Proverbs 26:11

October 13, 2023

“As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”

This particular verse of Scripture out of the book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon. It is one of the most up front and powerful passages out of the Holy Bible because it gives us an illustration of what Christians look like when we return to our foolish acts and sinful behavior. One of the reasons that Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary was so that we could have the ability to overcome sin.

When we become believers of Jesus Christ all things are passed away and we become new creatures, 2 Corinthians 5:17. What that means is that you are no longer that sin filled person committing the same old dirty habits that had you in the oppressed condition before you met Christ.

The Word of God is very clear in Romans 12:2 when Paul states, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Once we become born again believers we should be digesting the Lord’s Word allowing it to help us remove every trace of the filthiness of sin in our lives.

When we take a look at Proverbs 26 we can see that Solomon is giving wisdom and direction to those that are willing to take heed to his warnings. We can perceive a direct contrast between a wise man and a foolish man. Some examples are:

Proverbs 26:4 “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.”

Proverbs 26:7 “Like the legs of the lame that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of fools.”

Proverbs 26:8 “Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.”

These are just a few of the examples that King Solomon gives in Proverbs 26 about the dangers of returning to your old course of life. We can see the evil generation that we are living in today getting worse and worse as the years go by. Social media is saturated with sin, wickedness, perversion, open profaneness, false teachers, and every abomination that you can think of.

That is why it is so crucial that you get into God’s Word daily: study it, digest it, and apply it to your daily life. One of the most dangerous things that you can do as a Christian is return back to your old sinful habits. Life is completely spiritual whether you understand the spiritual realm or not. The enemy and his demonic kingdom are just waiting for you to re-open the door to them so that they can come in even stronger.

Matthew 12:45 is very revealing when Jesus states, “Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” The Lord is disclosing to us the hazards of returning to your dirty old habits, you risk the chance of more powerful demons coming into your life to cause complete chaos.

Now that we have an idea of why the Lord warns so strongly against turning back to your old ways, let’s take a deeper look at the primary verse of Scripture out of the book of Proverbs. The first part of the passage states, “As a dog returns to his own vomit…” One thing that dogs are notorious for is going to their vomit and licking it up even though the vomit was caused by something bad that they digested.

Just like the vomit of a dog being consumed by the same dog a second time, that is what we look like when we return back to the filthy and unclean sin that we were in. The fact is as a Christian you should want to strive to turn completely away from your old wicked ways. You should want to shine the light of Christ to those that don’t know who He is.

The second part of the verse of Scripture says, “…so a fool repeats his folly.” The words “a fool” used here is the Hebrew word “kᵊsîl” which means: fool, stupid fellow, dullard (stupid person), simpleton (foolish person), and arrogant one. The words “is folly” is the Hebrew word “‘iûeleṯ” which means: foolishness.

So when we piece these words together we can conclude that King Solomon is letting us know that a foolish and arrogant person unwilling to abide by the provisions of the Lord is bound to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Due to God’s grace and mercy He gives us the opportunity to repent and turn from our wicked ways. The problem occurs when you refuse to understand the repercussion for your sinful actions until it is too late. That is a very dangerous place to be!

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Who is the Prophet Isaiah

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent