Proverbs 25:1-10

CHAPTER 25
TEXT Proverbs 25:1-10

1.

These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of

Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

2.

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing;

But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

3.

As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,

So the heart of kings is unsearchable,

4.

Take away the dross from the silver,

And there cometh forth a vessel for the refiner:

5.

Take away the wicked from before the king,

And his throne shall be established in righteousness.

6.

Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king,

And stand not in the place of great men:

7.

For better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up hither,

Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince,

Whom thine eyes have seen.

8.

Go not forth hastily to strive,

Lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof,
When thy neighbor hath put thee to shame.

9.

Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself,

And disclose not the secret of another;

10.

Lest he that heareth it revile thee,

And thine infamy turn not away.

STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 25:1-10

1.

Why would Hezekiah take a particular interest in Solomon's proverbs (Proverbs 25:1)?

2.

How long after Solomon did Hezekiah live (Proverbs 25:1)?

3.

Why is it a glory to God to conceal a matter (Proverbs 25:2)?

4.

What kind of things did kings search out (Proverbs 25:2)?

5.

What kind of proverbs is Hezekiah interested in so far (Proverbs 25:3)?

6.

What is dross (Proverbs 25:4)?

7.

Is there a connection between Proverbs 25:5 and Proverbs 25:4?

8.

Why should one not put himself forward in the presence of a king (Proverbs 25:6)?

9.

What teaching of Jesus is Proverbs 25:7 like?

10.

What does Proverbs say about one who is hasty of spirit (Proverbs 25:8)?

11.

What did Jesus say that is similar to Proverbs 25:9?

12.

Who is the he of Proverbs 25:10?

13.

What does Infamy mean (Proverbs 25:10)?

PARAPHRASE OF 25:1-10

1.

These proverbs of Solomon were discovered and copied by the aides of King Solomon of Judah:

2, 3.

It is God's privilege to conceal things, and the king's privilege to discover and invent. You cannot understand the height of heaven, the size of the earth or all that goes on in the king's mind!

4, 5.

When you remove dross from silver, you have sterling ready for the silversmith. When you remove corrupt men from the king's court, his reign will be just and fair.

6, 7.

Don-'t demand an audience with the king as though you were some powerful prince. It is better to wait for an invitation rather than to be sent back to the end of the line, publicly disgraced!

8, 9, 10.

Don-'t be hot-headed and rush to court! You may start something you can-'t finish and go down before your neighbor in shameful defeat. So discuss the matter with him privately. Don-'t tell anyone else, lest he accuse you of slander and you can-'t withdraw what you said.

COMMENTS ON 25:1-10

Proverbs 25:1. Hezekiah was one of the best kings Judah had (2 Kings 18:5-6). 1 Kings 4:32 says that Solomon spake 3,000 proverbs. Since there are not 3,000 in the book of Proverbs, Hezekiah's scribes (under his direction and by inspiration of Godsince their work is included in the Old Testament that the Jews and Jesus accepted) copied the many good sayings found in Chapter s 25-29. This forms one of several appendixes to this book; other appendixes: Proverbs 24:23-34; Proverbs 30:1-33; Proverbs 31:1-31. Hezekiah lived around 270 years after the death of Solomon. The prophet Isaiah was a contemporary of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:1-2), and he may have headed the project. If so, we can see why the material would be included in the Scriptures.

Proverbs 25:2. This is the first of several verses concerning kings, a subject that held unusual fascination for King Hezekiah, especially since Solomon was looked upon as such a great king. A king busies himself searching out a matter, looking into many things, finding out what there is to find out; he is a human being and must if he is going to know, and he can because he has the men and the money of the kingdom at his disposal. But God doesn-'t have to search things out: He knows all about everything. While He has revealed many things to man in His Word, there is far more than He has reserved to Himself. Deuteronomy 29:29 refers to this revealing and concealing; The secret things belong unto Jehovah our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.

Proverbs 25:3. Pulpit Commentary: As you can never rise to the illimitable height of the heavens, as you can never penetrate to the immeasurable depth of the earth, so you can never fathom the heart of a king, can never find out what he really thinks. David was one who often surprised people with his pattern of thinking: 2 Samuel 1:1-16; 2 Samuel 12:18-23; 2 Samuel 16:5-12; 2 Samuel 19:1-6; etc.

Proverbs 25:4. Raw silver had to be refined to discard its alloy and impurities. When this dross was taken away, it was then ready to be made into a beautiful vessel.

Proverbs 25:5. The language of this verse shows that it is the application of Proverbs 25:4'S illustration: the wicked men of a king's court are the dross that must be removed if that king's throne is to be established, for the throne is established by righteousness (Proverbs 16:12). Oh, that our rulers today believed this and followed it! Ours would indeed be the ideal society to live insuch as they all seem to envision, talk about, and promise when they are running for office.

Proverbs 25:6. A king is not one to presume upon. To force oneself upon a king is like a girl throwing herself at some boy. Just as she is out of order and becomes obnoxious to the boy whose favor she seeks, so will one defeat that which he seeks by trying to make himself too noticeable to the king, who will be smart enough to see what he is doing and who will not respect him for it.

Proverbs 25:7. Once when Jesus was a guest in a Pharisee's house, He noticed how they clamored among themselves for the chief locations at the tables, and He said precisely the same thing: When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him, and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher (Luke 14:8-10).

Proverbs 25:8. Our saying, Think before you speak, is here applied to our actions. The verse appears to be describing a man with more temper than judgment; that is, he triggers a situation that overcomes him instead of the other person as he had planned. Often fiery hearts lack cool heads to know what to do after the wheels of trouble have been set in motion. The time to control strife is before it begins, as Proverbs 17:14 observes: The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: Therefore leave off contention before there is quarrelling.

Proverbs 25:9. Wisdom would dictate that if there is a serious matter to be taken up with a neighbor, you should discuss it with him alone instead of talking about it to everybody else. Two people can often settle a difference between them, but if you involve several people and he does too, the probability of getting the matter settled becomes more and more remote. Jesus taught the same thing: If thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother (Matthew 18:15).

Proverbs 25:10. If you talk over with others things that should remain secret between you and your neighbor, you will no longer be trusted by people; you have destroyed their confidence in you, and they will tell what you have done. And confidence destroyed is hard to be regained. Thine infamy turn not away. One of the best sets of instructions in the Bible is in James 1:19: Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

TEST QUESTIONS OVER 25:1-10

1.

What prophet was closely associated with King Hezekiah and may have headed the project of copying more of Solomon's proverbs for this book (Proverbs 25:1)?

2.

Altogether how many proverbs did Solomon speak (Proverbs 25:1)?

3.

Comment upon Proverbs 25:2.

4.

What king was used in the comments to illustrate Proverbs 25:3?

5.

Before one makes a silver vessel, what must he first do with the raw material (Proverbs 25:4)?

6.

What does Proverbs 25:6 show the dross mentioned in Proverbs 25:5 to represent?

7.

What is wrong with forcing one's presence upon a king (Proverbs 25:6)?

8.

What is liable to happen if one exalts himself in the presence of a king (Proverbs 25:6)?

9.

What often happens to people who rush into strife (Proverbs 25:8)?

10.

If one has a just grievance with a neighbor, what important instruction is found in Proverbs 25:9?

11.

What will happen to you if you are known for revealing information that should be kept secret (Proverbs 25:9-10).