Commentary - Proverbs 25:25

Bird's-eye view

This proverb presents us with a simple, potent simile that every human being can understand viscerally. The relief of cold water on a hot day when you are parched and exhausted is immediate, total, and welcome. Solomon equates this profound physical refreshment with the spiritual and emotional refreshment that comes from hearing good news from a distant place. Like all proverbs, this one operates on multiple levels. In its most basic sense, it speaks to the anxiety we feel for loved ones who are far away, and the joy that a good report brings. But in the grand scheme of God's revelation, this proverb is a signpost pointing to the greatest news from the most distant land. The human soul is weary, laboring under the curse of sin in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. The good report is the gospel of Jesus Christ, news from a far country, Heaven itself, telling us that the King has conquered sin and death, and that living water is now offered freely to all who are weary.

The structure is a simple comparison: "As A, so is B." The power of the proverb lies in the perfect aptness of the comparison. It connects a universal physical experience, thirst, to a universal emotional and spiritual need, the need for hope and good news. It reminds us that we are not self-sufficient beings. We are dependent creatures who can become weary and who need refreshment from outside ourselves, whether that refreshment is a cup of cold water or a word of good news.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

Proverbs 25:25 falls within a section of the book that begins with the superscription, "These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied" (Prov 25:1). This tells us that we are reading a curated collection, assembled by faithful scribes during a time of reformation and renewal in Judah. Hezekiah was a king who sought to restore the true worship of Yahweh after the apostasy of his father, Ahaz. Part of that reformation involved a renewed interest in the authoritative Scriptures, including the wisdom of Solomon. This particular proverb is nestled among other observations about human nature, relationships, and the proper conduct of life. It is practical, earthy wisdom, but because it is God-breathed wisdom, it is never merely practical. It always contains a kernel of theological truth that finds its fullest expression in the person and work of Christ.

Key Issues

The Thirst for Good News

Every man is born thirsty. This is a fundamental reality of our existence in a fallen world. As David said, our soul thirsts for God "in a dry and weary land where there is no water" (Ps 63:1). We are the weary soul described in this proverb. We are weary from our sin, weary from our striving, weary from the heat of God's law which we cannot keep, and weary from the bad news that bombards us from every quarter. The world is a "far country" under the dominion of the prince of the power of the air, and we are exiles in it, waiting for news from home.

Into this universal condition of weariness and thirst, God sends a report. The Bible is the story of this report. God sends messengers, prophets, and apostles. He gives signs and wonders. And all of it is a prelude to the final, definitive, and best report. That good report is the euangelion, the gospel. It is news from the farthest country, the heavenly places, brought to us by the Son Himself who crossed that infinite distance to deliver it. And the news is this: the war is over, the debt is paid, the enemy is defeated, the King is risen, and the way home is open. This news is not just information; it is living water. When a weary soul receives it by faith, it is the most refreshing drink imaginable.

Verse by Verse Commentary

25 Like cold water to a weary soul...

The image is immediate and powerful. The soul, the nephesh, is described as weary, or thirsty. This is not just a physical state but a spiritual one. It is the soul panting for relief, for satisfaction, for something to quench its deep, abiding ache. Sin is exhausting work. Rebellion against God drains the life out of a man. Living under the curse, toiling among thorns and thistles, makes the soul weary. This is the state of every man apart from Christ. He is laboring and heavy laden, and he has no source of refreshment within himself. He needs something from the outside. He needs water, and not just any water. He needs cold water, the kind that shocks the system with reviving life. This is what grace does. It is not tepid or lukewarm; it is a jolt of life to the spiritually dead.

So is a good report from a distant land.

Here is the other half of the simile. The good report, or good news, provides the same kind of life-giving refreshment to the weary soul that cold water provides to a thirsty body. The distance is a key part of the analogy. News from next door is one thing, but news from a distant land, a place from which communication is slow and uncertain, is especially potent. Think of a wife whose husband has gone off to war, and months go by with no word. Then a messenger arrives with the report that he is alive and well and victorious. That news is cold water to her weary, anxious soul.

But this points us to the ultimate good report. We are alienated from God by a vast distance created by our sin. Heaven is a distant land. We have no way of knowing what is happening there, no way of knowing our standing before the holy God who dwells there. We are in a state of cosmic anxiety. Then God sends a messenger, His own Son, from that distant land. And the report He brings is one of peace, reconciliation, and adoption. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16). "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim 1:15). This is the good news that refreshes the bones (Prov 15:30) and brings life to the weary soul.

Application

First, we must rightly diagnose our condition. Are you weary? Is your soul thirsty? The world offers many drinks that promise to satisfy this thirst: wealth, pleasure, power, recognition. But Jesus tells us that whoever drinks of these wells will thirst again (John 4:13). They are like salty water that only makes the thirst worse. We must recognize that our fundamental weariness is a spiritual problem, a thirst for God Himself. Until we see this, we will spend our lives drinking from broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Second, having recognized our thirst, we must drink the cold water that is offered to us. That water is the good report of the gospel. We must listen to it, believe it, and receive it. Jesus stood and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). The invitation is a free one: "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!" (Isa 55:1). To drink is to believe, to entrust your weary soul to the finished work of Jesus Christ. There is no other refreshment.

Finally, those of us who have been refreshed by this good news have a joyful obligation. We are now the messengers. We are surrounded by weary, thirsty souls in a dry land. We have the good report from a distant country. Our task is to deliver it. We are to be the beautiful feet upon the mountains, bringing good news of happiness, publishing salvation (Isa 52:7). To know this good news and to keep it to ourselves is like finding a well of cold water in the desert and refusing to tell anyone where it is. Having been refreshed, we are now called to be refreshers, offering the same cold water of the gospel to every weary soul we find.