"He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet and drinketh damage."
Proverbs 26:6
Part 1
Today: Be careful Where You Place Your Confidence!
Have you ever needed help and the “helper” wasn’t? Instead of being helpful, they ended up not getting done what you needed, and what they did do, did you hurt or caused your reputation to suffer? We need to remember that a fool does not care who he hurts. He’s like a crazy-man archer that shoots his arrows everywhere carelessly, not considering who or what he might hit!
“Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink” (Proverbs 26:18, BBE).[1]
This is not the kind of person that we want to ask for help! Solomon understood this trouble with fools when he wrote –
“He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool.”
“He that Sendeth”
“Sendeth” was generally used in the Old Testament for “sending someone or something as a messenger to a particular place” (see God’s angel, messenger, in Genesis 24:7).[2] As long as the person being sent is trustworthy, we can count on them to follow instructions and do the right thing as needed.
“By the Hand of a Fool”
Good, reliable help can be hard to find. Sometimes finding the right person who is willing to work and capable is impossible. But then, in time-crunch desperation, we chose the only “warm body” we can see, who we hope might get the job done. Do you know that sickening feeling when you realized too late that your “foolish messenger” just could not cut it? They totally misunderstood or ignored your words, and somehow, he has angered your customer. That critical message was muddled or not delivered at all. For people of integrity, this kind of performance by a fool is inexcusable! Solomon knew this, and he wrote –
“The work of the foolish will be a weariness to him because he has no knowledge of the way to the town” (Ecclesiastes 10:15, BBE).[3]
God deliver us from having to work with a fool! Believers, never play the fool and never hire one either. If you trust a fool, what can he do to hurt you and your reputation? Come back tomorrow, and we will learn more about the fool.
Quote: “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25:19).
[1] BBE is The Bible in Basic English, in eSword.
[2] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 1, p. 221). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.
[3] BBE, ibid. Ecclesiastes 10:14.