The Strength Of Sin Is The Law

The *sting of his *venom will *heat up the *bail bondsman, but even if you are *spared, there still will be more for you *to continue to do. (MAST)

*[sting] literally, his portion of chance, or the likely hood of the lot. In terms of the context of Solomon’s court and the background of the justice that fell upon the average man (Rom.5:19), it is referring to the unlikely hood (the chance)(or lot) of escaping the pain and suffering of hard labor by the sweat of the brow due to the cursed ground and fall of Adam into sin. Therefore, it is a quick theological reference to the bite of the serpent or a sting of the bee (Prov.23:32; 1Cor.15:55-56; Rev.9:10). Solomon is looking either upon himself or another father with a theological favor. Whatever the backbiting, because of the judgment of his court, it is imputed to the poison of the curse that was injected into the life of the flesh through the twisted intentions of the devil to confound and confuse Adam’s theology (Isa.27:1; Deut.16:19; 1Cor.14:33). It’s literally the sting of a slow death in a man who is bound under hard labor in order to survive the curse. But this perspective is not from the view of the field laborer but of the laborers who make up Solomon’s court. In other words, the odds of removing the stinger from the mouth of the serpent or the tail of the bee is not going to happen without satisfying the justice of the court. Freedom from this pain and suffering is going to come at a very high exchange. The flaming sword that guarded the ease of the Tree of Life is the image of this bondsman who keeps the lawbreaker under the hardship of labor to signify the debt that is owed and the favor that was lost (Gen.3:24).

*[his venom] literally, a burning irritation. The noun is feminine to the construct of the masculine stinger. Figuratively, its the emotional work up in the midst of strife and turmoil, or a very strong feeling of displeasure because of hostility. But it is associated with a foreign cause like a snake bite or bee sting. Therefore, this is a feminine “reaction” as an under-subject to the foreign bite or sting that possesses masculine ownership of the cause that is being described as poison or venom. It is also feminine to the masculine verb, to raise higher.

*[will heat up] literally, to bear up, or lift up. But as a reaction to the venom of the poisonous sting, it is rendered, to heat up. In other words, the feminine reaction (the drama) of the sting stirs up friction and heat through the emotions of the laborers of the court who are charged to enforce the judgment of the king towards the offenders. But Solomon is also figuratively describing himself (and his court) to be this sting that causes the heat and friction of the kingdom. He knows his decisions will cause pain and suffering, but he is required to do justice as king (Rom.6:23). The fee that is generated to set the terms of the violator’s liberty works like a poison in his flesh. His sin debt enslaves him to the terms of court’s decision. To avoid the penalty of immediate death for whatever crime (Deut.13:10;17:5;21:21;22:21,24), a fine was often paid to secure or satisfy the terms of the king’s judgment. So if a father paid the fine for the crime of his son, there was a likely hood (a chance) that the son would react to the king’s decision with contempt of court stirring, heating up the emotions of the bailiffs to enforce the penalty of the breach of trust. But the father of the son would be spared from the charge of the responsibility for the son. But here, the son is released under the care of the father in the expectation that the son will be submissive, yet under the probation of the court to hold the son’s liberty accountable to the memory of the first offense. Therefore, in terms of the bail bond, the “lot” or “chance” is raised higher to set a particular value that suits the liability of the offense.

*[bail bondsman] literally, the participle of the adverbial noun, to levy. Someone who imposes the monetary assessment of tribute in subjugation to the king (2Kgs.23:33). What this official does is levy the court order to the individual who vowed to buy back the life of the offender. This officer determined the conditions of the bail and the value of the bond. According to Wikipedia: “clay tablets from ca. 2750 BC describe surety bail bond agreements made in the Akkadian city of Eshnunna, located in modern-day Iraq. Indemnitors obtained the release of defendants from jail by paying sums of currency and pledging, with their own property as collateral, that said defendants would show up in court. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail_bondsman] While we don’t need wikipedia to confirm that a form of bail bond was in practice during days of Solomon, this should spike our curiosity to study how it was used more fully and accurately to aid our understanding of the Scriptures.

*[spared] literally, to be secured, or to be pulled out of trouble. Solomon continues with favor for the father of the son if the bond is unable to be levied. The father is free from his vow, but the son may lose his life depending on the bond of the court. Again, the Hifil stem (causative) of this verb is in conjunction to the sting of death for sin. The cause of the father’s sparing is the reflexive cause of the sting of death. The pain and suffering that is avoided through this mercy is the thought of the father losing his son to a greater judgment than that of Solomon’s. The torments of the thorn in the flesh is less than the thought of the torments of everlasting burnings (Isa.33:14; 2Cor.12:7). So if the father is spared this pain and suffering there is a more excellent work to do on behalf of the son’s liberty than merely paying for the retaining of his earthly life.

*[to continue] literally, to increase. But in the Hifil conjunction to the previous proverb, to continue to increase the height of your prayers. This father has a greater homework to do. He is to add to the fruit of his love for his son by doing more than bailing him out of death. He must thoroughly correct his son with a holy and righteous education in the spiritual work ethic of God’s love. He is to learn to imitate the righteousness of God (James 1:25; 1Tim.2:15;4:16; 2Tim.3:14; Col.1:23; 2Cor.11:12; Rom.11:22; 2Pet.1:5-11).