Proverbs 6

Proverbs 6:1-5: Is being a cosigner for someone else on a loan always bad? Probably not, but you have to consider the situation, the personalities of the people involved, and what will happen if the person defaults on the loan. Remember that Proverbs often deals with probabilities (things that are usually true). In general, it’s not a good idea to guarantee someone else’s debt. Being generous is something different. Being generous involves giving something directly to the person without expecting to be paid back. Becoming a pledge for someone else means that you could be paying back their debts for a considerable amount of time, which could have serious consequences for your family. This theme of not guaranteeing another’s loan is something that is repeated in Proverbs.

Proverbs 6:6-11: Some may look at this passage of Scripture and say, “Gotcha!” Ants have a queen. The Bible is wrong! First of all, you’re missing the point. Second, there may be more truth to what we read here than you realize. Yes, when ants colonize, they have a queen. However, she has one job to do: lay eggs. She doesn’t actually direct anything. The ants just know their roles in the community, and they work together.

Regardless, the purpose of this passage is to provide observational truth. You look down. You see ants scurrying around. You never know how many there are because they disappear into the ground, but they never seem to stop moving. They work hard! And that’s the point here. Don’t be lazy, be industrious. Being lazy leads to poverty. And this is just the beginning. Laziness vs. industry is another theme throughout Proverbs!

Proverbs 6:12-19: Verses 12-15 are almost like an introduction to the seven things the Lord hates. We’re told not to be wicked people, because bad things will happen to us. Some of those bad things could be because the Lord wants to discipline us, but much of the bad will come because we’re being stupid! A wicked person lies. A wicked person wants to cause conflict. A wicked person makes accusations and spreads innuendo, sometimes without even speaking! Have you ever seen the consequences of those actions come back against the ones doing them? Don’t be a wicked person!

And that brings us to the seven things that the Lord literally abhors:

• Causing conflict in the midst of God’s people (for us, the church).
• Being proud instead of humble.
• Lying, instead of telling the truth.
• Violence against the innocent (like the unborn?).
• Meditating on evil, instead of on good (specifically on God’s Word, as we read elsewhere).
• Acting out those evil thoughts.
• Lying again, but this time specifically about others (with reference to the courtroom).

Proverbs 6:20-26: “But I’ve heard all of this before!” I know, I know. But in truth, it’s repetition that helps us to learn and to realize the importance of what we’re learning. I believe it’s one reason we have four gospels. While each conveys the life of Jesus in a slightly different way, many of the events are repeated. That helps us to remember them, and it helps us to realize that what we’re learning is important. Repetition in Proverbs should serve as a warning and a guide to us. This is important stuff. We need to pay attention.

So, what do we find in our passage today?

• We’re reminded of the importance of family in conveying truth.
• We’re reminded of our need to pay attention to the truth.
• We’re reminded of the need to mediate on the truth, particularly the truth of Scripture.
• We’re reminded that the truth is our guide and our lamp, and that it keeps out of trouble.
• And one way it keeps us from trouble is by warning us about the dangers of sexual immorality. What a poetic warning: “the adulteress preys on your precious life.“
• And we’re again reminded that sin begins on the inside. Although we see with the eyes, lust starts in the heart and the mind.

Proverbs 6:26-35: When we think of the heartache that sexual immorality, pornography, and adultery cause in our culture today, it shouldn’t surprise us when we read about it so frequently in Proverbs. The emphasis here is on the danger and the consequences that come from engaging in immoral behavior, with a special warning to watch out for a spouse’s revenge!

Don’t be confused about verses concerning a thief. The issue isn’t to compare adultery and theft, but to compare the end results of both when you are caught. In fact, we seem to have a very interesting contrast here. You may end up with sympathy for a thief, because he needs food to live. However, that’s not going to help him if he’s caught! If a thief is punished sevenfold, how much more will someone be punished who is caught in adultery?

Thought for the day: “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.” – Zig Ziglar

Joshua 1:8 (WEB) “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”