A king's rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. A king’s rageThe Hebrew word for "rage" here is "זַעַף" (za'af), which conveys a sense of intense anger or wrath. In ancient times, a king held absolute power, and his anger could lead to severe consequences, including punishment or even death. The imagery of a king's rage being likened to a lion's roar emphasizes the fear and respect that such authority commanded. The lion, known as the king of beasts, symbolizes strength and dominance. In a biblical context, this phrase serves as a warning to approach authority with caution and respect, understanding the potential for both justice and wrath. is like the roar of a lion
The "roar of a lion" is a powerful metaphor. In the natural world, a lion's roar can be heard from miles away and serves as a warning to other animals. It signifies power, authority, and the potential for danger. Biblically, lions are often associated with both majesty and fear (e.g., Amos 3:8). This comparison underscores the seriousness of a king's anger, suggesting that it is not to be taken lightly. Historically, the roar would have been a familiar sound to those living in the regions where lions were prevalent, making this metaphor both vivid and relatable. but his favor
The Hebrew word for "favor" is "רָצוֹן" (ratson), which implies pleasure, delight, or goodwill. In contrast to the king's rage, his favor is depicted as something desirable and life-giving. Favor from a king could mean protection, provision, and blessing. In the biblical narrative, finding favor with a king often led to significant positive outcomes, as seen in the accounts of Esther and Nehemiah. This phrase highlights the dual nature of authority, capable of both wrath and benevolence, and encourages seeking the latter through righteous living and wisdom. is like dew on the grass
"Dew" in Hebrew is "טַל" (tal), representing freshness, renewal, and blessing. In the arid climate of the ancient Near East, dew was a crucial source of moisture for vegetation, especially during dry seasons. It symbolizes life, growth, and sustenance. The comparison of a king's favor to dew suggests that it brings refreshment and vitality, much like God's blessings in the scriptures (e.g., Hosea 14:5). This imagery conveys the idea that favor from those in authority can lead to prosperity and flourishing, just as dew nourishes the earth. Persons / Places / Events 1. KingRepresents authority and power. In ancient Israel, the king was seen as God's appointed ruler, responsible for justice and governance. 2. LionSymbolizes strength and fear. The lion's roar is a metaphor for the king's anger, which can be terrifying and destructive. 3. DewRepresents blessing and refreshment. Dew is a gentle, life-giving force that nourishes the earth, symbolizing the king's favor. Teaching Points Understanding AuthorityRecognize the power and responsibility that come with positions of authority. Just as a king's anger can be destructive, so can the misuse of power in any leadership role. The Impact of FavorJust as dew refreshes and nourishes, a leader's favor can bring life and encouragement. Seek to be a source of blessing and support to those around you. Managing AngerReflect on the destructive nature of uncontrolled anger. As believers, we are called to be slow to anger and rich in love, following the example of Christ. Seeking God's FavorJust as the king's favor is life-giving, so is God's favor upon us. Pursue a relationship with God, seeking His guidance and blessing in all areas of life. Balancing Justice and MercyA wise leader knows when to exercise justice and when to extend mercy. Strive to balance these attributes in your interactions with others. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of a lion's roar help us understand the potential impact of a leader's anger? 2. In what ways can we seek to be like dew in our relationships and communities? 3. How can we apply the principles of justice and mercy in our daily lives, especially in positions of influence? 4. What steps can we take to ensure that our anger is controlled and does not lead to destructive outcomes? 5. How does understanding God's favor and blessing influence our approach to leadership and service? Connections to Other Scriptures Proverbs 16:14-15These verses also compare a king's wrath to a messenger of death and his favor to a cloud bringing spring rain, emphasizing the dual nature of a king's power. 1 Peter 5:8This verse warns believers to be alert and of sober mind because the devil prowls like a roaring lion, drawing a parallel to the destructive potential of unchecked anger. Psalm 72:6Describes a righteous king whose reign is like rain falling on a mown field, similar to the refreshing dew, highlighting the blessings of just leadership. People Isaiah, SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Approval, Cry, Dew, Displeasure, Favor, Favour, Good-will, Grass, Growl, Growling, Herb, King's, Lion, Loud, Rage, Roar, Roaring, WrathDictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 19:12 4460 grass
4814 dew
5257 civil authorities
5861 favour, human Library How the Slothful and the Hasty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 16.) Differently to be admonished are the slothful and the hasty. For the former are to be persuaded not to lose, by putting it off, the good they have to do; but the latter are to be admonished lest, while they forestall the time of good deeds by inconsiderate haste, they change their meritorious character. To the slothful therefore it is to be intimated, that often, when we will not do at the right time what we can, before long, when we will, we cannot. For the very indolence of …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the GreatHow the Impatient and the Patient are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 10.) Differently to be admonished are the impatient and the patient. For the impatient are to be told that, while they neglect to bridle their spirit, they are hurried through many steep places of iniquity which they seek not after, inasmuch as fury drives the mind whither desire draws it not, and, when perturbed, it does, not knowing, what it afterwards grieves for when it knows. The impatient are also to be told that, when carried headlong by the impulse of emotion, they act in some …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Second Journey through Galilee - the Healing of the Leper.
