Proverbs 27:3 – “A stone [building stone] is heavy, and the sand weighty [burden]; but a fool’s [silly, immoral] wrath [anger; indignation] is heavier [more grievous] than them both [takes a physical and emotional toll that is heavier than the weight of stone and sand].”
King David, Solomon’s father, was a man of war and was forbidden by God to build the Temple in Jerusalem; that responsibility fell to Solomon. Solomon would have been familiar with both the design and the materials necessary for constructing an enduring place of worship for Israel.
The heavy stones in Proverbs 27:3 are most likely a reference to the great building blocks used in constructing the Temple and other public buildings. The stones used in constructing the Temple weighed from a few tons to as much as 160 tons. Like building stones, sand in volume is also heavy and a great burden to transport.
Now for the application: The fool is the subject of Proverbs 27:3 and, as a reminder, he is not intellectually deficient, but spiritually defiant, morally corrupt and a hater of wisdom and instruction. He opposes God (Psalm 14:1; 53:1), hates spiritual truth (Proverbs 1:22) and is a grief and heaviness to his father and mother (Proverbs 10:1; 17:25).
Solomon makes the observation that the wrath of a fool is heavier than both building stones and sand. How so? While stones and sand are physically heavy and laborious to move, the weight of a fool’s wrath is both a physical burden and emotional weight to his family, friends and acquaintances. Without question, the wrath of a fool has sent many parents to an early grave…emotionally overwhelmed and physically devastated by the heartache of living with a fool.