One of the main topics of Proverbs is the foolish contrasted with the wise. While in English there is one word to describe a fool, in Proverbs, five separate Hebrew words are used, which describes a progression of foolishness from simple to depraved.
second: the proud fool
Strong’s H191 eviyl, a concrete noun meaning, “fool,” from an unused primitive root אול meaning, “to be perverse.” The ancient pictographs are aleph + vav + lamed.
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
vav ו = the tent peg, thus add, secure, hook
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
The parable being told is pride (aleph, in the sense of power) linked to (vav) control (lamed). If you are a proud fool, then pride controls your thoughts and actions. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon says that eviyl means, to be without wisdom.
Many English words come from Hebrew roots, as Hebrew is the mother tongue from which all the tongues were divided at Babel. I believe our English word “evil” comes from this Hebrew word for fool.
In the mouth of the foolish H191 is a rod (lamed, shepherd’s staff or rod) of pride (aleph, ox head or strength, power): but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. Pro 14:3
This fool most often expresses his folly by his mouth:
The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool H191 shall fall. Pro 10:8
To prate is to talk long and idly, to no purpose, according to Webster’s. The speech of a prating fool is vain or void of wisdom.
Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish H191 is near destruction. Pro 10:14
Even a fool, H191 when he holds his peace, is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Pro 17:28
His way is right in his own eyes, therefore he despises wisdom and does not receive correction well.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools H191 despise wisdom and instruction. Pro 1:7
The way of a fool H191 is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkens unto counsel is wise. Pro 12:15
A fool H191 despises his father’s instruction: but he that regards reproof is prudent. Pro 15:5
Fools H191 make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor. Pro 14:9
If a wise man contends with a foolish H191 man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest. Pro 29:9
He meddles in everyone else’s affairs, and is not content to let others manage their own lives:
It is an honor for a man to cease from strife: but every fool H191 will be meddling. Pro 20:3
If you offend him, you will know it at once.
A fool’s H191 wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covers shame. Pro 12:16
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s H191 wrath is heavier than them both. Pro 27:3
So how is this fool turned from his foolishness, so that he may live?
If he is still a child:
Foolishness (from the same root) is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Pro 22:15
Parents, please see what the Hebrew is saying! Spare the rod for simple childishness; correct mistakes made from innocent naivety with loving instruction. Corporal discipline is for folly stemming from pride or rebellion (which even two- year- olds can display), as the Hebrew in this verse shows! When we discipline innocence harshly, we run the risk of provoking our children’s hearts (Eph 6:4), an open door for a root of bitterness, an opportunity the enemy will exploit to destroy them if he can.
But if he is above the age of 12 or 13, corporal punishment is no longer effective:
Though you grind a fool H191 in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him. Pro 27:22
The key is in the root of his foolishness, which is pride.
He goes after her straightway, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool H191 to the correction of the stocks. Pro 7:22
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Pro 16:18
Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility. Pro 18:12
When the proud heart is brought low, the public humiliation (stocks were a tool of public humiliation) brings correction. In other words, parents must let their teens suffer the consequences of their foolishness, as it is the only thing that will correct them so that they turn from folly and gain wisdom.
Suffering consequences will bring its own public humiliation. The only thing that parents accomplish by purposefully humiliating their children publicly, is establishing the root of rebellion even more firmly. It severs their heart from yours, something one would not wish on their worst enemy.
Parents who do not let their teen children, who are proud- talking fools, suffer the consequences of their foolishness, are not acting in love toward them!
He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Pro 13:24
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