Pro 17:18 | KingComments | STEP | It is foolish to offer security for guaranty to someone who is in debt (cf. ). To “pledge” means that it is promised. It is like putting a signature to an agreement, confirming the promise. A person who becomes guarantor for his neighbor is “a man lacking in sense”. After all, you never know what you will face. The debt may well be so great as to be unpayable. What the Lord Jesus did when He became guarantor Himself may seem “lacking in sense” from a human point of view, but it was not. For He knew how high the price was and He knew He could pay it. It reminds us of the statement in the letter to Philemon where the apostle Paul, as a true follower of the Lord Jesus, also offers himself as guarantor to Philemon with regard to Onesimus ( ).

‏ Proverbs 17:18

Only a Fool Becomes Guarantor

It is foolish to offer security for guaranty to someone who is in debt (cf. Pro 6:1-5). To “pledge” means that it is promised. It is like putting a signature to an agreement, confirming the promise. A person who becomes guarantor for his neighbor is “a man lacking in sense”. After all, you never know what you will face. The debt may well be so great as to be unpayable.

What the Lord Jesus did when He became guarantor Himself may seem “lacking in sense” from a human point of view, but it was not. For He knew how high the price was and He knew He could pay it. It reminds us of the statement in the letter to Philemon where the apostle Paul, as a true follower of the Lord Jesus, also offers himself as guarantor to Philemon with regard to Onesimus (Phlm 1:18).