Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today is poetry Thursday, and we’re in Proverbs. We’ll read chapter 25. I’ll have a brief introduction before reading each chapter, and after the reading I’ll have some comments. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode  “I Will, Part 2.”

Comments on Proverbs 25

Proverbs chapters 25-29 were proverbs of Solomon that were collected under the supervision of King Hezekiah of Judah, about 270 years after Solomon died.

21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

22In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

Verse 21 is self-explanatory. But what does verse 22 mean?

Commentators over the years do not agree whether heaping coals on the head is a good thing or a bad thing, from the viewpoint of the enemy. It could be referring to a burning conviction that happens when we do something good for the enemy. Or perhaps the thought is of lending a burning coal to him to help light a fire for himself. The motivation, nonetheless is that we make a friend of an enemy, and we will receive a reward from the Lord.

Adam Clarke wrote in one of his commentaries, “Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness…”

Bruce Walke, a respected Old Testament scholar who has written an excellent two volume set of commentaries on the book of Proverbs, said, “Most commentators agree with Augustine and Jerome that the ‘coals of fire’ refers to ‘burning pangs of shame’ which a man will feel when good is returned for evil, his shame producing remorse and contrition.”

Whether the coals on his head is positive or negative, from the point of viewpoint of your enemy, is not the point. His attitude is not your concern; it does not change your responsibility. In this proverb God is telling us that we should be kind to our enemy. And isn’t that what Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-47?

43“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 

This is, of course, not an easy thing to do. At least it isn’t easy for me. But it is what we are called to do. And that is why we have the Holy Spirit. Through Him, we have the ability to love our enemies. The question is, will we? Do you remember yesterday’s episode…”I Will?” Loving our enemies is an act of will. It isn’t based on our emotions. It certainly is not as easy as deciding to praise the Lord, but it can be done.

Remember, to love is an action. It is things that we do. Obviously it helps if we feel good about the person. But even when we don’t we can do loving actions. And who knows, when we do those things, maybe we’ll build bridges.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 25 NIV

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Transcript

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STEVE WEBB – 0:00
Love is an action.

INTRO S12E260 – 0:09
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Welcome. I’m glad you’re here today. I’m glad to be here today. I’m glad we’re together. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today is POETRY Thursday, and we’re in Proverbs. We’ll read chapter 25. The title of today’s show is “I Will, Part 2”.

The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e260. My email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s begin.

PROVERBS 25 (NIV) – 0:47
Proverbs, chapter 25.

(1) These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:
(2) It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
(3) As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.
(4) Remove the dross from the silver,
and a silversmith can produce a vessel;
(5) remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.
(6) Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;
(7) it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.
What you have seen with your eyes
(8) do not bring hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
if your neighbor puts you to shame?
(9) If you take your neighbor to court,
do not betray another’s confidence,
(10) or the one who hears it may shame you
and the charge against you will stand.
(11) Like apples of gold in settings of silver
is a ruling rightly given.
(12) Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.
(13) Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time
is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
he refreshes the spirit of his master.
(14) Like clouds and wind without rain
is one who boasts of gifts never given.
(15) Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
(16) If you find honey, eat just enough—
too much of it, and you will vomit.
(17) Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—
too much of you, and they will hate you.
(18) Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow
is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.
(19) Like a broken tooth or a lame foot
is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.
(20) Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
or like vinegar poured on a wound,
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
(21) If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
(22) In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
(23) Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain
is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.
(24) Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
(25) Like cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.
(26) Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
are the righteous who give way to the wicked.
(27) It is not good to eat too much honey,
nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.
(28) Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.

COMMENTS – 3:47
Proverbs 25 is a set of Proverbs from 25 to 29 that were collected under the supervision of King Hezekiah of Judah about 270 years after Solomon died.

Let me read for you verses 21 and 22 again. “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he’s thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you.”

The first part of that verse 21 is self-explanatory. Give your enemy food and give him water. But 22, what does that mean? “In doing this you’ll heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you?”

Well, commentators over the years have not agreed whether heaping coals on the head is a good thing or a bad thing from the viewpoint of the enemy. It could be referring to a burning conviction that happens in the heart of the enemy when we do something good for them. Or maybe the thought is of lending a burning coal to him to help him light a fire for himself. The motivation, nonetheless, is that we make a friend of an enemy and we will receive a reward from the Lord.

Adam Clarke wrote in one of his commentaries, quote, Not to consume but to melt him into kindness, unquote.

Bruce Waltke, a respected Old Testament scholar who’s written an excellent two-volume set of commentaries on the book of Proverbs said, quote, Most commentators agree with Augustine and Jerome, that the ‘coals of fire’ refers to ‘burning pangs of shame’, which a man will feel when good is returned for evil, his shame producing remorse and contrition.

