Tuesday, November 27, 2018 – Proverbs 22:24-27

We Become Like Those We Associate With &
Are to be Wise in Our Financial Dealings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLNkI9cDyz8

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

www.facebook.com/GraceDoctrine

Proverbs 22

1. The wise discipline themselves to follow God in everything, vs. 1-16.

2. Wisdom tells us when to speak and when to be silent, vs. 17-21.

3. The wise ones care for and protect the poor, vs. 22-29.

Vs. 24-25

Prov 22:24-25, “Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man, ²⁵or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself.”

In “Saying 3,” similar to other proverbs that speak about friendship, this saying warns that we become like our friends, cf. Prov 13:20; 28:7; 29:3.

Prov 13:20, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

If our friends have certain problems, you will have them too. As the English proverb goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” This saying is close to the teaching in, Prov 1:10-19, as well as, Prov 14:17, 29, and Prov 15:1.

Vs. 24

This verse begins with a prohibition not to associate with two categories of people that are similar. It begins with the proscription, “do not associate” is the Hebrew Negative Adverb AL “not, do not,” with the Verb RA’AH, רָעָה‎ that first means, “to graze, pasture, shepherd, etc.” The second meaning is “to associate with.” It does not necessarily imply a relationship of deep intimacy, but does involve more than a casual involvement. It is in the Hithpael Jussive for a reflexive simple action desired. In other words, we should not desire to have a relationship with this type of person or people.

The object of this prohibited relationship is “with a man,” that is actually the noun BA’AL that means, “an owner, citizen, husband, or lord.” The word can also describe possessing a quality, attribute, or characteristic like anger in our passage, i.e., wrath, Prov 29:22; hairy, 2 Kings 1:8; appetite, Prov 23:2; wisdom, Eccl 7:12.

This person is one “whose judgment is clouded by irrational thought and who loses all sense of proportion, acts impetuously, often in a terrifying way, and is incapable of measured utterance. The quick-tempered is like a bomb with a short fuse, ready to explode at any moment with devastating consequences.” (New International Commentary).

Interestingly, this word is also the name for the ancient Canaanite pagan god Baal, who was known as the “storm god” or a “god of war.”

“The most prominent usages refer to Canaanite deity. This false god in the OT is the name of a western Semitic storm god encountered in Egyptian texts (14th century B.C.), Tell-el-Amarna letters (14th century B.C.), Alalakh Tablets (15th century B.C.), Ugaritic texts (14th century B.C.), Amorite proper names found at Mari, Tell-al-Rimah, Chagar Bazar, and later in Phoenician and Punic texts. Thus, different names do not denote various deities but local identifications of this same storm god. The storm god, also called Haddu, was considered a war god. Also, he was the husband of Astarte, he ensured fertility of the earth (a common function for a storm god).” (Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary)

Here BA’AL is associated with the “anger”, APH that literally means, “face or nose,” and figuratively “anger” as we have seen previously in Proverbs, Prov 15:18; 17:17, and most have been in reference to exhorting us to be “slow to anger,” Prov 14:29; 15:1; 16:32; 19:11.

Prov 14:17, “A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.”

Prov 15:18, “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger calms a dispute.”

It emphasizes the physical visible state of excitement of an individual breathing heavily as a consequence of anger. So, we see a bit of humor here, calling this “man of anger” a “god of storm or war” that demonstrates physically his anger. That is the imagery first given of this prohibition.

The second category we are warned not to associate with or “to go with,” is the more typical word for “man,” ISH. This man is called a “hot-tempered” man which is the Noun CHEMAH, חֵמָה that means,‎ “wrath, heat,” or sometimes, “poison.” This word emphasized the internal physiological aspects of being angry; the heat or poison on the inside that burns. It speaks to the inner emotional revolt of the soul.

Prov 29:22, “An angry man stirs up strife, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.”

Psa 37:8, “Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.”

Interestingly, the phrase, “go with” also has idolatry connotations with the Verb, BO בּוֹא‎ in the Qal Imperfect as in Ezek 23:17. But here, it means to not, “go with” or “associate with” this type of person.

Vs. 25

Prov 22:25, “Or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself

Here we have the warning of consequences if we “hang around” with angry or hot-tempered man. It begins with “Or you will learn his ways,” is PEN ALAPH ORACH, “so that you do not learn or become familiar with his path way.” That is, “his way of life” that is filled with anger and wrath. ALAPH is a rare verb meaning, “to learn” and is only used here and in Job 15:5; 33:33; 35:11. In Job, it is used for “to teach.” Therefore, it can mean, “to be accustomed to.” So, we understand that when we associate with people, we are taught, learn, or become accustom to their behaviors, their way of life, which then can become our own.

1 Cor 15:33, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals’.”

1 Cor 15:34, “Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.”

Not only will we learn their bad behaviors, but it will cause us many problems and difficulties as noted in the last phrase, “and find a snare for yourself,” which is the Qal Imperfect Verb LAQACH, “to take, seize, grasp, etc.,” with the Noun MOQESH, “snare, trap,” that signifies, “lethal hidden danger,” with the Preposition LE, “for,” and the Noun NEPHESH, that means, “soul, breath, or life,” “And seize a snare for your soul/life.” Thus, both Saying 2 and 3, warn about hazards to your soul. In other words, the mentality of your soul will be corrupted by association with these types that will lead to physical problems as well. It is speaking about self-induced misery.

