Pro 6:1-6 | KingComments | STEP | of this chapter interrupt the father’s speech to his son about the strange woman. Yet the issues he discusses in these verses are related: they deal with sins that, like adultery, lead to deep poverty ( ). A good father is also concerned about his son’s financial position. He speaks of this in , where he specifically warns against becoming surety for someone ( ). The son is naive when he becomes surety and has “given a pledge”, literally “clapped your palms”. The father is not so naive as to think his son incapable of doing so. He assumes that his son may be tempted to become surety. No one is obliged to be surety. Being surety for another is something very different from the usual and permitted way of providing help by lending money to someone in financial need ( ). To become surety means that he signs for it – which is done symbolically here by the confirmation with “clapping the palms” – that he assumes the responsibility to pay the debt of another if the other person fails to pay. To this end, he acts as surety. It is wisdom not to assume such a responsibility. This danger is warned of more often in Proverbs ( ). It is a wrong use of the money God has made available to use for Him. Whoever gets another to become surety for him has ensnared the other in his words and made him a prisoner of those words ( ). It is foolish to become surety, because then you have become a slave to another by your own actions. The person for whom you have become surety will abuse your surety. Gullibility and misplaced generosity can result in the son being a lifelong slave of the person for whom he has become surety. Whoever is surety has “come into the hand” of his neighbor ( ). Therefore, the father’s urgent advice sounds to free oneself from this at all costs. How urgent it is is echoed in addressing his son once again explicitly as “my son”. He must ensure that he is released immediately from the grip of the person for whom he has become surety. He must get himself out, or else he will perish. That is how deadly the danger is. This will mean that he will do everything he can to ensure that the other person fulfills his obligations. He must go to the neighbor for whom he has become surety. It may mean humbling himself before him. But anything is better than perishing. Let him swallow his pride and let the other trample on him, if only he delivers himself from the grip of his neighbor. He must sacrifice his sleep for it ( ; cf. ), for delay is fatal. Therefore, he must do it with the speed of a gazelle fleeing from the hunter and of a bird trying to stay out of the hand of the fowler ( ). Those animals see the danger and lose no time in getting out of the danger zone. There is one good surety and that is God Himself ( ; ). The Lord Jesus is surety of the new covenant ( ). He is its fulfillment. We could not fulfill the conditions. The Lord could, He took the conditions upon Himself and fulfilled them. He took our obligations upon Himself, allowing us to partake of the blessings of the new covenant.

‏ Proverbs 6:1-6

Introduction

Pro 6:1-19 of this chapter interrupt the father’s speech to his son about the strange woman. Yet the issues he discusses in these verses are related: they deal with sins that, like adultery, lead to deep poverty (Pro 5:9-11).

Never Become Surety

A good father is also concerned about his son’s financial position. He speaks of this in Pro 6:1-5, where he specifically warns against becoming surety for someone (Pro 6:1). The son is naive when he becomes surety and has “given a pledge”, literally “clapped your palms”. The father is not so naive as to think his son incapable of doing so. He assumes that his son may be tempted to become surety.

No one is obliged to be surety. Being surety for another is something very different from the usual and permitted way of providing help by lending money to someone in financial need (Mt 5:42). To become surety means that he signs for it – which is done symbolically here by the confirmation with “clapping the palms” – that he assumes the responsibility to pay the debt of another if the other person fails to pay. To this end, he acts as surety.

It is wisdom not to assume such a responsibility. This danger is warned of more often in Proverbs (Pro 11:15 ; Pro 17:18 ; Pro 22:26). It is a wrong use of the money God has made available to use for Him.

Whoever gets another to become surety for him has ensnared the other in his words and made him a prisoner of those words (Pro 6:2). It is foolish to become surety, because then you have become a slave to another by your own actions. The person for whom you have become surety will abuse your surety. Gullibility and misplaced generosity can result in the son being a lifelong slave of the person for whom he has become surety.

Whoever is surety has “come into the hand” of his neighbor (Pro 6:3). Therefore, the father’s urgent advice sounds to free oneself from this at all costs. How urgent it is is echoed in addressing his son once again explicitly as “my son”. He must ensure that he is released immediately from the grip of the person for whom he has become surety. He must get himself out, or else he will perish. That is how deadly the danger is.

