Proverbs 27

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Dave Burnette's Commentary

Proverbs Chapter 27

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Solomon, Agur, and Lemuel

Date Penned: (970-931 BC)

Overview: Wisdom to Teach People to Live Godly (c 1-31)

Theme: Wisdom for Leaders (c 25-31)

Message: Applying Wisdom (v 1-27)

Proverbs 27 Commentary

(27:6) A Friend's Words - Who would prefer a friend's wounds to an enemy's kisses? Anyone who considers the source. A friend who has your best interests at heart may have to give you unpleasant advice at times, but you know it is for your own good. An enemy, by contrast, may whisper sweet words and happily send you on your way to ruin. We tend to hear what we want to hear, even if an enemy is the only one who will say it. A friend's words, no matter how painful, are much more valuable.

(27:15-16) Helping Others - Quarrelsome nagging and a steady stream of unwanted comments can feel like torture. People nag because they think others are not listening to or not agreeing with them. But nagging hinders communication more than it helps. When tempted to engage in this destructive habit, stop and examine your motives. Are you more concerned about yourself--getting your way or being right--than about the person you are alleging to help? If you are truly concerned about other people, think of a more effective way to get through to them. Surprise them with words of patience, love, and encouragement; then see what happens.

(27-17) Mental Sharpness - Mental sharpness comes from being around people who will sharpen us. A meeting of minds can help people see their ideas with new clarity, refine those ideas, and shape them into brilliant insights. This requires discussion partners who can challenge one another and stimulate thought--people who can focus on an idea without involving their egos in the discussion; people who know how to attack the thought and not the thinker. Two friends who challenge each other can help each other become sharper.

(27:18) Sharing Success - With all the problems and concerns a leader has, it can be easy to overlook the very people who most deserve attention--faithful employees or volunteers (whoever, so to speak, "keepeth a fig tree"). If you are in any kind of leadership position, the people who stand behind you, who work hard and help you get the job done, deserve to share in your success. Be sure that in all your planning, organizing, and working, you remember the people who are helping you the most.

(27:21) Praising Others - Praise tests a person, just as high temperatures test metal. How does praise affect you? Do you work to get it? Do you work harder after you've gotten it? Your attitude toward praise tells a lot about your character. People of high integrity are not swayed by praise. They are attuned to their inner convictions, and they do what they should, whether or not they are praised for it.

(27:23-27) Be a Good Steward - Because life is short and our futures uncertain, we should be all the more diligent in what we do with our lands and herds. For God's people, thinking ahead is a duty, not an option. We should act with foresight as we attend to our homes, families, and careers. Be a responsible steward. Like a farmer with his crops

Dave Burnette's Life Application

Boast Not of Tomorrow

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue with the Book of Proverbs with Chapter 27. In our text today we continue with Wisdom for leaders with a focus on instruction for others. What catches my eye is verse 1 that says to boast not for tomorrow for we know not what a day may hold. In making application we see the importance in living one day at a time being 100% surrendered to the Lord. Just as today is the day of salvation, today is also the day to be obedient. When the Holy Spirit prompts we need to be do what He says, when He says because tomorrow we might not have the opportunity to follow. How about you? Are you obedient to the Lord? Let us learn from our text today that we boast not for tomorrow for we know not what a day may hold.

Proverbs 27

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Proverbs 27

¹Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

²Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

³A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.

⁴Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

⁵Open rebuke is better than secret love.

⁶Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁷The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

⁹Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

¹⁰Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

¹¹My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

¹²A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

¹³Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

¹⁴He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

¹⁵A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

¹⁶Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

¹⁷Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

¹⁸Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

¹⁹As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

²⁰Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

²²Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

²³Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

²⁴For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

²⁵The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

²⁶The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

²⁷And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

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