“Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.” (Pr 25:14 AV)
I
had always read this verse to mean a person who boasts about a spiritual gift
or ability which he does not have is like clouds and wind without rain. This is not what the commentators are saying. The commentators all agree the gift above is
an offering or benevolence promised but never given. The Hebrew agrees with their assessment. The Hebrew word for ‘gift’ here is, “a present;
gift, reward”. Therefore, a person who
boasts of a gift promised is like clouds and wind without rain. This boasting could go either way. Either boasting of a gift that he cannot
honor, or boasting that he gave something that he never gave. Think Ananias and Saphira. There are so many ways to consider this. The observation of those who see the wind and
clouds is one way to look at it. The boasting
of the false benefactor is another.
Quite a show that would be.
However, there is another way we can look at it.
Having
spent almost a decade serving in a farming culture with the real treat of
tornados gives me a different perspective.
Rain is essential for the farmer to make a living. He needs rain. And plenty of it. He watches the weather broadcast with
anticipation. He reads The Farmer’s
Almanac in the hope the publication is correct.
He watches the signs in the skies for much-needed precipitation. There are many folklores regarding the weather
in such an area as this. There was one
regarding fog. If there were so many fogs
in the time specified, it was an indication of the type of season coming
later. Then there was how many
rainstorms during a specified time as an indication of what type of summer it
would be. Bugs were another
indication. One thing was for sure. The folk in this area were very attuned to
the weather and the signs that would accompany them. Then came the weather forecast. If the weatherman forecasted a certain
outcome, the old farmer could tell by the signs in the skies if it was right or
not. If rain was in the skies, there was
a great hope it would drop. Their livelihood
depended on it. This brings me to our
point. Wind and clouds are part of a
storm. The farmer will put up with a lot
of storm damage if rain was part of it.
As he looks at the lowering and darkening sky, he is grateful for that
which his crops desperately need. He can
put up with a little inconvenience if it means his crop had a greater
yield. If he has his preference, he
would do without the wind. But it is part
and parcel of the rain that will follow.
A
person who boasts or promises something which he cannot deliver is worse than a
rainstorm. He is a storm that causes a
ruckus but leaves nothing behind of any benefit. There is damage in his wake. There is inconvenience behind him. There are dashed hopes. There is profit which
was counted on that now require adjustments to be made to plans laid because of
the failure of his promises benevolence.
This isn’t just about monetary promises.
This proverb is about any time someone promises something which others
count on and fail to deliver. When these
promises are broken, the one who made them figures if they didn’t have it before
I promised it, they aren’t going to miss it if I don’t deliver. But that is not the case. When promises are made and not kept, it does
cause damage. When someone affects the hopes,
dreams, and plans of another and then fails to live up to his promises, there
are consequences. Like a farmer who now
has to fix the roof of the barn but looks over his parched fields, those who
plan on a promise have to go on in the wake of those broken promises with no hope
it was worth it.
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