This will mean that he will do everything he can to ensure that the other person fulfills his obligations. He must go to the neighbor for whom he has become surety. It may mean humbling himself before him. But anything is better than perishing. Let him swallow his pride and let the other trample on him, if only he delivers himself from the grip of his neighbor. He must sacrifice his sleep for it (Pro 6:4; cf. Psa 132:4-5), for delay is fatal. Therefore, he must do it with the speed of a gazelle fleeing from the hunter and of a bird trying to stay out of the hand of the fowler (Pro 6:5). Those animals see the danger and lose no time in getting out of the danger zone.

There is one good surety and that is God Himself (Psa 119:122; Job 17:3). The Lord Jesus is surety of the new covenant (Heb 7:22). He is its fulfillment. We could not fulfill the conditions. The Lord could, He took the conditions upon Himself and fulfilled them. He took our obligations upon Himself, allowing us to partake of the blessings of the new covenant.

The Sluggard

Laziness (Pro 6:6-11), like surety (Pro 6:1-5), is a path to poverty (Pro 24:30-34). Surety results in unnecessary loss of money; laziness does not bring in any money at all. The father strongly warns the son about it. It seems that at some point he saw that his son was lazy. Therefore, he urges him to “go to the ant”, that is, that his son should take a good look at that little animal (Pro 6:6). Just as he can learn from the gazelle and the bird in Pro 6:5, he can learn from the ant (Job 12:7). Let him see how her ways are, how she is busy, what her habits are. By this he will be able to become wise.

The ants need no incentive, no stick, to work. There is no “chief” who leads them in their work and whom they can follow to see how he is doing (Pro 6:7). Nor do they have an “officer” who watches over them and corrects them. Nor do they have a “ruler” to whom they must be obedient. Humans, on the other hand, need “the eye of the master”, for otherwise they slack off. But ants work diligently and well together without any urging and accomplish much work without anyone prompting them. Nor is there an ant that does nothing.

The example of the ant is specifically about the zeal with which she works. Added to this is the fact that she works for the future. She prepares food at the appropriate time, which is “in the harvest” (Pro 6:8), in the summer, when it is still warm, and “gathers” food when there is much food to be gathered. This allows her to stockpile food for the time when it is cold and she cannot find food anywhere. Joseph is an example of one who acted in this way (Gen 41:28-36 ; 46-49 ; 53-57).

After the lesson of the ant comes the application in Pro 6:9. The father calls his son to order by confronting him in a reprimanding way with his laziness. The boy just lies down. He is neglecting his duty, because he should be at work. All he is doing is resting. That alone counts. He doesn’t think about the future, he doesn’t worry about it.

How long will he remain so inactive? You never know when a real sluggard will wake up from his sleep. If you think he is waking up, he turns around again. How wonderful it is, we hear the sluggard mutter, to have “a little sleep” and “a little slumber” and lie down with “a little folded of the hands” (Pro 6:10).

There is an increase in unwillingness to get up and get to work. If “a little sleep” is no longer possible, then “a little slumber” is so wonderful after all. And if that no longer works and you’re wide awake, then “a little folding of the hands to rest”, your hands behind your head or on your chest is so nice, too, after all. Who knows, if they leave you alone, you may still be able to slumber a little again, and maybe you’ll even manage to sleep a little again.

All these ‘littles’ do yield a lot, namely a lot of poverty. The hands are not folded to pray, but make it clear that he has no intention to roll up his sleeves and using them (Ecc 4:5). He does not want to work with his hands.

We often excuse or condone a wrong act or lifestyle by saying that it’s just “a little”. Do you need to talk about such a little something? What do those few minutes of delay matter, those few pennies overcharged, that little lie? But for God, there is no such thing as ‘a little’ deviation from the path of obedience. Disobedience is disobedience.

The son does need to realize that because of his laziness, “poverty” comes upon him “like a vagabond” (Pro 6:11). A vagabond is not in a hurry, but steadily proceeds toward his goal. That poverty causes “need” to come upon him “like an armed man”. An armed man is a bandit bent to overpower him.

Every generation needs to hear these words about the sluggard again. This is certainly true of today’s generation. More and more young people are sinking into aimlessness, hanging around and doing nothing. Laziness is becoming a habit. We see it in society, but we also see it in the kingdom of God. There are lazy Christians. Every free evening is for themselves. They think they have a right to be lazy and do nothing for a change. The Lord Jesus tells a slave to whom He had also given something to do, but who did not go to work for Him, that he is a “wicked and lazy” slave (Mt 25:26). There is plenty of work in the kingdom of God. We will have an eye for this if we live with God.