Proverbs 10:10
He that Winketh with the Eye
Winking with the eye:
1. Prov. 6:13-14 – The one who winks with his eye is called a naughty person.
a. He uses his eyes to communicate… in context, an evil message! He uses the rest of his body to communicate too!
2. The eyes are in a sense the windows to the soul… (In fact, Solomon speaks of our eyes as windows in Ecc. 12:3 – windows be darkened = losing vision)
3. You can say a lot with your eyes…
a. Lots of messages can be communicated with our eyes…
b. We can communicate suspicion… surprise… disgust… disbelief… mocking…
c. Have you ever noticed in a group of people talking that there are several silent conversations taking place in the background through body language? (While the teacher is teaching a class—the kids can be silently saying with their eyes “This is boring!” or “This is awesome!!”
d. We can smile approvingly with our eyes…
e. But eyes can also scowl… glare… and say “I hate you!”
f. Today a wink can mean several things:
• It can express flirtation… making a pass…
• It can also mean, “I’m not telling the truth…”
• It can be a grandfatherly way of saying “Hi” or showing attention.
• It is often used in pulling pranks or jokes on people—but even there it has the same meaning—deception… although not malicious.
4. In different cultures and in different time periods, there were no doubt different kinds of signals sent…
a. Ex: a signal in one culture might be a sign of friendliness, but a huge insult in another culture!
b. It is hard to know for sure the exact meaning of winking with the eyes in the mind of the ancient Jews.
5. Context: There are several things we DO know from Scripture about “winking”
a. Prov. 10:10 – the one who winks causes sorrow… to others. It is hurtful…
b. Prov. 6:13 – it had an evil connotation—naughty persons winked.
c. Ps. 35:19 – the psalmist was afraid that his enemy would “wink” at him.
d. Job 15:12 – Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at… (Here it was used in an evil connotation—with one whose heart carried him away… and he turned away from God.)
e. Acts 17:30 – And the times of this ignorance God winked at; God “overlooked” something.
f. Summary: winking was used of:
• Enemies; naughty persons
• Men feared being winked at
• It results in sorrow or hurt
• Usually appears in an evil context. (nothing cheerful)
6. But regardless of the exact meaning of a wink in Bible times, it was a means of communicating a message…
a. The naughty person used a wink of his eye for evil purposes…
b. With the wink of an eye he might be communicating that what he is saying is not true… or “don’t believe what so and so is saying.”
c. We can say a lot without opening our mouth.
7. The one who winks “causes sorrow.”
a. Sorrow: pain, hurt, injury, wound
b. Winking causes sorrow to others, while bringing a kind of selfish gratification to the one winking.
c. Winking involves two or more people. One person winks AT another person… or perhaps at a group of people.
• It is done behind the back of someone else… to deceive them…
• It is a way of making division… us against him or against them.
• It involves some folks who are “in” on the deception, and others who are left in the dark.
• There is the one who winks and his accomplices AND the one who is being deceived.
d. Thus, a lot of damage can be done by “winking.”
• It can be funny if it is a well-intentioned joke.
• But, if the intentions are not so good, it can hurt.
• It would be hurtful to discover that a group of your friends are all privy to something, and they left you out. It makes you feel like an outsider… that they are against you… left out…
• It can be even more sinister—a wink can be a sign to one’s accomplices when to come in to assist him in executing his wicked plot…
e. Actually, this kind of divisiveness is hurtful no matter HOW it is conducted! (Wink or no wink!)
• The SPIRIT of what Solomon is saying here certainly extends beyond the mechanics of it—winking.
• The spirit of the proverbs has to do with deceiving others unto their hurt.
• Matt. 26:48 – Judas used a different mechanism to accomplish the same thing: a kiss! All the soldiers knew what the kiss meant… and Judas assumed Jesus did not.
8. Wise parents will deal with the messages sent by body language from their child as if it were vocalized—it is the same thing.
a. The child is communicating a message…
b. The glare… the rolling of the eyes…
c. He doesn’t have to say “I hate you” or “You’re stupid”—but the eyes may say it.
d. That is rebellion just as much as if it were vocalized.
e. They are practicing deception or inflicting hurt… through winking!
f. If learned that he can communicate that message silently… it will only be a matter of time before he communicates it vocally.
g. And actually, both are equally wrong. The rebellion is in his heart… and WILL come out one way or another.
1. Prating = lip; language; speech (lit. = a fool of lips)
a. In this context, it describes someone who is “lippy”… “mouthy”… one who is a big mouth.
b. III John 10 – prating against us with malicious words.
c. However, this big mouth doesn’t communicate with his mouth, but rather with his eyes… he speaks with his eyes…
d. The same expression is found in 10:8.
• In this verse, the prating fool is contrasted to one who receives commandments.
• The wise man receives commandments…
• The mouthy fool will not listen or receive… he is a big mouth!
e. In both contexts, the fool is one who communicates a lot… more than he should.
f. Vs. 10 – this prating fool communicated with his eyes… he should have kept his eyes open… or his mouth shut… same thing!
g. In Prov. 10:10, the prating fool is the one who winks with his eye…
• He is deceptive…
• His communications are not honest…
• He has set himself up for a fall.
2. The prating fool shall FALL…
a. Fall = come to ruin; thrown down; cast down;
b. Whether he speaks with his mouth or his eyes… his malicious intent will catch up to him. He is in for a fall!
c. The fool who deceives others for his own selfish gratification will come to ruin…
d. Eventually, his deception will be discovered…
3. The fool FALLS a lot in the book of Proverbs!
a. 11:5b – the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
b. 11:28 – He that trusteth in his riches shall fall:
c. 16:18 – Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
d. 26:27 – Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein:
e. 28:10 – Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit…
4. Judas gave a secret sign to his accomplices…
a. At first, Judas thought that he won. He gained 30 pieces of silver.
b. But in the end, his secret sign was discovered. His wicked intentions were made public. His name is now infamous.
c. Judas was discovered. He ultimately threw away the 30 pieces of silver… and “fell down headlong” after committing suicide… out of pure guilt and shame… (Acts 1:18-19)
d. When we give secret signs… and use deception, we find ourselves in some unsavory company!
5. How much better to use wisdom—and avoid this kind of winking deception—or deception of any stripe!
a. Speak the truth in love…
b. Let your body language also speak the truth in love…
c. Prov. 4:23 – Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
• Instead of winking with the eyes, let your eyes look straight ahead… honest… open…
• Be honest with your tongue… AND your eyes… Honesty applies to body language too!
d. II Cor. 8:21 – Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
e. Prov. 3:3 – Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
• Is honesty written upon the table of your heart? Is honesty bound around your neck?
• It should characterize us as believers. Truth and honesty and integrity!