Proverbs 6

Proverbs 6:1

I. The Folly of Suretyship, Laziness, and Deception (6:1-19)6:1 The first five verses are a warning against becoming surety, that is, making oneself liable for someone else’s debt in case that other person is unable to pay. Suppose your friend wants to buy a car on the installment plan but doesn’t have much of a credit rating. The loan company demands the signature of someone who can pay in case the borrower defaults. The neighbor comes to you and asks you to cosign the note with him. This means that you will pay if he doesn’t. The friend in this verse is your neighbor. The stranger is the loan company to which you give your guarantee. 6:2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth. In other words, if you have made a rash promise, you have fallen into a trap. It was a great mistake. 6:3 Now the best thing to do is to get yourself released from the agreement. Try to persuade your friend to get your signature removed from the note you have been trapped into signing. 6:4, 5 The matter is of such importance that you shouldn’t rest until you are released from this liability. You should squirm free like a gazelle from its captor, or like a bird from . . . the fowler. But why does the Bible warn against suretyship so sternly? Isn’t it a kindness to do this for a friend or neighbor? It might seem to be a kindness, but it might not be at all.

1. You might be helping him to buy something which it is not God’s will for him to have.
2. You might be encouraging him to be a spendthrift or even a gambler.
3. If he defaults and you have to pay for something that is not your own, friendship will end and bitterness begin. It would be better to give money outright if there is a legitimate need. In any case, you should not become surety for him. 6:6, 7 Verses 6-11 are a protest against laziness. The ant is an object lesson to us as it scurries back and forth, keeps on the move, and often carries oversized loads. It gets a lot accomplished without benefit of a boss, foreman, or superintendent. When we watch a swarm of ants, they seem to move crazily in every direction, but their activity is purposeful and directed, even though there is no apparent chain of command. 6:8 This little creature diligently and industriously works in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. The emphasis here is not on making provision for the future but on hard work now. This passage should not be used to teach that Christians should make provision for a rainy day. We are forbidden to lay up treasures on earth (Mat_6:19). It is true that ants do provide for their future, and it is also true that Christians should provide for theirs. But the difference is that an ant’s future is in this world, whereas the believer’s future is in heaven. Wise Christians, therefore, lay up their treasures in heaven, not on earth. 6:9 The lazy fellow seems to have an endless capacity for sleep. His philosophy is, “It’s nice to get up in the morning, but it’s nicer to lie in bed.” He seems to have an infinite deafness to alarm clocks. 6:10, 11 When finally roused, he says, “Just let me have a few more winks, a little more sleep, a short nap, a quick beauty rest.” Others in the household may wait, but the day of poverty won’t. So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.6:12 Verses 12-15 are a classic description of a con man. He is a malicious swindler whose cunning smile masks a treacherous heart. He goes around with falsehood on his lips. 6:13, 14 He uses all kinds of suggestive gestures and sinister motions to signal to his accomplice or to take his victims off guard. He winks with his eyes, shuffles or scrapes with his feet, and beckons with his fingers. His heart is filled with malice and perversity as he incessantly plots mischief and sows discord. 6:15 “Such men will be overtaken by their doom ere long, crushed all of a sudden beyond hope of remedy” (Knox). If you look hard enough, you can probably find an illustration of this in today’s newspaper. 6:16 The things which characterize this wicked man (vv. 12-15) are hated by God (vv. 16-19), especially the sowing of discord (compare vv. 14 and 19). The formula “six things . . . yes, seven . . .” may mean that the list is specific but not exhaustive. Or it may indicate that the seventh is worst of all. 6:17 A proud look. Pride is dust deifying itself. The valet of an emperor said: I cannot deny that my master was vain. He had to be the central figure in everything. If he went to a christening, he wanted to be the baby. If he went to a wedding, he wanted to be the bride. If he went to a funeral, he wanted to be the corpse. A lying tongue. The tongue was created to glorify the Lord. To lie is to pervert its use for that which is ignoble. Is it ever right for a believer to lie? The answer is that God cannot lie, and He cannot give the privilege to anyone else. Hands that shed innocent blood. Every human life is of infinite value to God. He proved this by paying an infinite price at Calvary for our redemption. The institution of capital punishment (Gen_9:6) reflects God’s attitude toward murder. 6:18 A heart that devises wicked plans. This, of course, refers to the mind that is always plotting some evil. The Lord Jesus listed some of these wicked imaginations in Mar_7:21-22. Feet that are swift in running to evil. God hates not only the mind that plans the evil but the feet that are eager to carry it out. 6:19 A false witness who speaks lies. Here it is a matter of public testimony in a court of law. In verse 17b it was more a matter of everyday conversation. One who sows discord among brethren. The striking thing here is that God ranks the one who causes divisions among brethren with murderers, liars, and perjurers! How many of the seven sins listed above can you associate with the trial and crucifixion of our Lord?

