* This image by unknown author is now in public domain.
>1. What does it mean to put up security and stick hands in pledge? (1-2)
* Proverbs 6:1-2 "My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another, if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth,"
* "My son" -The original Hebrew word is "ben" (a transliteration). "Ben" can also be translated as "children" and "young". The use often is referring to physical descendants, but could also refer to disciples and students. "Ben" is used over 4,900 times in the Old Testament.
* "put up security for your neighbor" -Generally this refers to responsibility for someone else's debt.
* "struck hands in pledge for another" -Sticking hands in those days is equivalent to shaking hands in modern times. They are a symbol of a binding agreement. Some English translations have "put of security" and "guarantee a loan".
>How are these a trap? (11:15, 22:25-27)
* "trapped by what you said" -"What you said" and "words" are "emer peh" in the original Hebrew.
* "ensnared by the words of your mouth" -The Hebrew word for "ensnared" is "yaqash" (a transliteration). "Yaqash" is always translated as "snare". The image is of an animal caught in a trap that they cannot get out of.
* Proverbs 11:15 "He who puts up security for another will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge is safe."
* Proverbs 22:25-27 "Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you."
* Business agreements are to be taken seriously. Finance is nothing to be quivered with. Elsewhere in Proverbs a person's wealth and property is to be presented to the younger generations as an inheritance. If we were to be careless with our money and possessions we are taking away from them.
>What can be done to free of such pledges? (3)
* Proverbs 6:3 "then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!"
* "free yourself" -"Free" in the original Hebrew is "nasal". "Nasal" can also be translated as "deliver".
* "since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands" -Being in debt is allowing them to have control over oneself. The trap is a hole in the grown that fallen into, one act away from being buried either dead or alive.
* "Go and humble yourself" -Humility and respect are sibling expressions. "Humble" in the original Hebrew is "rapas" appearing only two times in the Old Testament. It is translated "humble" and "submit".
* "press your plea with your neighbor!" -The image is of falling on the knees perhaps with face to the ground and arms stretched out with palms on the ground when making the case.
* Our tongue can get us into trouble. We may agree without thinking to a contract made by a dishonest person. When we recognize the wrongness of our attitudes and words, we need to act immediately. We must not quit until we re reconciled to the other person and nullify the agreement. In so doing we must admit our wrongness. (NIV Disciple's Study Bible)
>How can we press our plea?
* Job 17:3 "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?"
* "Putting up security for our neighbor" and "striking hands" are making a personal vow. They are personally securing someone else's debt and/or life. Thus putting myself under an obligation.
Often there is good reason to put up security for another. Jacob was concerned for Benjamin's life. So Judah in order to persuade his father Jacob to allow him and his brothers to go to Egypt for food promised him, "I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life." (Genesis 43:9)
Often it seems that such vows become hard to keep putting ourselves in harm's way (2). When Benjamin was about to be jailed Judah had to offer himself into slavery in order to keep his vow of security to his father. (Genesis 44:34) Judah humbled himself and pleaded for his younger brother's freedom (3).
Jesus enacted the greatest sacrifice when he put up security for his neighbors and his friends. He presented his well-being and life for them. He allowed himself to be arrested, humiliated, tortured, and crucified. Now I am encouraged in view of God's mercy, to offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is my spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 6:1-5.
>2. What should be our attitude to be rid of security and pledges? (4)
* Proverbs 6:4 "Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids."
* "Allow no sleep to your eyes" -The point is not to plea endlessly. Rather, one is to constantly and diligently work on paying off the debt; work, work, work, dedicating as much income as possible to paying off the debt.
* "no slumber to your eyelids" -Fully dedication all to become free of the trap of credit.
* Jesus had to give himself completely over to torque, humiliation, beatings, crucifixion, and death to pay off the debt for others sins.
* The son is not going into debt for selfish reasons in the proverb. Rather, he had put up security for another.
>What is the maximum speed of a gazelle when it's life is threatened? (5)
* Proverbs 6:5 "Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler."
