Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Pr 6:1-2 and following. Indeed, to act as a guarantor is to recommend someone by guaranteeing the commitments he has contracted. On the surface it starts from a good feeling. But God abhors the endorsement, first because it reflects trust in man, and second because He carelessly disposes of the future, which belongs only to Him (Jeremiah 17:5-8; James 4:13-17). To the lazy, verses 6 to 8 advise a visit to the anthill. How profitable lessons can be learned from this small, hard-working people! Diligence, perseverance, prudence, order, mutual aid, free discipline. Not one remains inactive, and if the burden is too heavy, a companion runs to his aid. Let us know how to observe the living instructions that God has laid out for us here and there in His creation.
We have already seen that all members of the believer must be guarded and sanctified for God (Pr 4:20-27; Pr 5.1-2). Verses 12 to 19 show us how, in the natural man, these same members are put at the service of evil. This was also our condition when we were slaves to sin. But Rom 6:17-23 reminds us that we have been freed and strongly urges us to now surrender our members as slaves to righteousness for holiness. From the beginning of the book, immediately after the fear of jehovah, the young Christian was reminded of a very first duty: to listen to his parents and obey them (Pr 1:7-9). Verses 20 to 22 return to this important topic to give the teaching of father and mother the same place that Deuteronomy 11:18-21 attributes to the words of God Himself. To obey one’s parents is therefore to obey God. Not only is something “right” (Ephesians 6:1-3), but also “pleasing in the Lord” (Colossians 3:20). May this obedience be visible in Christian homes, especially since it is declining much in today’s world! (2 Tim 3:1-5). The influence of the family home is once again opposed by that of the foreign woman who personifies sin (Pr 2:10-22; Pr 5.1-21; Pr 7.4-5). Let us not be surprised by these repeated warnings. We know from experience that temptations are renewed.
But they will be all the more pressing as they encounter in our thoughts or in our habits impurity that is not judged. Laziness, too, opens wide the doors of carnal lust, as we learn from the story of David and his awful sin (2 Samuel 11 2s 11:1-27). This chapter presents us with other traps set on the path of the son of Wisdom and from which he must put all his care to guard against himself. Here they understand four things that ruin man. The first, vs. 1-5, is suretyship. How many times Proverbs warns us against Him! Read chap. 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13. This act, usually committed lightly, betrays a heart without prudence and without reflection. It is, of course, not an inconsequential thing but trust in man! By endorsing a man, I declare that I count on him, as if the best man could not fail me. To entrust myself in man is, at the same time, to disregard God, as if the future belonged to me. The one I have endorsed may I lack my word, or he may be kidnapped by death and I fall into the hands of his creditors. And I showed by endorsing him that I was counting on the day of tomorrow which does not belong to me. So endorsing is a very bad thing. However, there are two resources for the wise.
The first is humiliation (v. 3); the second, to free himself at all costs from the hand of man, from the bonds in which the wise man was restrained, for he must have to deal with God alone. The future belongs to God; it is on Him alone that we can count. The second trap is laziness and indolence. It plays an even more important role in Proverbs than suretyship. (See 10:26; 12:11, 24; 13:4; 15:19; 19:15, 24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30; 26:13-16; 31:27). The lack of activity in the things of this life in no way implies greater activity in spiritual things. To be convinced, it is enough to read 2 Thess. 3:6-15, where the consequences of laziness in God’s children are laid bare. Laziness bears fruit in God’s government. If there is a resource for the one who commits to the future, which does not belong to him, there is hardly one for the lazy. Habits of indolence leave little hope of recovery. However, the exhortation can still reach this man. The “until when”, so common in the Psalms, is a word of trust indicating that there is a possible restoration. On the other hand, vs. 12-15, “there is no cure” for perversity. The pervert belongs to Satan and is animated by his spirit. His actions are evil, because his heart, the source of all kinds of evil, is corrupt. Now, v. 16-19, God hates all these things, but there is a fullness of abomination before Him; the evil described in vs. 12-15 has reached its peak. Seven things follow one another here like the grains of a Rosary of the Evil One: the eyes, the tongue, the hands, the heart, the feet are at work; there is false testimony, a spirit of discord, but there are no ears anywhere to hear.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Reckless commitments:
- Surety, the dangers of serving as a
Pr 6.1 My son, if you have bonded your neighbor, If you have committed yourself to others, Pr 11:15 He who condones others is wrong, but he who is afraid to commit is safe. Pr 17:18 The meaningless man makes commitments, He endorses his neighbor. Pr 22.26 Do not be among those who make commitments, Among those who guarantee for debts;
- Harmful plans, general references
Ps 36:5 He meditates on injustice on His bed, He stands on a path that is not good, He does not repel evil. Pr 24:8 He who meditates on doing evil is called a man full of malice. Esa 32.7 The weapons of the deceitful are pernicious; He forms guilty designs, To lose the unfortunate by false words, Even when the cause of the poor is just. Jer 18:12 But they say: It is in vain! For we will follow our thoughts, We will each act according to the inclinations of our evil heart.
