Bird's-eye view
This proverb sets up a sharp and practical contrast between two types of men who reveal their character by how they engage with conflict. On the one hand, you have the man with a short fuse, the hothead. He doesn't just find strife; he manufactures it. He is a strife-generator, a walking powder keg. His anger is a creative force, but in a destructive, hellward direction. On the other hand, you have the man who is slow to anger. He is not a conflict-avoider in the cowardly sense, but rather a master of de-escalation. He possesses a quiet strength that absorbs tension instead of reflecting and amplifying it. The proverb teaches a fundamental lesson in social dynamics: some men are fire-starters, and others are fire-extinguishers. The difference between the two is a matter of character, wisdom, and ultimately, a man's relationship with God.
The core issue here is sovereignty and self-control. The hot-tempered man is not in control of himself; his passions are. He is a slave to his temper, and his pride demands that every slight be answered, every challenge met with aggression. The man slow to anger, however, is master of his own spirit, which the Bible tells us is greater than taking a city. He has the wisdom to see that not every dispute is worth having and the humility to absorb a blow to his pride for the sake of peace. This is not weakness; it is the strength of meekness, the very character of Christ. This proverb, then, is not just good advice for getting along with your neighbors. It is a description of two spiritual states: one that reflects the chaos of sin, and one that reflects the peaceable wisdom of the gospel.
Outline
- 1. Two Men, Two Outcomes (Prov 15:18)
- a. The Fire-Starter: The Hot-Tempered Man (Prov 15:18a)
- b. The Peacemaker: The Man Slow to Anger (Prov 15:18b)
Context In Proverbs
Proverbs 15 is filled with these kinds of direct, antithetical parallels that contrast the wise with the foolish, the righteous with the wicked. This chapter repeatedly touches on the power of the tongue and the disposition of the heart. Just before our verse, we are told that "a soft answer turns away wrath" (Prov 15:1), which sets the stage perfectly for the character of the man "slow to anger." The chapter also speaks of the "perverseness" of the tongue that "breaks the spirit" (Prov 15:4). The hot-tempered man in verse 18 is the very engine of such perverseness. The entire book of Proverbs is a training manual in godly wisdom, which is intensely practical. It is not an abstract, philosophical wisdom, but a wisdom that knows how to navigate relationships, business, and conflict. Verse 18 is a cornerstone of that practical wisdom, teaching that a man's internal state of heart, whether it be full of wrath or patience, will inevitably shape his external world for good or for ill.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Sinful Anger
- The Virtue of Patience
- The Source of Strife and Discord
- The Character of a Peacemaker
- Self-Control as a Fruit of the Spirit
- The Gospel's Answer to a Hot Temper
The Engine of Strife
We need to see that the hot-tempered man is not a passive victim of circumstances. He doesn't just stumble into arguments. The text says he "stirs up strife." He is the active agent. He is the one holding the stick, stirring the pot. If a room is quiet, he will find a reason for it not to be. If there is a dormant disagreement, he will kick it until it wakes up. Why? Because his identity is wrapped up in his own sense of honor and pride. He interprets every inconvenience, every differing opinion, every slight, real or imagined, as a personal attack that must be met with overwhelming force. His anger is his go-to tool for asserting control over his environment.
But it is a fool's game. The control he thinks he is gaining by blowing up is an illusion. All he is doing is creating chaos, alienating his friends, exasperating his family, and making himself miserable. The Hebrew word for "stirs up" can mean to excite or provoke. This man is a strife-provocateur. He is like a man who carries around a pocketful of hornets and releases one every time he feels disrespected. He thinks it makes him look strong, but the Bible says it makes him a fool. He is not a mighty warrior; he is a slave to a chemical rush in his brain, and he leaves a trail of relational wreckage wherever he goes.
Verse by Verse Commentary
18a A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,
Let's break down this first clause. The "hot-tempered man" is literally a man of heat, or a man of wrath. His anger is not a rare occurrence reserved for righteous occasions; it is his defining characteristic. It is always simmering just below the surface. He is a leaky container of wrath. And because it is his nature, he actively creates the conditions for its release. He stirs up strife. He is the catalyst. Think of a campfire. The wood and oxygen are there, but it takes a spark to start the blaze. The hot-tempered man walks through life throwing sparks everywhere. He uses grievous words (Prov 15:1), he is proud and arrogant (Prov 21:24), and he refuses to overlook an offense (Prov 19:11). The result is contention, quarrels, and division. He is a human strife factory, and the raw material he uses is his own pride.
18b But the slow to anger quiets a dispute.
The contrast could not be more stark. The man who is "slow to anger" is literally "long of nostrils" in the Hebrew, a fantastic idiom that paints a picture of a man who breathes slowly and deeply instead of snorting with rage. He has a long fuse. When a dispute arises, his reaction is not to pour gasoline on it, but to bring a bucket of water. He "quiets a dispute." The word for "quiets" means to appease, to pacify, to bring to a state of rest. He absorbs the heat. He brings a soft answer. He has the wisdom to understand the other person's perspective and the humility to not make himself the center of every conflict. This is not the same as being a doormat. It is not running away from every fight. There is a time for righteous conflict. But the man slow to anger has the discernment to know which hills are worth dying on, and he recognizes that most of them are not. He is a peacemaker, and because of that, Jesus calls him a son of God.
Application
Every Christian man must look at this proverb and ask himself, "Which man am I?" There is no middle ground here. You are either a strife-stirrer or a dispute-quieter. Your home, your church, and your workplace are either more chaotic or more peaceful because of your presence. A hot temper is not a personality quirk. It is not just "how you are wired." It is a work of the flesh, listed right alongside things like idolatry and witchcraft (Gal 5:20). It is a sin that needs to be mortified, put to death by the Spirit.
The good news of the gospel is that God has provided a way for hot-tempered men to be transformed into men who are slow to anger. The ultimate display of wrath was poured out on Jesus Christ at the cross. He absorbed the full, righteous fury of God against our sin, including the sin of our sinful anger. He took the heat so that we could be made cool. When we, by faith, recognize that our prideful anger nailed Him to that tree, we are humbled. God then gives us His Spirit, and one of the primary fruits of that Spirit is patience and self-control.
Therefore, the fight against a hot temper is not a matter of trying harder, or counting to ten. It is a matter of daily repentance and faith. It is about preaching the gospel to yourself. It is confessing your prideful anger as the ugly sin that it is, and then looking to Christ, the ultimate man who was slow to anger, who, "when he was reviled, did not revile in return." He is both our example and our power. By His grace, the man who was once a walking hornet's nest can become a haven of peace, a man who quiets disputes for the glory of God.