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Solomon asked for wisdom and God gave it to him in two ways.  He gave him a spirit of wisdom at the beginning and God also let him learn by hard experience.  No doubt, at the end of his life, hard experience made Solomon a far wiser man than he was at the beginning. 

One of the things Solomon makes mention of often in his many observations is "the fool."   While, no one wants to think of himself (or herself) as foolish or "silly," sometimes we all do things that are stupid by Solomon's wise standards and we don't even realize it.  In light of that, below is a list of the attributes of the fool.  Some may fit...and some may not, but in any case, it gives us a standard of what a fool is.  We all have something we can learn from this wise man, Solomon, who at times, was foolish himself.  (He married a thousand women, right?) 

In the long run, what is important in life is to learn from mistakes, which is the essence of what our human experience is all about. 

You see, the worst human weakness is not that we make mistakes.  It is the fact that "fools" cannot learn from mistakes...and the "wise" can.  Also, fools don't understand the importance of being careful about who they associate with.  One of the foundational points of Proverbs is that we should be really careful about who we associate with.  Because, we will become like them, without fail.

In other words, "bad" is contagious.  And being a companion of bad people is the best way to go bad.

Solomon said, "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm."  Solomon also advised avoiding contact with angry people.  "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared." Proverbs 22:24-25 NIV   The essence of a fool is someone who doesn't want to learn, can't control their emotions, and they see no need to change.  They don't listen....and they like to fight...they have a hot temper which they cannot control, and an out of control mouth too, which they engage before they think.  Actually, they don't think about consequences, ever.  They are not frugal, they waste a lot.  

1. * EWIL  literally means "SILLY" (Foolish, mostly due to an impatient personality)
"Ewil, is "conveyed by one who is:

Hasty, impatient, self-sufficient (12:15; 15:5; 16:22)

Despises advice and instruction (1:7; 14:9; 24:7)

Speaks and acts without thinking (10:14; 12:16; 20:3)

Quick to get angry, quarrels and causes strife (11:29; 14:17 'iwweleth; 29:9)

Unrestrained in his anger (Proverbs 17:12)

Silly, stupid even with brute stupidity (Proverbs 7:22; 26:11; 27:22)

2.  KECIL.....meaning "THE FATHEAD"  (Proud, and not too bright.)

Kecil is the word most frequent in Proverbs. "It is probably from a root meaning "thickness," (thick headed)  "sluggishness," suggesting a slow self-confident person."

Self-confident (Proverbs 14:16; 28:26)

Hates instruction (Proverbs 1:22; 18:2)

Thoughtless (10:23; 17:24)

Self-exposure (14:33; 15:2; 18:7; 29:11; 5:1; 10:12)

Angry and contentious (Proverbs 18:6; 19:1)

Rage (Proverbs 14:16; 17:12)

Indolence and improvidence (wasteful and not thrifty) (Proverbs 21:20)

Brutish (a brute, beastly) (Proverbs 26:11; compare Psalms 49:10; 92:6)

Slanderous (Proverbs 10:18), with evil (13:19)."

Almost all of these things could be listed as works of the flesh in the New Testament.  For example, a brute is an animalistic carnal person.   The attributes listed above are those of the carnal nature, to be utterly avoided if possible.  With God's Spirit, we can purposely avoid these evil attributes in our quest for wisdom .

THE FOOL

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