- Small ailments, so called
Pr 6.10 A little sleep, a little drowsiness, A little crossing your hands to sleep!… Ec 10:1 Dead flies infect and ferment the perfumer’s oil; a little madness outweighs wisdom and glory. Ct 2:15 Take us the foxes, The little foxes that ravage the vines; Because our vines are in bloom. 1 Cor 5.6 You are mistakenly glorifying yourself. Don’t you know that a little sourdough makes the whole dough rise?
- Disfigurement by sin, general references
Pr 6:33 He will have only wound and ignominy, and his opprobrium will not fade. Pr 23.29 For whom do they ah? for whom do they alas? For whom are the disputes? for whom are the complaints? For whom are injuries for no reason? for whom red eyes? Esa 1.6 From the sole of the foot to the head, nothing is in good condition: These are only wounds, bruises and sharp wounds, which have not been bandaged, bandaged, nor softened by oil. Jer 30:12 Thus saith the Lord: Your wound is serious, Your wound is painful.
From all the above, we note thathere the commandment of the father and the teaching of the mother come to the fore (cf. 1:18). They have the experience of Wisdom. Both have the right vis-à-vis the son, one to be obeyed, the other to be listened to; the father representing authority, the mother, the persuasion of tenderness. The father and mother are always in communion with each other (and what a teaching for us!), in order to achieve the same goal, that of raising their son in the ways of Wisdom. This instruction leads us into our walk, the main object of Proverbs, keeps us during rest, talks with us in the middle of the day’s activity. The experience of parents who have tasted the sources of Wisdom themselves serves as a lamp and light for the son. In addition, their discipline leads him to know and taste the path of life. In this path, there must be continuous vigilance; this is how the son is guarded above all from the bad wife and the flattery of the stranger who seeks to seduce him. After perversity, in vs. 12 to 19, we find here the fourth trap, corruption, prostitution. How common this form of evil is in the world! Hardly, among the young men, one or the other escapes it! The young believer is guarded by the divine teaching, but as soon as he abandons it for a moment to listen to the “flattering words” (because at home, although son, the flesh is not improved), he is embraced and falls. No doubt the “foreign woman” is rather of a moral application, but it is good to consider the thing in its vulgar sense. “We come to a piece of bread”; much more, “the precious soul” has lost all its freshness, is dried out, becomes the prey of vice! Another, even more terrible form of corruption is adultery. No sooner, it seems, would a son of Wisdom dare to commit it, so the Word speaks to us here of man, not of son, and yet a David, the beloved king, let himself be sluggish by laziness and became the prey of the lust of a moment! Even to touch the wife of one’s neighbour, this passage tells us, is not to be innocent. Adultery is the act of the fool. There is no more cure for adultery than for perversity (vs. 12-15). Destruction of the soul, wound, contempt, opprobrium that will not be erased, violent death inflicted by the offended husband, this is what awaits the adulterous man, and God leaves him there under a judgment whose grace alone is capable of delivering him! Morally adultery applies to the friendship of the world (Jacq. 4:4). Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” The seductions of the unfaithful woman lead to death (Pr 7).
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.