Proverbs 6:20

J. The Folly of Adultery and Harlotry (6:207:27)6:20 The subject of adultery or unfaithfulness is taken up again here. The frequency with which it recurs is not accidental. The words of verse 20 are a sort of formula used to introduce important instruction. 6:21 Some extreme literalists in Jesus’ day thought they obeyed this verse by wearing phylacteries, that is, small leather boxes containing Scripture portions. During prayer, these Jews wore one on the left arm (near the heart) and one on the head (near the neck). Some Jews still use them today. But what this verse really means is that we should make the Word of God so much a part of our lives that it will accompany and direct us wherever we go. It is not just a question of honoring the Scriptures outwardly but of obeying them from the heart. 6:22 Obedience to God’s Word affords: guidanceWhen you roam, they will lead you.protectionWhen you sleep, they will keep (guard) you.instructionWhen you awake, they will speak with you.6:23 This verse amplifies the previous one: the commandment is a lampfor guidance the law is a lightfor protection reproofs of instruction are the way of lifefor teaching. 6:24, 25 One particular ministry of the Word is to save men from the seductress with the glib, flattering tongue. No one should be taken in by her natural beauty or by the come-hither flickers of her eyelashes. 6:26 The interpretation of this verse differs according to different translations. The thought in the NKJV and the NASB is that a man is reduced to poverty (a crust of bread) by a harlot, and may lose his precious life to an adulteress. Both kinds of entanglement are costly. The RSV says, “for a harlot may be hired for a loaf of bread, but an adulteress stalks a man’s very life.” Here a distinction is made between a harlot, who can be hired, and an adulteress who is not satisfied until she controls the man completely. 6:27, 28 To have illicit relations with another man’s wife is like carrying fire in one’s bosom. You can’t do it without being burned. It is like walking on hot coals; you can’t do it without burning your feet. Griffiths warns: It is utter folly for all that will commit adultery, for the result will be self-destruction, wounds and dishonor, disgrace, and the unappeased anger of the wronged parties. 6:29 As sure as a man goes in to his neighbor’s wife, he will be caught and punished. There is a principle in the moral universe by which such sin is generally brought to light. Even, if by some remote chance, his sin is not discovered in this life, it will have to be accounted for in the next. 6:30, 31 These verses may be understood in one of two ways. According to the KJV and the NKJV, people have a measure of sympathy if a man steals to feed himself and his hungry family, but even then, when he is caught, he has to make restitution, even if it means losing everything he owns. The RSV, by translating verse 30 as a question, implies that men do despise a thief, even if he steals to satisfy his hunger, and that he has to make complete restitution. In either case, the point is that a thief can make restitution for his crime whereas an adulterer can never fully erase the damage he incurs. 6:32 Whoever commits adultery lacks sense because he destroys himself socially, spiritually, and morally, and perhaps even physically (Deu_22:22). 6:33 For one moment of passion, he gets wounds and dishonor, perhaps from the enraged husband. He also gets shame and disgrace that will dog him the rest of his life. (Thank God, however, there is forgiveness with the Lord if the man will repent, confess, and forsake his sin.) 6:34 Here we see the fury of the jealous husband who returns unexpectedly and finds his wife in the arms of another man. When he starts to take revenge, he will not be conciliated by any pleas or excuses. 6:35 Nothing that the offender could pay would appease the husband; no bribe would be sufficient satisfaction for the violation of his marriage.