* "Free yourself" -Do it yourself through work.
* "a gazelle" -Gazelles are nimble and beautiful animals, with a variety of stripes and markings that accentuate their tan buff coats and white rumps. They also boast a impressive, ringed horns. These attributes make many gazelles attractive as game animals. A gazelle's maximum speed is 60 mph (26.8 mps) in short bursts to flee the hunter. When running, gazelles use a bounding leap, called "pronking" or "stotting" which involved stiffly springing into the air more than 10 feet (3 meters) with all four feet.
* "from the hand of the hunter" -Many creditors are hunting for pray just like a lion or other large cat.
* The engraving from a book "Spiegel van het menselyk bedryf : vertoonende honderd verscheiden ambachten, konstig afgebeeld en met godlyke spreuken en stichtelyke verzen verryke / door Jan en Kasper Luiken" now in public domain is titled "The Hunter".
The hunter sits with his back against the trunk of a tree, holding a rifle. Next to him are two hunting dogs standing and two dogs sleeping. In the background, a fowler approaches carrying a rack with falcons. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing this emblem and for creating the motto and poem that follow. Jan Luiken and/or his son Casper Luiken (1672-1708) were responsible for its etching. The attendant scripture text is Proverbs 6:5.
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
The motto is "The desires of sins, Are biting dogs". The accompanying poem is:
The wild forest, called the world,
Covers with its trees also the hunter,
Who fiercely and quickly sees game;
Each takes care to escape his chase and snare.
Should someone ask who that hunter is,
He is called King of darkness.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
>How do birds react when they are in a snare?
* "like a bird from the snare of the fowler" -Large birds are often hunted for food or only for sport. Modern hunters use guns which can ruin the meat. A trap can catch a bird without harm to the meat.
* A debt is a trap that is very hard to escape. Therefore, much effort, time, and dedication is needed to escape debt. Setting a budget is necessary.
* Proverbs 17:18 "A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.
>What can be learned about our resolve to be free?
* Stay out of debt and save up money. Invest wisely.
* Luke 11:8 "I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs."
II. Sluggard & Villain (6:6-19)
>3. What is a sluggard and what are they told to do? (6)
* Proverbs 6:6 "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!"
* "Go to the ant"
* "you sluggard"
* "consider its ways and be wise!"
* A sluggard is a lazy person who refuses to work and whose desires are not met. The Hebrew word translated as sluggard in most English Bibles in this verse is "asel" which is translated as slothful elsewhere. A sluggard has either little willpower or their will is directed to unproductive, unedifying, and/or unprofitable occupation. They are motivated by little except ease. They choose to do little except rest and sleep. Anyone can become a sluggard.
The author, a father instructing his child points to a productive ant colony saying, "Go to the ant and consider its ways and be wise!" Ants have no commander, overseer, or ruler yet each work for the good of the colony. They store provisions in the summer and gather food at harvest. (6-7) The human equivalent is living a respectable profitable occupation, saving money, and investing for the future.
How to gain enough will to overcome a sluggard life? One must first decide to change one's ways. The rut mindset of a sluggard is to say no to self and have low self-esteem. A sluggard doesn't try mostly because they don't believe they can succeed. They have low self-esteem. One can overcome this by having a positive role model. Someone who continued a long walk and succeeded in spite of hardship and obstacles in their path. Someone who tried and tried again until they made something good with the life God gave them.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 6:6-8.
>What is amazing about an ant colony, one of most productive builders in the animal kingdom? (7)
* Proverbs 6:7 "It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,"
* "It has no commander"
* "no overseer or ruler,"
*
>What is a common goal of the ant colony that a sluggard is to learn from? (8)
* Proverbs 6:8 "yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest."
* "yet it stores its provisions in summer"
* "and gathers its food at harvest."
*
* The engraving from a book "De Bykorf des Gemoeds : Honing zaamelende uit allerley Bloemen / Vervattende over de Honderd konstige Figuuren ; Met Godlyke Spreuken En Stichtelyke Verzen, Door Jan Luiken" now in public domain is titled "The Ant: Industrious, in the worthiest way".
