A man of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not good. Proverbs 16:29

This proverb has to do with those who are considered, "men of violence." It would be good to understand what this title or name means before we go further in understanding this particular proverb.

The "man of violence" is an interesting term - since this term is actuially used as the name for a terrorist group or organization. The word for violence is "hamas." The word means an action of violence or wrong-doing. The word implies cruelty, damage, and injustice. It is often coupled with words that speak of physical violence involving the use of a weapon - and is also used to describe acts of oppression and violence that could be described as extremely evil in nature and intent. Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament commentary on this verse mentions that the violent purpose behind such actions often included felonies, robbery, extortion, and even murder).

What I find fascinating is that this passage warns that this "man of violence" will seek to entice his neighbor to get involved with him and with his acts of evil. When caught this will mean that this neighbor will be an accessory to his crimes. That is why there is a warning to stay away from a man who is talking about such things.

Be careful WHO leads you - and know WHERE they are headed before you agree to go with them. The phrase, "A way that is not good," used here meand one that is in stark contrast to the good way - the way of God. We are also warned that it is altogether evil and destructive in where it goes.

One other thing I want to throw in at this point is a warning about a man who begins going down a path of anger. He will begin this path with passion and with many complaints against those whom he feels have not been fair with him. Since we are in a presidential election year - I want to offer some advice to all of us who are in the process of determining who will lead us for the next four years. I am very concerned with what our President is currently doing. There is a lot of time being spent dividing groups of people - the haves and have nots - the races - the religious and non-religious. A great deal of time is being spend whipping up a great deal of anger against various groups of people who are being painted as scape goats. No truly wise leader goes down this path. It is a path that will lead first to the marginalization of various groups - but will eventually go to the point of demonizing these groups. In the end - even violence will be permitted against these groups because they have become the enemy of a political party or candidate. This is also why I am leary of Governor Romney - and to some extent many on the Republican side of this equation. Too many are using negative attacks against their opponent - calling them names - and using political epithets that are not going to help calm our political discourse. As this verbal virtiol continues it will do NO ONE in our nation any good in the end.

A word of warning is wise at this point. We need to learn from history - that the way we are going - with men of violence starting their attacks with words - will only turn to eventual attacks physically upon others in the end. If we choose to ignore this now - we will only pay the price later when these men of violence entice us to act out upon those we think are responsible for our national demise - or honestly - our personal one. Very few of these men care anything about our nation - or else they would not turn to such godless ways. They would know that a nation divided against itself cannot stand. But then again when they turn to be men of violence they are only interested in themselves. In the end they will lead us in a way that is not good - and one that will only satisfy their own lust for power.

Wise men shun those who call for violence - in their words or in their deeds. They know that To be led by men like this is only to start down a path that is not in agreement with that of God our Father. They would choose instead to be sons of God - peacemakers if you will - whose greatest desire is to see peace exalted through the work of Jesus Christ. May God give us men like that to lead us!

A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.              Proverbs 27:3

There are some heavy things that people have to carry.  Among them are things like sand and stones.  I remember having to carry a pile of decorative stone from the front yard of a home all the way to the back yard.  At first I thought the job was going to be easy.  The stones were fairly large, but easy to carry at first.  About the time I got to the middle of the pile the ease of carrying these stones began to go down.  It was as if they were getting heavier all the time.  You probably know that by the time I reached the bottom of the pile - the stones seemed really heavy.  It became difficult to carry them to the back of the yard where they were going.  One might say that they became quite a load.  That is what Proverbs is saying to us about dealing with the fool.

The actions this Proverb speaks of are the "provocation" of a fool.  Provocation is not exactly a word we use often in our society - it means to provoke someone.  The Hebrew word is "kaas" and it means to cause vexation and anger.  It is like someone poking you again and again until it provokes you to the point of being very angry.  This word is even used to speak of how idolatry angers God and provokes Him to that anger and wrath. 

The fool is the man who doesn't quite get it.  He does something but doesn't understand the problems that his actions are causing.  He not only does it once - but repeats it again and again.  Elsewhere in the proverbs we are told that like a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.  Thus the actions that cause a  problem, or the ones that provoke people to anger are repeated again and again.  This can be maddening on a personal level - and it can be devastating on a societal one. 

This is why we are told that it would almost be better to have to carry the weight of sand and stones rather than have to deal with a fool who is constantly provoking us to anger and frustration.  This is also why the Word counsels us to refrain from "hanging around" fools.  To do so is to eventually invite amazing levels of provocation into your life, which is not exactly something we are all dying to have every day.