Wells and Bullhorns (Proverbs 10:11)

It is interesting the conversations that you can have with either the righteous or the wicked. I understand that everyone's voice is different, everyone's opinion differs from the other. However, you can distinctly hear the heart in the midst of the conversation and discern whether the person is a righteous man or a wicked man.

"The mouth of an [uncompromisingly] righteous man is a well of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence." Proverbs 10:11, Amplified

The language of this verse is so beautiful and the imagery is so descriptive. Solomon is describing the mouth of a righteous man like a well. A well is a deep pit where a person would find themselves at when they were thirsty or needed water. They would lower their pail deep into the well to draw out the refreshment. This is what I wan to really focus on. A person had to go to the well and lower the pail and draw out. The righteous man is the same way. When one needs that righteous advice or conversation one must want to draw out that righteous speech. What I am trying to convey here is that the righteous man's righteousness is only as good as other's want it to be. Take for instance the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus had His own righteousness to impart to her but she had to be willing to draw it out. With her being a Samaritan it was her right to ignore this Jewish man asking for a drink. She enjoyed the righteousness so much that she also had to get the others from the city to have them partake.

The waters of the righteous well can be nothing else other than the Holy Spirit. It is our duty then to make these waters available to everyone and to not pollute the waters. The less pure the water is the less refreshing it will be.

In the second part of the verse, we come across some more imagery that is familiar. Verse six of this same chapter is read the same way. Remember, however, that the New King James does not refer to this violence as a concealing but as a covering. It is a filter to the violent and wicked man. No matter what he say or how he says it, his words will always be tainted with violence. Think of it like a person with a bullhorn. The tone of the device in unmistakable. it does not matter what country you are in or what gender is using the bullhorn, the tone is always the same. Just as the righteous man's righteousness is drawn out of his heart, so the violent man's violence comes. The difference between the two is that the righteousness must be drawn but the violence will come whether desired or not. This violence and wickedness will spill out on all peoples everywhere; every syllable is tainted.