Proverbs 24-26 warns against fools, especially chapter 26. There are two ways to read those proverbs.

• One is to look out and see the fools around us and nod our heads in agreement.
• The other is to look in and see that not only is “folly bound up in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15), but folly is bound up in the hearts of those of us who are adults too.

Solomon says, “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips” (Proverbs 24:26). Let us read these proverbs to hear the Lord’s honest answer about the folly in our own hearts and lives.

Solomon's Table Talk

Proverbs 25:1 mentions that men of King Hezekiah's time recorded more of Solomon's proverbs. 

Solomon lived in the early 900's BC. Hezekiah lived in the late 700's BC, over two hundred years later. 

This comment made me think about Solomon's proverbs more like the table talk of Dr. Martin Luther. People who sat at Luther's table took notes of some of the wisdom he shared at the dinner table and on walks and casual conversations. Twenty years later, those notes were compiled into a book. Learn more here. 

Solomon probably didn't sit down and write the book of Proverbs. Most of it is probably Solomon's Holy-Spirit-Inspired Table Talk... his wisdom that others wrote down. Most of that Table Talk may have been assembled in Solomon's lifetime, but some of them were preserved and gathered into one place two hundred years later. 

This pondering invites me to read Proverbs more like a guest at wise King Solomon's table, thankful that I get to listen to him share insights into godly living. 

Proverbs Like Riddles

The ancient Israelites enjoyed riddles. This is another way to think about Proverbs. They are riddles to ponder and solve. Here is an example:

Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
    or you yourself will be just like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
    or he will be wise in his own eyes (Proverbs 25:4-5)

Contradictory statements side by side. Imagine you are at Solomon's table when he said them. And then he pauses in silence for us to think how both could be true.

Now we can enjoy pondering this riddle too. 

Confessing my own folly

Reading Proverbs with a sense of humility, letting these wise saying expose the folly in my own heart, produces the “godly sorrow” of our New Testament lesson (2 Corinthians 6:11-7:16).

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

Godly sorrow brings us back to our need for the Savior. Godly sorrow increases our appreciation of God’s grace in Christ. Fools though we have been, we are God's forgiven saints!
 


Understanding Paul's Joy 
 
When we recall the background to our lesson for today, we will appreciate Paul’s joy as the Corinthians turned from sinful folly.

While Paul was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, he learned about problems in the Corinthian congregation. He wrote a letter (1 Corinthians) to call them to repentance and sent his co-worker Titus to Corinth with the letter.

As Paul was on his way to visit Corinth, going through Macedonia (northern Greece today), Titus came with the news that the Corinthians responded in heartfelt repentance. Their reaction encouraged both Titus and Paul.
 
Paul’s honest answer to the issues in Corinth was like “a kiss on the lips” (Proverbs 24:26), an act of love on Paul’s part.

May the Holy Spirit give each of us the wisdom to diagnosis the spiritual needs of those around us... exposing the folly of sin and offering the comfort of full and complete forgiveness in Christ.