Meditations at the Mercy Seat Proverbs 26:16-20 All About Fools, Part 4

Friday, September 1, 2023

Proverbs 26:16–20

[16] The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes

than seven men who can answer sensibly.

[17] Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own

is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

[18] Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death

[19] is the man who deceives his neighbor

and says, “I am only joking!”

[20] For lack of wood the fire goes out,

and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. (ESV)

All About Fools, Part 4

v.16 This proverb is similar in thought to 26:12 regarding fools who are wise in their own eyes. Here, the fool thinks he is wise by avoiding work. He thinks he has outwitted others by neglecting his duties, who must pick up the slack to make up for his laziness. Even seven sensible people cannot convince him of his folly. As elsewhere, the number seven represents completion or comprehensiveness (see also 6:16, 31; 9:1; 24:16; 26:25).

v.17 This verse begins a sequence of five concerning strife. The last four concern speech, but this one concerns meddling. The dog is not a pet but a wild dog. The fool inserts himself into situations that are none of his concern and, as such, is like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears—he cannot hold on forever, nor can he let go, or the wild dog will bite him. Our English idiom is similar, "to have a tiger by the tail." The fool cannot remain embedded in other people's business and cannot escape harm by getting out of it, nor by remaining involved, a "Catch-22" where he will be regarded as a traitor to the one he tried to help and as a coward by the other party. Sometimes, the Wise course of action is not to get involved at all, no matter how much we want to help.

v.18-19 This two-verse proverb refers to a fool who causes trouble for his neighbor with his speech and then claims to have only been joking. He is likened to a crazy person who attacks an entire army by shooting flaming arrows to cause chaos, regular arrows to kill from a distance, and finally kills up close in hand-to-hand combat.

v.20 Just as a fire will go out for lack of fuel, a disagreement or argument will go out when gossip and rumor cease. The fool who engages in gossip is not trying to help but to fan the flames of the disagreement to draw attention to themselves and quench their own thirst for the secrets of others.