Proverbs 26:11-12 - Fools and Their Folly

Proverbs 26:11-12

¹¹ Like a dog that returns to its vomit
Is a fool who repeats his folly.
¹² Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Message: Fools and Their Folly

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying: The imagery that is used in verse 11 is compelling especially considering the time when it was written. Dogs were considered an unclean animal at the time, not the cute companion animals they are today. When one is sick, they vomit and no one wants to ever return to vomiting. It is something that we have no desire to go back and do again. The fool is thus compared to one that is unclean returning to something that is unclean. The problem then with a fool is he doesn't recognize that his behavior is wrong and so he returns to it again. What's tragic is we are training a generation of fools because we are training people over and over to have no knowledge of what is right and wrong. Many therefore are returning to behavior that is foolish, but now society is going it normal behavior. But more directly this verse is focused on the person who is unwilling to receive any correction and prefers to repeat the same behavior over and over.

The fool is then, in verse 12, likened to one that is wise in his own eyes (as also mentioned in Proverbs 3:7).  This is on the heels of verse 11 and the notion to stay clear of one who is unwilling to receive any correction. Thus, a person that is wise in their own eyes. This means they are unwilling to take any direction from anyone else, like God, or the advice of anyone else. Wisdom is to trust in God. Folly is to not trust in God, thus trust only in self. Jesus came to call sinners. The turning point of any person is recognizing that in themselves they are a sinner. But, most are unwilling to see their sin or to see that it is serious.

Promise: Let us pray for ourselves that we would not repeat our folly.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I am teachable and not stubborn in what I know, especially as I get older. I'm 49 now and concerned that as I get older, I get that feeling more and more that I am right and am not as teachable, but keep molding me and shaping me as you are the potter and I am the clay. And help my family to be responsive in the same way to being taught.