Proverbs 18:17-19, Quarrels! Quarrels! And More Quarrels!
December 3, Proverbs 18:17-19
Acts 24:16; Matt. 18:21-22 “Lord, increase our faith.”
Quarrels! Quarrels! And More Quarrels!
Shakespeare wrote, “In a false quarrel there is no valour,” and he would include “no virtue.” Did the famous bard find this answer in the Bible? These three proverbs touch life at many points, and we frequently feel their touch.
1. The Defendant’s Version: He that is first in his own cause seems just; but his neighbour comes and searches him (v.17). “One tale is good till another is told” (Henry). This is so because we are fallen creatures. Man is now crooked who was once made upright. First, it is the defendant’s vision, and then his version that becomes distorted. The first in his own cause is motivated by self-love, based on self-interest. There are two sides to every story, or should we say three? There’s mine, and there’s thine, and there’s the Divine! Therefore, let judges wait till the other side is heard. Don’t give hasty judgments (18:2, 13). Even in the home, dealing with children, we must be sensitive when questioning conflicting accounts in order to get the truth. Let God to do the searching. That is the safest way to the Divine!
2. The Disputant’s Vindication: The lot causeth contention to cease, and parteth between the mighty (v.18). Contentions among the mighty were once referred to as the cold war. It was a game of brinkmanship and power-bluffs. This proverb tells us how disputes were once settled by the lot (Pr. 16:33; Neh. 10:34, 11:1). They believed God controlled the results, and His Will is our peace. Men sought God’s leading to vindicate their cause. Thus Canaan was divided (Josh. 14:2), Saul chosen king (1 Sm. 10:21-27), and Matthias became an apostle (Acts 1:26). This could still be effective in settling disputes among believers when other means failed, and where the disputants agree to accept the outcome as God’s will. No shame is incurred, but loss of precious time and useless wrangling would be averted. The use of the lot demands a self-denial sadly lacking among us all. We should still prayerfully seek God’s leading for direction in all matters, great or small.
3. The Discordant’s Vexation: A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city; and their contentions are like the bars of a castle (v.19). There is scarcely a family without some discord! Why is a brother’s anger so implacable? Ties of blood run thick, and when tangled, the knots are harder to undo. The nearer the bond the more heart-wrenching the breach (Gn. 4:5; 27:41). “The wrath of love… is oil in flames” (Thomas). How well Solomon read man! Walls of enmity are invisible, but as strong as the bars of a castle! How easy to set up; how hard to bring down! Hard, yes, but then so much greater the success. Let walls of discord between brethren come down with all speed. Christian, do all you can to heal the breaches, and, even more, prevent them happening at all. “Wisdom and grace make it easy to forgive, but corruption makes it difficult” (Henry).
Thought: “Two it takes to make a quarrel; one can always end it.”
Prayer: Lord, give the grace to forgive “until seventy times seven.”