Two persons regard an ant hill next to a large tree. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712), whose initials are at the lower right, was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem, as well as for the poem that accompanies it. The attendant Scripture text is Proverbs 6:6-8.
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
The motto is "Diligence is useful and good; But best, who does it for the very Best.". The accompanying poem is:
Many are as industrious as ants,
And do with all diligence their best,
With fetching, pulling, walking, going hither and yonder,
So as to drag much into their nest;
But there are few, who as true humans,
Are above the concerns of insects,
And out of charitable desire,
Aspire to the Salvation of providing for Eternity:
There diligence was needed,
More than care for the flesh,
Which Wisdom has forbidden us,
Because He has shown us something higher.
Yet to get through that winter,
Which threatens to last Eternally,
Laziness has been widely observed,
While desire is not so widely inclined.
But, with the Ant, located in the dust,
Everything is so determined,
That the body has something to eat,
As long as it exists in this Time.
Yet higher minds walk farther,
And set upon the Eternal,
And work thus so much harder,
That their reward might not escape them.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
>4. What is the folly of doing nothing productive?
* Proverbs 6:9 "How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?"
* "How long will you lie there"
* "sluggard"
* "When will you get up from your sleep?"
*
>What is the mind trap of a sluggard? (10)
* Proverbs 6:10 "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest"
* "A little sleep"
* "a little slumber"
* "a little folding of the hands to rest"
*
>What happens when we don't keep to a mindset and will to continue in our labors?
* Proverbs 6:11 "and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."
* "poverty"
* "like a bandit"
* "scarcity"
* "like an armed man."
* The account of sleep, slumber, and folding of the hands leading to poverty suddenly overtaking me in these verses is easy to apply to the need to have a profitable income. However, this can also be applied to having a profitable spiritual life.
Jesus taught, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:23-27)
Jesus called the servant lazy who did not invest his master's property and wealth while he was away. The master took away the talent that he had given the lazy servant and gave it to another servant who had given a return on the master's investment. Then the master ordered, "Throw that worthless servant outside, into darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."(Matthew 25:16-30)
I am warned not to be a spiritual sluggard. It is wise for me to tend to the talent God gave me for him and his kingdom. Otherwise, poverty will come on me like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man at the resurrection of the dead.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 6:9-11.
>5. Why do scoundrels and villains communicate his code and secret lives? (12-14)
* Proverbs 6:12-14 "A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,
14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart-- he always stirs up dissension."
* "A scoundrel and villain"
* "who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers"
* "who plots evil with deceit in his heart"
* "he always stirs up dissension"
*
>Though it may tarry what is sure to happen to scoundrels and villains? (15)
* Proverbs 6:15 "Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed--without remedy."
* "disaster will overtake him in an instant"
* "suddenly be destroyed--without remedy."
*
* Reading these verses it is easy to forget that the Father is speaking to his child. The Father wants his beloved child to be mindful of the heart and the future. When the Father teaches about a scoundrel and a villain he wants his juvenile to look inward more than outward.
A wicked person uses their mouth, eyes, feet, fingers, and any other form of communication in devious ways to achieve the deceitful plots of their heart. Such ploys harm others. The Father does not want his children to harm others.
The heart is the source of evil plots with deceit (14). The heart is the wellspring of life (4:23). Jesus said, "Out of the heart comes all kinds of evil." The remedy to a deceitful heart is to allow the word of God and his Spirit to sink into my heart. (Matthew 13:19-23) Then I will be able to produce fruit that pleases my father.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 6:12-15.
>6. Considering what the Lord hates and detests what can be learned from him?
* Proverbs 6:16 "There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:"
* "six things the LORD hates"
* "seven that are detestable to him:"
*
>What is haughty eyes?
* Proverbs 6:17 "haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood"
* "haughty eyes"
*
>Why might the Lord detest a lying tongue?