A DAY and an evening such as of that Sabbath of healing in Capernaum must, with reverence be it written, have been followed by what opens the next section. [2299] To the thoughtful observer there is such unbroken harmony in the Life of Jesus, such accord of the inward and outward, as to carry instinctive conviction of the truth of its record. It was, so to speak, an inward necessity that the God-Man, when brought into contact with disease and misery, whether from physical or supernatural causes, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Kingdom of God Conceived as the Inheritance of the Poor.
These maxims, good for a country where life is nourished by the air and the light, and this delicate communism of a band of children of God reposing in confidence on the bosom of their Father, might suit a simple sect constantly persuaded that its Utopia was about to be realized. But it is clear that they could not satisfy the whole of society. Jesus understood very soon, in fact, that the official world of his time would by no means adopt his kingdom. He took his resolution with extreme boldness. …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus "Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." As man is naturally given to boasting and gloriation in something (for the heart cannot want some object to rest upon and take complacency in, it is framed with such a capacity of employing other things), so there is a strong inclination in man towards the time to come, he hath an immortal appetite, and an appetite of immortality; and therefore his desires usually stretch farther than the present …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The Wrath of God
What does every sin deserve? God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' Matt 25: 41. Man having sinned, is like a favourite turned out of the king's favour, and deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Gal 3: 10. As when Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered; so, when God curses any, he withers in his soul. Matt 21: 19. God's curse blasts wherever it comes. He deserves also God's wrath, which is …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Unity of God
Q-5: ARE THERE MORE GODS THAN ONE? A: There is but one only, the living and true God. That there is a God has been proved; and those that will not believe the verity of his essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' Deut 6:6. He is the only God.' Deut 4:49. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else.' A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Man's Misery by the Fall
Q-19: WHAT IS THE MISERY OF THAT ESTATE WHEREINTO MAN FELL? A: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever. 'And were by nature children of wrath.' Eph 2:2. Adam left an unhappy portion to his posterity, Sin and Misery. Having considered the first of these, original sin, we shall now advert to the misery of that state. In the first, we have seen mankind offending; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' Exod 20: 16. THE tongue which at first was made to be an organ of God's praise, is now become an instrument of unrighteousness. This commandment binds the tongue to its good behaviour. God has set two natural fences to keep in the tongue, the teeth and lips; and this commandment is a third fence set about it, that it should not break forth into evil. It has a prohibitory and a mandatory part: the first is set down in plain words, the other …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Knowledge of God
'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' I Sam 2:2. Glorious things are spoken of God; he transcends our thoughts, and the praises of angels. God's glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the several beams by which the divine nature shines forth. Among other of his orient excellencies, this is not the least, The Lord is a God of knowledge; or as the Hebrew word is, A God of knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of his own essence, he has a full idea and cognisance …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Proverbs 19:12 NIVProverbs 19:12 NLTProverbs 19:12 ESVProverbs 19:12 NASBProverbs 19:12 KJV
Proverbs 19:12 Commentaries
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