Proverbs 27:3 – “A stone [building stone] is heavy, and the sand weighty [burden]; but a fool’s [silly, immoral] wrath [anger; indignation] is heavier [more grievous] than them both [a fools wrath takes a physical and emotional toll heavier than building stones and sand].”
What was Solomon thinking when he made the observation that the wrath of a fool is heavier than both a heavy stone and weighty sand?
The Scriptures reveal that God forbid King David, Solomon’s father, to build the Temple in Jerusalem because the king had been a man of war. The responsibility of constructing a house of worship fell to Solomon. Solomon was familiar with the design and use of heavy stones necessary for constructing an enduring place of worship for Israel.
The heavy stones mentioned in Proverbs 27:3 are most likely a reference to the great building blocks used in constructing the Temple and other public buildings. The stones used as building blocks weighed from a few tons to as much as 160 tons. Sand, like building blocks, is also heavy in volume and a great burden to transport.
The fool is the subject of Proverbs 27:3 and, as a reminder, he is not intellectually deficient, but spiritually defiant, morally corrupt and a hater of wisdom and instruction. He opposes God (Psalm 14:1; 53:1), hates spiritual truth (Proverbs 1:22) and is a grief and heaviness to his father and mother (Proverbs 10:1; 17:25).
Solomon makes the observation that the wrath of a fool is heavier than both building blocks and sand. How so? While stones and sand are physically heavy and laborious to move, the weight of a fool’s wrath is both a physical burden and emotional weight to his family, friends and acquaintances. Without question, the wrath of a fool has sent many parents to an early grave…emotionally overwhelmed and physically devastated by the heartache of living with a fool.
Copyright 2015 – Travis D. Smith