466. Snow Used in Summer

Proverbs 25:13  •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 11
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Proverbs 25:1818A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow. (Proverbs 25:18). As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
It is evident that this cannot refer to the coming of winter weather in summer, since the application of the figure supposes something desirable, which certainly could not be said of a fall of snow in harvest time. The custom, so common in the East today, of cooling wines with snow or ice, was doubtless practiced in the time of Solomon. Mount Lebanon supplies a large country in its neighborhood from the inexhaustible stores of snow upon its top. The snow is mixed with the wine, thus making the latter more palatable; so a faithful messenger is a source of refreshment to “the soul of his masters.”