Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

Pestle comes from the Latin word pistillum which means pounder. Mortar comes from the Latin word mortarium which is a receptacle for pounding. In function this pair is used to pound ingredients into powder. Pharmacists used these to compound medication years ago. So if something goes through this process it is not what it started out.

Now think of the person here who is called the fool. In the times this was written, a fool was someone who was destined to hellfire. And no matter how much you crush them to get them to change their ways, they will not. We have a saying, “Cut off your nose to spite your face.” Solomon is saying the same thing in this Proverb. It is very sad to think of people in this way. But if you look around today’s world, many of the people you see are just this way.

We need to keep a mindset of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, long suffering, kindness, goodness and self control. It is not easy to operate this way, but if we do then there will be fruit that is produced in the end. This fruit will lead others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ even if suffering fools is like pulling teeth.