* "a lying tongue"
* "hands that shed innocent blood"
*
>Why is merely contemplating wicked schemes so bad? (18)
* Proverbs 6:18 "a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil"
* "a heart that devises wicked schemes"
*
>What is the mindset of a person who rushes into evil?
* "feet that are quick to rush into evil"
*
>What is the intent of pouring out lies and stirring up dissension? (19)
* Proverbs 6:19 "a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."
* "a false witness who pours out lies"
* "a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."
*
* The common theme in the six things the Lord hates and the seven detestable is that they harm self and others at the same time.
1) Haughty eyes is self-pride that causes us to look down on others as inferior, weak, and stupid. Saul had haughty eyes whenever he saw David. He was troubled by an evil spirit and committed suicide.
2) A lying tongue is deception that is associated elsewhere as witchcraft. God is truth and Satan is the father of lies. Judas lied to Jesus when he betrayed him. He hung himself.
3) Shedding innocent blood is associated with self-pride and hate. Cain killed his younger brother Abel who had done no wrong. The aftermath was a troubled soul and society.
4) Devising wicked schemes comes from an unsettled heart. They religious leaders of Jesus' day plotted to arrest, publicly humiliate, and kill Jesus. Less than 40 years later they lost their country, national city, the temple, and their loves.
5) Rushing into evil may seem like a good idea at the time but after the act is finished only misery and regret remain. Those who took a vow to not eat till Paul was killed either died or lived in shame.
6) False witnesses pull apart families and society. The false witnesses during Jesus' trial saw Jerusalem burn and their children die.
7) A person stirs up conflict either hopes to gain something or is full of jealousy, fear, and hate. The spies Moses sent into the promised land ended up dying in the desert, never to step into the promised land again.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 6:16-19.
III. The Prostitute Reduces You to a Loaf of Bread (6:20-35)
>7. What are a father's command and a mother's teaching compared to? (20-23)
* Proverbs 6:20-23 "My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
21 Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,"
* "My son" -See question 1 above.
* "keep your father's commands"
* "do not forsake your mother's teaching."
* "Bind them upon your heart forever"
* "fasten them around your neck. "
* "When you walk, they will guide you"
* "when you sleep, they will watch over you"
* "when you awake, they will speak to you."
* "For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light"
* "the corrections of discipline are the way to life,"
* Sexual temptation is hard to resist because it arouses physical, mental, and emotional needs. God's first command to Adam and Eve included physical reproducing children, accomplished by God. Sex is not a sin. Sex is a gift. Sexual union is obeying a command only when the union is under a covenant between to before God. For God commands must be obeyed in the way he intended them. Commands are passionate blessings beyond what is imagined and can always be filled with new.
* The wisdom to keep sound teachings is enlightening (23). The responsibility of parents to say and display the way to life is vital. The next generation is the duty of the former (20). The prior generation is the guide and watcher of the next.
Binding words on the heart is akin to a baby craving its mother's milk (21). Fastening words around the neck is akin to a beautiful young maiden adorned in brilliant necklaces.
Jesus' claims about his words are extraordinary. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Matthew 24:35) "I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." (Luke 6:47-48) "Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work." (John 14:10)
"...these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life," I have been ready to give over my life at times in the past. The only digestion I can take during those times is the milk of my maker. They are life.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 6:20-23.
>Why is the command to keep from sexual immorality needed? (24)
* Proverbs 6:24 "keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife."
* "keeping you from the immoral woman"
* "the smooth tongue of the wayward wife."
* Adultery and prostitution are warned about four times in the beginning of Proverbs: 2:16-19, 5:3-14, 6:20-35, and 7:5-27.
>8. What is meant by being reduced to a loaf of bread? (25-26)
* Proverbs 6:25-26 "Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes,
26 for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life."
* "Do not lust in your heart after her beauty"
* "let her captivate you with her eyes,"
* "the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread"
* "the adulteress preys upon your very life."
* The father warns his child about the sin of adultery. The author of Proverbs has already instructed his son about adultery in 2:16-19 and 5:3-14 and will do so again in 7:5-27. The father tells his beloved offspring to keep from an immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.
