A man without self-control is a city broken into and without walls.
The chapter closes with an arresting image: Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit (v. 28). Proverbs 25:28 pictures a military scene.
A city that is broken into and without walls. In the ancient world, walls were the difference between life and death for a city. A breached wall meant raiders entered at will, livestock and stores were taken, women and children were carried off. The broken city was not a city anymore; it was a field of unprotected ruin.
A man who has no control over his spirit. The man unable to govern his own anger, his own appetites, his own tongue, his own moods is in the same condition. Anything that comes for him gets in. Each new pressure carries him in a new direction. The verse names self-control as the wall of a man's life. Without it, every external force enters unopposed. Galatians 5:22-23 names self-control as fruit of the Spirit, and the verse helps explain why it ranks so high. A man with self-control is a city that stands; a man without it is a city already taken.
Proverbs 25:28
28 Like a city that is broken into and without walls
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Proverbs 25:28 meaning
The chapter closes with an arresting image: Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit (v. 28). Proverbs 25:28 pictures a military scene.
A city that is broken into and without walls. In the ancient world, walls were the difference between life and death for a city. A breached wall meant raiders entered at will, livestock and stores were taken, women and children were carried off. The broken city was not a city anymore; it was a field of unprotected ruin.
A man who has no control over his spirit. The man unable to govern his own anger, his own appetites, his own tongue, his own moods is in the same condition. Anything that comes for him gets in. Each new pressure carries him in a new direction. The verse names self-control as the wall of a man's life. Without it, every external force enters unopposed. Galatians 5:22-23 names self-control as fruit of the Spirit, and the verse helps explain why it ranks so high. A man with self-control is a city that stands; a man without it is a city already taken.