As we come to Proverbs chapter 6, Solomon introduces us to several truths that a Wise King led by God wants us to know. John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible notes:

“In this chapter the wise man dissuades from rash suretyship; exposes the sin of idleness; describes a wicked man; makes mention of seven things hateful to God; exhorts to attend to parental instructions and precepts, and cautions against adultery.”

We’ll look at the first three of these truths tonight. We’ll start with:

The Dangers Of Rash Suretyship: Verses 1-5

Proverbs 6:1-3 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2 Thou art snared (yāqōš [pronounced yaw-koshe’], caught in a trap) with the words of thy mouth, thou art TAKEN (lāḵaḏ [pronounced law-kad’], captured) 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.

I’m sure Jerry our Lawyer knows what “Suretyship” is, but for the rest of us I’m going to give you the Merriam-Webster Legal Definition:

“the contractual relationship in which a surety engages to answer for the debt or default of a principal to a third party”

To put that in simpler terms, you have a person come to you in financial trouble. Say that person is your “friend”, someone you have known for a long time. This “friend” says, “I need your help. I’m in trouble, and I desperately need a loan, but I can’t get one on my own. Will you co-sign my loan?” Since he’s your friend, and you’ve known him for a long time, you go ahead and co-sign.

Six months later you’re on the hook for a pile of money!

The Bible places a high value on something the world cares little about, and that is keeping your word. As believers in Christ we represent the Kingdom of Heaven. Our word should be our bond. The writer of Proverbs writes in another place:

Proverbs 5:2-5 (NKJV) Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— 5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

God holds us accountable for how we live our lives. We need to be very careful about what we say we will do. We read:

Proverbs 6:2 Thou art snared (yāqōš [pronounced yaw-koshe’], caught in a trap) with the words of thy mouth, thou art TAKEN (lāḵaḏ [pronounced law-kad’], captured) with the words of thy mouth

When you have promised to do something – become surety for another – God expects you to follow through on that promise. If it is a matter of Law, then the Law expects you to follow through on that promise. Your word is to be your bond.

Word Study: There are many times when people approach me about someone else. “Will you help them – I understand they need help”. My response is always the same. “I need to talk to that person first, and insure that what I’m promising I can do – and I want to do”. To immediately say “yes” because a friend asks me is foolish. You may find yourself like a wild animal, caught in a cage that you can’t get out of. That’s the sense of the two words used in verse 2, yāqōš [pronounced yaw-koshe’] and lāḵaḏ [pronounced law-kad’]. Because you were hasty in becoming surety for another, you are now on the hook. You are stuck in a trap of your own making. What does God tells us to do before giving our word?

Proverbs 6:3 Do this now, my son, and deliver (nāṣal, [pronounced naw-tsal’], rescue) thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure (rāhaḇ, to strengthen or ensure, to press) thy friend.

To protect yourself from entrapment, do not allow a friend or a loved one to coerce you into suretyship. Go and talk with them plainly. Ask direct questions. The New American Standard states “be urgent with your neighbor”, the English Standard to “plead urgently with your neighbor”. Ask questions. You may have others around you pleading that you help this “poor unfortunate”, and who will malign you when you hesitate to do so. The text says,

“Humble yourself!” Make sure you know what you’re saying yes to – because God expects you to keep your word. Don’t worry about pleasing others. Focus on pleasing GOD!

The last two verses of this Proverb read:

Proverbs 6:4-5 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Do not procrastinate in sitting down with your neighbor or “friend” before you give your word or sign the contract. Not too long ago someone came to me for something – I forget what – but I remember saying, “I’m not saying no – but I want you to explain to me carefully what it is you want me to do. Until I fully understand your request, my answer has to be emphatically “no”!” Don’t beat around the bush – communicate. If you can’t get a good answer from the “friend”, then,

Do what the “ROE” or deer does with the hunter: RUN!
Do what the “BIRD” does when it spots the gun: FLY AWAY!

Some may claim you’re stingy, or mean, or hard hearted. Tough! Do not let anyone lead you into a quicksand pit!

The Danger Of Laziness – Verses 6-11

Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

God speaks to us through His Bible, but He also has given us teachings in His nature. God designed nature. He made every creature as He wants it to be. God made the tiny ant – and teaches us the value of preparedness and work. Every ant colony has one or more Queens. As God speaks of the worker ant, He calls that ant a “her”(consider her ways). Harvard University has a 4000 acre laboratory & classroom they call Harvard Forest. They note about the ants:

“Every ant colony has one or more queens. Even though the worker ants are female, the queen is the only ant that can lay eggs. … They have highly evolved social systems with three different castes ~ queens, males, and workers. The workers are female, but cannot reproduce. Most of the eggs the queen lays hatch into workers. Workers are specialized. Some spend their lives tending the eggs and larvae. Other workers forage for food. ”

The worker ants are “she” ants, and they leave the nest to gather food. The “Queen” does not direct them, but they work diligently and TOGETHER to get the job done. Ants know that winter is coming when there will be little food, so they gather and store what they can when food is available.

