisdom, and because the leaders of Assyria blasphemed the name of the Lord, the Lord said, I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant. One thing that Paul our house said in his commentary of 2 Kings, The Lord does the rest for David's sake, to whom he has made eternal promises. In a way then, David still serves his city, even from the grave, so great is the measure of his relationship with the Lord. When Assyria tried the first time to conquer Jerusalem, he sent his supreme commander, his chief officer, and his field commander. Hezekiah sent Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder. This gives us the name of at least one of King Hezekiah's scribes, Shebna, and it is safe to say that he was one of the men involved in copying these proverbs. C. Hasselbullock in his book, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books, said that these compositions were available to Hezekiah's scribes almost 300 years after Solomon may be attributable to Solomon's continuing popularity in Judah and the literary activity associated with royal courts in the ancient Near East. One cannot fail to see the implications of these literary figures and their maintenance during royal patronage. Bullock also commented that the proverbs in this section are largely two-line proverbs with the antithetic, meaning opposite lines, and comparative forms are predominant. On page 207 of his book, he shares various themes that are found in this collection of proverbs, which are about kings and proper conduct in their presence, the potential and harm of verbal communication, the fool and his folly, the sluggard, the busybody and the malicious person, the value of flocks, the importance of justice and law, and wise leadership. Bullock then said, they intended to summarize in many different proverbial statements the difference between the foolish and the wise, or the wicked and the righteous. At the very heart of wisdom literature is the motive to hold up before youth these two models of life, and to show how the advantages of the righteous life far outweigh those of the wicked. Just as a reminder about proverbs, this book is not THE SAVIOR FOR LORD, like the book of Leviticus, where God is directly speaking his words to Moses. This book is people talking to people. As Bullock said, for this book represents the common sense approach to life and faith. They are tidbits of wisdom, and it's hard to take a lot in at one time, so if you find one that stands out to you, write it down and read it throughout this week. Proverbs are not promises from God, but they are time-tested truths. Bullock also said, the author wants to teach that wisdom is a divine attribute that is eternally related to him, to God, understood only in relation to him, and is an extension of his dynamic being to mankind. So with all that being said, let's take a look at just a few proverbs from these 5 chapters. Chapter 25 verses 2-7 deal with kings and proper conduct to them. Verse 5 says, Remove the wicked from the king's presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness. One of the things we have noticed about King Hezekiah, he desired to follow the Lord and he had godly men as leaders and as advisors like Isaiah. Chapter 25 verses 8-28 have to do with how our speech can either bless or curse others and ourselves. One that I have thought about a lot in life is chapter 25 verse 24, Better to live on the corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. I have seen from experience how devastating a wife's words can be. Ladies, let's not be like that, and if we are like that, let's ask the Lord to help us to think before we speak, so that our words may bring him glory and not bring us shame. In chapter 26 verses 1-12 it deals with a fool and his folly. There are two verses I want to point out to you, verse 4 and 5, and they say, Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. Dr. Brian Vickers, my biblical hermeneutics professor, used these two verses which appear to contradict themselves, but he said, The key to wisdom is knowing the right thing to do or not to do and doing it or not in any given situation. It's not always if you do A then B will result. Sometimes that is true, but sometimes not. The wise person is able to address every situation and do it, which means you may do different things in different times. It makes me think of Ecclesiastes chapter 3, there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven, and then it goes through a long list like a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. The Holy Spirit will help give us wisdom on how to respond if we just ask him. That was what King Hezekiah did when Assyria came to overtake Jerusalem and the Lord answered him. Verses 13-16 are proverbs about the sluggard, and verses 17-28 deal with busybodies and malicious people. Verse 24 says, A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit. Ladies, I've known a man like that. He laughs and carries on, but underneath he is seething with anger. One of the books that helped me deal with my anger issues is called The Anger Workbook by Dr. Les Carter and Dr. Frank Minereth. On the front cover it says, A 13-step interactive plan to help you understand how unmet needs can feed anger, realize how other emotions can influence anger, and find healthy ways to express and control your anger. Ladies, this was the first of many books I read to help me live in truth and to address the real issues of life instead of stuffing them down and being angry. I know I've said this before, but sometimes the truth is ugly. But as Christians, we have Jesus who promised to never leave us or forsake us. We can handle the truth, and through a process, we can learn to forgive, heal, and be made whole. Chapter 27 verses 1-22 are general proverbs without any specific topic, such as verse 1, Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. Verse 5, Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Verse 10, Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you. I think of verse 14 quite often, and it says, If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse. The reason I think of it is because when I was a young teenager, our youth group went to Youth Encounter in Springfield, Illinois, and the next morning we got up on our bus and I was so excited and loud, and one of the older male guys, whom I had a small crush on, rebuked me with this verse, It's funny the things we remember. Then verses 23-27 deal with the value of flocks, and for those of us who do not have flocks, or lambs, or goats, we can see that the key to these verses is to give careful attention to our home life, and our work life, our finances, and be prepared for rough times, because they will come. Chapter 28 verses 1-13 deal with justice and law. Verse 2, When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order. Verses 4 and 5, Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them. Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully. Verse 13, He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. This one makes me think of the New Testament passage of James chapter 5 verse 16, Therefore confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. That also goes for a righteous woman. Then the rest of chapter 28 goes into general proverbs, like verse 26, He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe. Ladies, I've seen a shirt that says I am enough, it's meant to be a motivational shirt, but the truth is I am not enough, neither are you. That is why we need each other, but especially that is why we need God. It is the Lord that is enough. It is the Lord that can keep us safe, like he did with King Hezekiah against Assyria. It is the Lord who knows the future and can guide us in the way we should go. Chapter 29 is also general proverbs, like verse 1, A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed without remedy. Verse 4, By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down. Verse 11, A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. This one I am still trying to master. Verse 19, A servant cannot be corrected by mere words, though he understands he will not respond. I have thought of this one so many times as a substitute teacher. Mere words cannot keep the class in order. They have to know what discipline awaits them for them to obey. The last one I will share is verse 25, Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. If you remember, as we have studied 2 Kings and Isaiah, we have seen that the kings would put their trust in the surrounding nations to help them, but when they did that, it was almost always those nations that many times attacked them anyway. One of the keys in these stories of the Bible is that the Lord is trustworthy, and it is when we look to Him, He keeps us safe. Just like with King Hezekiah and Isaiah and how the Lord fought for them and the angel came and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers and the next morning the Assyrians packed up and went back home never to come their way again. The Lord fought for them and He will and wants to fight for you too. If you have heard His voice today, please don't harden your heart or be stiff necked. Instead let's turn our face to the Lord, humble ourselves before Him, pray, hear from Him and obey. Until next time, and thanks so very much for listening.