The habits of the hothead are both infectious, vs. 25a, and lethal, vs 25b, and the unsuspecting are often misled by bad company, Prov 1:10ff. Familiarity can breed complacency, so that what may have repelled us at first becomes increasingly acceptable and eventually characterizes us. In this case, the warning is that we will not only begin to share their behavior, but also the problems that result from it. By associating with the hothead one, he becomes fatally involved even before he becomes aware of it himself. Since behavior reveals the state of the heart, and because attitudes are often assimilated unconsciously, we need friends who will strengthen, not inhibit, our righteousness.

This metaphor is ironic; in that one avoids traps to save their life, not seize them to kill one’s self. Therefore, it is important to consider carefully those whom we choose for companionship and fellowship. To keep company with a man given to wrath and fury, is to be contaminated by his hasty ways and to bring a snare on one’s own soul. Anger and malice are the works of the flesh. The believer should have no association with one quickly angered, for we are too easily defiled by such conduct. To continue friendship with one displaying these evidences of unjudged carnality is to endanger one’s own life and testimony.

How do you know if you are an angry man?

·      Do you speak or strike impulsively?

·      Do you yell at your wife or children?

·      Do you say harsh things that others question or condemn?

·      Do others crave your presence or avoid you?

·      Are you known as a gracious or a difficult man?

·      Do your wife and children tell you all they are thinking?

·      Do you rule by intimidation or affection?

·      Does your wife stay with you because she has to or wants to?

·      Are you an angry man?

Vs. 26-27

The matched sections of vs. 24-25 and vs. 26-27, present familiar warnings about avoiding certain people and practices, while juxtaposing new motivations. Therefore, Saying 4, is a warning not to become surety for another person’s loan or debt.

Prov 22:26-27, “Do not be among those who give pledges, among those who become guarantors for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take your bed from under you?”

Vs. 26

The phrase “among those who give pledges” is an idiom in the Hebrew from the Qal Active Participle Verb TAQA, “to pitch, clap, blow,” and the Noun KAPH, “hollow of the hand or palm.”  We could literally say, “clap hands.” It is similar to the meaning of a hand shake that seals a deal. We have seen this in its other uses in Proverbs, Prov 6:1, 3; 10:4; 17:18. The word KAPH is found in phrases like “clap your hands,” that can also mean the display of anger or contempt, cf. Num 24:10.

In the second half of this verse we have “guarantors for debts” that uses the Qal Active Participle of ARAB and the Noun MASHSHA’AH. The Verb ARAB, עָרַב means, “to pledge.” It is a technical term meaning, “to exchange merchandise” under the barter trade system. Second, the verb means “to mortgage,” as farmers mortgaging their fields, vineyards, and houses in order to obtain grain during a famine. The third major usage of the verb as here, expresses the idea “to be a surety” or “to pledge” for someone. It means you “co-sign” a loan, or become security for someone else’s loan. The Lord warns us not to become surety for another’s debt, Prov 6:1; 11:15; 17:18.

The Noun MASHSHA’AH, מַשָּׁאָה is only used here and in Deut 24:10. It is a feminine noun depicting a debt or a loan. It indicates something given to a neighbor with the expectation that it will be paid back.

As in the previous “Saying,” taking a pledge is a form of bad association. Just as one stands to lose in associating with a hothead, one can lose all in a bad pledge.

Other references to co-signing agreements explain that this is foolish, Prov 17:18, urging all who have done so to escape the trap that they are in, Prov 6:1-5, maintaining that one aspect of a secure life is to avoid co-signing Prov 11:15.

Vs. 27

“If you have nothing with which to pay,” uses for “to pay” the intensive active Piel Infinitive of SHALAM that literally means, “to be complete or at peace.” The most common use of this verb is in the Piel stem, as here, with the meaning, “to pay what is owed.” So, we see a linkage between being able to pay your bills or loans, with having peace within your soul. The negative is that there may not be peace in your soul, if you cannot pay your bills, which is the warning here. The warning is not to over extend yourself financially and then have fear, worry, and anxiety in your soul.

Next, we have the warning, “why should he take your bed from under you?” “Bed” is the Hebrew Noun MISHKAB that means, “bed or sexual relations,” and sometimes “blanket.” Metaphorically, it is also associated with idolatry, Isa 57:7f. So, we see the tie in with the previous Saying in regard to idolatry and the cultic sexual immorality. By analogy, if you over extend yourself financially, you are either worshipping the material things which you have purchased, or you are now worshipping the loan which you have to focus tirelessly on to repay.

But, the meaning here is related to your property that could be repossessed, (taken or seized, LAQACH), because you could not pay your debt(s).

“From under you,” is the Adverb MIN with the Preposition TACHATH that means, “beneath or instead of.” It has the meaning of taking your property with the potential warning that they could take you. So, having your “bed snatched from under you” is like our saying of “losing the shirt off your back.”

The wealthy slept in beds, ordinary people slept on the floor in their garments or under blankets, cf. Judges 4:18. Here, for the wealthy, the bed is his last valuable possession. For the ordinary person, the blanket they slept under is the last valuable possession. Now, all of the sudden, if at the time of payment you lacked the money to repay the loan, you find yourself on the floor without a blanket.

So, these verses explain the prohibition: If the person for whom you have co-signed defaults, then you are liable for their debt. If you have no money with which to repay the loan, then the loan agent will take your property in satisfaction. In other words, the co-signer pledges his guarantee that the loan will be repaid. But, life is uncertain, and who can know whether they will have the money at hand when the time comes. They thus endanger their property and perhaps their well-being and that of their family. And, if he does not have the means of repayment, he may find himself and his family “on the floor.” Therefore, we are to have wisdom when entering into any financial agreement and weigh the consequences against the gain, to make good and wise decisions. Most of which will call for abstaining from being a co-signer to a loan.