God wants us to be like the ant. We should not wait until we are in a desperate situation, then try and fix the problem. We are to look for opportunities to serve God and bless the Church and the Community. The ants have “no guide, overseer, or ruler”. They don’t have anyone chasing them around, telling them what to do.

There are many people today – and even some in this Church – that are sluggards. They know what they need to do, but would rather be entertained by television and social media, on the golf course or at the park. God has many things that He wants His people to do, to help facilitate the spread of the Gospel. Sluggards do nothing but drag their feet and complain. The Bible speaks of these people:

Philippians 3:17-20 (NASB) Brothers and sisters, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ …

The sluggard cares nothing for the Colony – the Church. The ant works together with other worker ants, doing what they are called to do, to expand the Kingdom. The sluggard sits at home in a darkened room watching television, never thinking of the coming winter, just satisfying himself for “his GOD is his BELLY”.

If you’ve ever noticed the common American field ant, it can carry up to 350 times its body weight. Why? Because God designed it to do so. An ant will work – in unison with others of its colony – within its design.

What God calls us to, He will equip us to do. You have probably seen ants carrying leaves or dead bugs many times their size. They can do so because God makes them do so. When we are serving God and doing that which pleases Him, He will enable us to do.

Psalm 147:5-6 (ESV) Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. 6 The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked to the ground.

The ant is HUMBLE, not arrogant. It is willing to be nameless, to simply do the job that God has made it to do. King David said:

Psalm 84:10-12 (NKJV) I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.

The ant knows that it cannot do the entire job of the colony, just its part. So the ant labors on, trusting in God’s calling, doing what it is designed to do. Ants will not fight within their colony, but will battle other colonies if they invade their nest. Ants seem to understand that any disharmony in the colony can lead to its death.

Would that local Churches understand this concept!

God calls us to unity, to work together for the glory of Christ and the salvation of mankind. We are not to allow false teachers to invade our colony, nor are we to compromise with the godless and their ideologies. The Bible says:

Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV) … walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

And again,

Philippians 2:2-5 (NKJV) … fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus …

There is another reason not to be a sluggard. If you fail to serve the Lord like the ant serves the colony, if you lay about and do little – what you fail to sow, you will reap. We read:

Proverbs 6:9-11 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 {hālaḵ, [pronounced haw-lak’], sense wanders away from the colony}, and thy want as an armed man.

The above slide shows a sloth traveling from his normal habitat. When sloths travel, they are often run over on the highways. The sluggard traveling will often end up dead. Even so, the ant that wanders away from the colony and its calling will find itself in a threatening situation. Other ant colonies are antagonistic toward any ant outside that colony. An ant that wanders away invites quick death or worse, slow death by starvation.

I often meet with homeless people who have decided to be sluggards, to rely on others for their sustenance. I can feed them, but never really help them.

Their failure to prepare and laziness has put them in a situation that may eventually kill them. I try to help those I can, but unless they repent and turn to a better lifestyle, they will find themselves in an early grave. The average lifespan of a homeless person is 17.5 years shorter than that of the general population.

Laziness kills. Just as an armed man will kill you, laziness kills.

The Danger Of Wickedness – Verses 12-15

Proverbs 6:12-15 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 {perversity} 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.

Word Study: The word “NAUGHTY” is the Hebrew bᵊlîyaʿal, which means “One like Belial, someone who is worthless or good for nothing”. Good for nothing people will drag you down to their level. Where ever they go, they have a “FROWARD” (Hebrew ʿiqqᵊšûṯ (pronounced ik-kesh-ooth’), that is a “crooked or perverse” mouth. The Bible says that they do three things:

winketh with his EYES,
speaketh with his FEET,
teacheth with his FINGERS

They make suggestions to see what you’ll say, then do the old wink wink at you. Where they take themselves speaks volumes about their lives. What they do teaches you whether they are light or dark. Their hearts are devoted to perversity. They are constantly planning mischief, sowing discord where ever they go.

People like this think they will never be hurt – but they will. Those who sow discord will find themselves – in time – without friends. Some people call this “karma”. The Bible calls it “reaping what you sow”. As believers in Christ we are commanded to not allow the worthless person to drag you down to their level. They will, in time, meet their doom. Our calling is to do good, even to the evil.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:44-48 … Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Keep doing good. Keep being the light. Do the right thing even if all the world attack you. God will one day level the field – and your reward will come. May God touch your hearts with His Word.