Immorality is any illicit sexual activity outside of marriage. Both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament the word has a figurative meaning as well, referring to idolatry and unfaithfulness to God. Many believe that immorality concerns pre-marital sex. However, immorality has to do with adultery that first stems from thinking of another that is not a spouse in a sexual manner. Immorality is celebrated by most in today's society.
A wayward wife is a stranger and a foreigner for the Hebrew word, "nokri" means just that for marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman before God.
A prostitute reduces herself and her partner to a loaf of bread. The father is telling his child that a sexually adulterous relationship is turning him from being a human to a lifeless paycheck. A man is more than an income for his wife and children. A man is love, joy, patience, goodness, protection, wisdom, compassion, companionship, laughter, and provision. He is also faithful.
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 6:24-29.
* The engraving from a book "Historie des Ouden en Nieuwen Testaments : verrykt met meer dan vierhonderd printverbeeldingen in koper gesneeden" by Martin, David (1639-1721) now in public domain is titled "Tamar Deceives Judah".
Judah offers his staff, cord and signet ring as a pledge of payment in exchange for sex with his daughter-in-law Tamar, who poses as a prostitute outside the city of Enaim. In the background, the prostitute is no where to be found, as Hirah attempts to deliver Judah's payment. The artist's signature (Jan Goeree, 1670-1731) is located at the lower left corner.
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu.
>How is scooping fire in the lap a good analogy to adultery?
* Proverbs 6:27-28 "Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?"
* "scoop fire into his lap"
* "walk on hot coals"
* "burned... scorched"
*
>Does adultery ever go unpunished? (29)
* Proverbs 6:29 "So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished."
* "So is he who sleeps with another man's wife" -Implies ownership not as in slavery, but under a covenant vow with his spouse.
* "no one who touches her will go unpunished." -The punishment does not come always come from society, peers, law, nor a spouse. However, the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual punishment is always received.
*
>9. What happens to anyone who is so poor that they cannot obtain food?
* Proverbs 6:30 "Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving."
* "despise"
* "if he steals to satisfy his hunger"
* "starving"
*
>Is crime every justifiable? (31)
* Proverbs 6:31 "Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house."
* "if he is caught"
* "he must pay sevenfold"
* "though it costs him all the wealth of his house."
*
>10. Why is adultery self-destructive? (32)
* Proverbs 6:32 "But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself."
* "who commits adultery lacks judgment"
* "whoever does so destroys himself"
*
>What is jealousy and is it wrong to be jealous? (33-34)
* Proverbs 6:33-34 "Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away;
34 for jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge."
* "Blows and disgrace are his lot"
* "his shame will never be wiped away"
* "for jealousy arouses a husband's fury"
* "he will show no mercy when he takes revenge."
* Emotions can be powerful, more so than hunger. Hunger can drive a person to steal to eat (30). Though they know it is a crime and will pay sevenfold, meaning paying back much more than what was stolen, hunger will drive a person to take someone else's food (31).
The drive for sexual gratification is another type of hunger. Yet sexual hunger is different than the hunger for food. Sexual hunger is not driven by the body's need to survive. Sexual hunger can be controlled. Judgment can divert sexual hunger (32). Sexual hunger for the married couple is healthy and good. It should be explored and satisfied. But sexual hunger fulfilled by someone other than a spouse destroys themselves (32).
Jealousy aroused is more powerful than most other emotions. Jealousy arouses a man's fury and he will show no mercy (34). Jealousy is aroused in a man when another man takes interest in his wife, even more, when another man takes his wife to bed. Jealousy is followed by revenge that is quenched by blows (33). The Father warns his child, "Adultery is followed by blows, disgrace, and shame that will never be wiped away."
Listen to the above comments on Proverbs 6:30-35.
>Why is romantic jealousy expressed with physical punishment by so many?
* Proverbs 6:35 "He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse the bribe, however great it is."
* "He will not accept any compensation"
* "he will refuse the bribe, however great it is."
