PROVERBS 6 (KJV)
1) My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2) Thou are snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3) Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4) Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thin eyelids. 5) Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
4) Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thin eyelids. 5) Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
9) How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10) Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11) So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12) A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. 13) He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14) Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15) Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16) These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: 17) A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18) An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19) a false witness that speaketh lies, that and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20) My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21) Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22) When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23) For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24) To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25) Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 26) For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.
27) Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not burn? 28) Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? 29) So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30) Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; 31) But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32) But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33) A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. 34) For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35) He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
DEFINITION
The definition of the word "froward" as defined on wiktionary.org:
disobedient, contrary, unmanageable; difficult to deal with; with an
evil disposition.
COMMENTARY
1 - 5) These verses deal with friends: one wants to buy something and the other cares for his friend and wants to help. So in haste, the one says he will stand for his friend's debt. However, this is just in the verbal state. When he realizes his friend cannot possibly repay the debt and he will be stuck with his debt, he is directed to run, not walk, back to his friend and beg out of the commitment. It is better to have strained relations with a friend, no matter how long the friendship, than to be indebted for his debt if it will put a bind on the friend's finances in a manner that will compromise him taking care of his own household. My motto on lending to a friend is this: I don't loan money expecting it to ever be repaid. If I cannot afford to lose the money, I don't loan it out in the first place. That way, I keep the friend and I keep control of my finances.
6 - 8) Now, let us look at the ant's work ethic: They do not have a free will as does mankind, but are programmed (instinct). They work without being forced to do so. They are "self-starters" and "task-oriented". There is no "hitting the snooze button" for them. They work so they can eat. They instinctively store up provisions to sustain them in their off season (plan ahead). And they work together when threatened to restore homeostasis to the colony. When a country is divided, people are less willing to come together against a common foe.
9 - 11) The diligent ant does not impress the slothful man. He avoids work at all cost. However, we can expect the lazy man to be left without the necessities of life. When all of his friends and family are enjoying the comforts of their labor, the lazy man finds himself homeless and hungry with no one willing to help him. It is his own choice to lay around rather than using his talents and good health that God gave him to provide for himself and others. Can I get an amen?
16) Verses 16-19 is a great set of verses to memorize. We really want to understand this verse: six things God hates, seven which are an abomination to Him: As you read through them, think of examples of people who you believe embodies these traits.
17) A "proud look": there is no place for pride in Christians. This is someone who thinks they are better than others: higher IQ, more money, a bigger house, prettier, etc. They think they are better than others. Christians are to humble themselves and serve.
B) A "lying tongue".: Satan is the father of lies and Christians are born again into the family of God. We must be honest to reflect God.
C) "hands that shed innocent blood". This is one that shouldn't even have to be mentioned, but here it is. Satan was a murder from the beginning. Consider the firstborn child after the fall of man. Cain killed his innocent brother because he was jealous. Cain was the problem, not Abel. This was just the beginning. People have been killing ever since. We have even bought into the lie that we have the right to kill our innocent babies while they are still in the womb! How tragic!
18)) An "heart that devises wicked imaginations". In Jeremiah17:9, we are told that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Even when you think you are walking the right path, you can be surprised by something you do or think. Example of wicked imaginations are how we treat others: promoting pornography, human trafficking, selling drugs, etc.
B) Feet "that be swift in running to mischief," Consider Job. When Satan was giving authority to test him, he wasted no time. He delivered one calamity before the other could even be reported to Job. Satan does not give us time to recover. He goes in for the kill. You have read reports of people who have had calamity strike: family members killed, fortunes destroyed, reports of ill health. Satan mimics God in that when God blesses, it is not just a single blessing, but multiple blessings. Satan does not stop with one calamity, but tries to destroy the soul.
19)) a "false witness that speaks lies," Satan is the "father of lies"; there is no truth in him. Are you a child of Satan or of God? Speak truth, be honest. There is no respect for liars.
B) and he that "sows discord among the brethren." Satan loves it when we fight among ourselves. A house divided cannot stand." When the "house" falls apart, Satan wins.
28) Of course, if you walk barefoot on hot coals, your feet will burn.
29) Thou shalt not commit adultery (Commandment # 7); Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Commandment # 10) God has a thing against one who desires his neighbor's wife. In the Old Covenant, it is punishable with death. Today, in our society, it is relative; but make no mistake, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Adultery is serious in His court!
30) When a man steals because he is hungry or his family is hungry, and he has worked hard but has been unable to feed them, he is not despised. These days, he is sometimes given assistance by the community.
31) However, if he steals and is caught, under the Old Covenant, he is to make restitution. There is no restitution to be made when a man steals another man's wife; destroys his family. How would he repay the pain, mistrust, turmoil?
You are encouraged to leave a comment with your thoughts.
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