God Speaks
My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt
or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—
2 if you have trapped yourself by your agreement
and are caught by what you said—
3 follow my advice and save yourself,
for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy.
Now swallow your pride;
go and beg to have your name erased.
4 Don’t put it off; do it now!
Don’t rest until you do.
5 Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter,
like a bird fleeing from a net.
6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
7 Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
8 they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
9 But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
12 What are worthless and wicked people like?
They are constant liars,
13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
14 Their perverted hearts plot evil,
and they constantly stir up trouble.
15 But they will be destroyed suddenly,
broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.
16 There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things he detests:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
18 a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
19 a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.
20 My son, obey your father’s commands,
and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
21 Keep their words always in your heart.
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.
23 For their command is a lamp
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to life.
24 It will keep you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
25 Don’t lust for her beauty.
Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
26 For a prostitute will bring you to poverty,
but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
27 Can a man scoop a flame into his lap
and not have his clothes catch on fire?
28 Can he walk on hot coals
and not blister his feet?
29 So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife.
He who embraces her will not go unpunished.
30 Excuses might be found for a thief
who steals because he is starving.
31 But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole,
even if he has to sell everything in his house.
32 But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool,
for he destroys himself.
33 He will be wounded and disgraced.
His shame will never be erased.
34 For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious,
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation,
nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Proverbs 6:
1. What do these verses tell me about God?
2. What do these verses tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
1. God knows His wayward creatures. He has this instruction in the Bible so that we will learn and avoid these pitfalls of life.
2. People are prone to get into difficulty by trying to please others (cosigning a debt), by being lazy, or by associating with wicked people in trying to be popular or to “just fit in.”
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Proverbs 6?
Dear Father God, thank You for giving me this and other proverbs to instruct me, Your child, on the ways and importance of wisdom. Keep me from ever co-signing someone else’s loan. If I foolishly do, please help me to humbly go to the people involved and get out of that trap as quickly as possible. I admit that I am often lazy. Help me to learn from ants to plan ahead, work hard, and provide for the future. Laziness (whether sleeping too much or engaging in frivolous activities) will sooner or later lead to poverty, and it will steal my time if not my money. You are teaching me how to recognize worthless and wicked people. I should ask myself, “Are they constantly lying, excusing deceit, or signaling with their eyes, feet or hands to get others to join them in their rotten attitudes and behavior?” In verses 16-19, You share seven things You, LORD God, hate so that I can recognize and avoid them and/or the people who insist on doing them. You want me to pay attention to, hold on to, and put into practice the wise lessons my parents have taught me; they will protect me from the traps of immorality and poverty. You give a specific warning against adultery. I shouldn’t be an utter fool and destroy my own life (family and reputation) in this way. The consequences are too great. Besides, it brings disgrace to Your name, the glorious Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, which I should always seek to honor. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Proverbs 6?
- I will seek out situations where I can pass on biblical wisdom to people in the next generation–examples: interacting with my own children/grandchildren, youth clubs, or home schooling.
- I will spend some time this week seeking God regarding His plans for my future, then working hard in cooperation with Him to carry out those plans.
- I will examine my life to see if I am doing any of the seven things in verses 16-19, then confess them and ask the Holy Spirit to help me overcome them.
- I will set up boundaries or guidelines for avoiding situations that would tend to draw me into adultery.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.