Well, I don’t know. But whether the coals on his head is positive or negative from the viewpoint of your enemy really isn’t the point. His attitude is not your concern. It doesn’t change your responsibility. In this proverb, God is telling us that we should be kind to our enemy. And isn’t that really what Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-47? Here it is:

(43) You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. (44) But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! (45) In that way, you’ll be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. (46) If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much? (47) If you’re kind only to your friends? How are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that?”

Well, this is, of course, not an easy thing to do, at least not for me. Maybe you’re different. But it is what we are called to do. And that’s why we have the Holy Spirit. Because through him, we have the ability to love our enemies. The question is, will we? Do you remember yesterday’s episode, “I Will”? Loving our enemies is an act of will. It isn’t based on our emotions. It certainly is not as easy as deciding to praise the Lord as yesterday’s episode was about, but it can be done.

Remember, love is an action. It’s things that we do. Obviously, it helps if we feel good about the person. But even when we don’t, we can do loving actions. And who knows, when we do those things maybe we’ll build some bridges.

I would love to hear your comments. Go to the show notes page at lifespringmedia.com/s12e260. And let me know what you think. Tomorrow is PROPHECY Friday. We’ll read Amos 5 through 9.

BOOST! – 7:29
Boost! Chapters, transcripts, images, links, stream micro payments to the podcast and send Satoshis in real time over the Lightning Network using a compatible podcasting 2.0 app. Just go to newpodcastapps.com. That’s newpodcastapps.com. And for more info go to podcastindex.org. Boost!

FEEDBACK – 7:49
A couple of days ago Lester sent in a $20 donation via Zelle. He said thanks for doing such a good job, Steve. I appreciate the time you take to do what it takes. Well, Lester, thank you. I appreciate you. God bless you.

And remember I mentioned a couple of days ago that I thought Denise had been around since the early days of the Lifespring podcast. Well, she commented on yesterday’s episode. She says, “I do remember listening to the early episodes of Lifespring along with the other Godcasters like Craig Patchett and RevTim.” I remember those guys, too. Denise continues, “If I remember right, I think you and Craig Patchett did a joint podcast from the Harvest Crusade one year.” And yes, that’s right. In 2005, Craig and I did a series of–. I forget how many episodes it was, but yeah, we did several episodes. I interviewed Pastor Greg Laurie and lots of the artists that appeared at the Harvest Crusade. Good times. Denise says, “One of my favorite Lifespring episodes is the one with mafia boss Michael Franzese. And I also enjoyed the HymnStories and Why Christmas? And Denise was good enough to put the link to the Michael Franzese episode in her comment. So if you’d like to go listen to that, go find her comment on the “I Will” episode and you can listen. And by the way, Michael Franzese was one of my earliest, if not the earliest interview on the Lifespring Podcast. Well, obviously Denise I’m so happy you’ve hung in there all these years and it truly is a blessing to have you on the team. God bless you.

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY – 9:29
On this date in church history, May 19, 1775, Anglican clergyman and hymn writer John Newton wrote in a letter, “I hope you will find the Lord present at all times and in all places. When it is so we’re at home everywhere. When it is otherwise, home is a prison and abroad, a wilderness.” Yes, I cannot imagine what it would be like without the Lord.

CLOSING PRAYER – 10:01
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father yesterday we said, We will praise you because you’re worthy. Today, Lord, if we’re honest, we have to say that it’s not easy to love our enemies. We feel as if they are not worthy. But neither were we worthy when Jesus gave himself to be crucified. And even when we have been washed in his blood, we’re still not worthy. But still you see us is righteous because of what he did for us. So Lord, help us to love our enemies. Help us to see them as you do: people in need of the Savior. Help us to act out love toward them despite our feelings. Help us to treat them as Jesus would. Bless us today, Lord, as we do truly seek to do your will. I thank you and I praise You for the Lifespring family, Lord. Bless them today. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

If you have a prayer request or a praise please do go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. Leave your prayer request or your praise right there and I’ll pray for you and I’ll rejoice with you in my private prayer time. And we’ll pray together and rejoice together on the show, prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

OUTRO S12E260 – 11:17
Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e260. Email me at st***@*************ia.com. Thanks to Kirsty and Sean of San Pedro and Denise for all the work they do to help me out. You guys are awesome.

And thank you for sharing your time with me today. I don’t take it for granted. It’s my honor to be with you. Support the show with your time, talent or treasure. Just go to lifespringmedia.com/support.

And until tomorrow may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Corrected by Denise