- My child, suppose you agree to pay the debt of someone, who cannot repay a loan.
- Then you are trapped by your own words,
- and you are now in the power of someone else. Here is what you should do: Go and beg for permission to call off the agreement.
- Do this before you fall asleep or even get sleepy.
- Save yourself, just as a deer or a bird tries to escape from a hunter.
- You lazy people can learn by watching an anthill.
- Ants don't have leaders,
- but they store up food during harvest season.
- How long will you lie there doing nothing at all? When are you going to get up and stop sleeping?
- Sleep a little. Doze a little. Fold your hands and twiddle your thumbs.
- Suddenly, everything is gone, as though it had been taken by an armed robber.
- Worthless liars go around
- winking and giving signals to deceive others.
- They are always thinking up something cruel and evil, and they stir up trouble.
- But they will be struck by sudden disaster and left without a hope.
- There are six or seven kinds of people the LORD doesn't like:
- Those who are too proud or tell lies or murder,
- those who make evil plans or are quick to do wrong,
- those who tell lies in court or stir up trouble in a family.
- Obey the teaching of your parents--
- always keep it in mind and never forget it.
- Their teaching will guide you when you walk, protect you when you sleep, and talk to you when you are awake.
- The Law of the Lord is a lamp, and its teachings shine brightly. Correction and self-control will lead you through life.
- They will protect you from the flattering words of someone else's wife.
- Don't let yourself be attracted by the charm and lovely eyes of someone like that.
- If you carry burning coals, you burn your clothes;
- if you step on hot coals, you burn your feet.
- And if you go to bed with another man's wife, you pay the price.
- We don't put up with thieves, not even with one who steals for something to eat.
- And thieves who get caught must pay back seven times what was stolen and lose everything.
- But if you go to bed with another man's wife, you will destroy yourself by your own stupidity.
- You will be beaten and forever disgraced,
- because a jealous husband can be furious and merciless when he takes revenge.
- He won't let you pay him off, no matter what you offer.
Cosigning: Solomon warned against putting up security for the loan of another. There is some question as to whether this included family members, but at least it included all others outside of family. Using rather strong language, Solomon called such an agreement a trap from which the son should extricate himself immediately. He should not sleep another night before clearing himself of such an agreement. Making such an agreement places one in the power of the one with whom you made it. If they default on their loan, the loan becomes your's. This is not good.
Laziness: Solomon turned next to laziness. The lazy person may be responsible enough to work, but is not diligent in it. He sleeps a little late now and then and takes a rest during the day and suddenly poverty has slipped upon him like a bandit. One may think, "I can do this another day, or later today," but weather conditions or unexpected circumstances may prevent it. We are never sure of the opportunities we have to get a job done except for the time that lies immediately before us, and even it can be interrupted unexpectedly. Then one day we find that no more opportunities are available to us to get the job done and we are now without the income the job promised. More importantly we are left without food or shelter, and it was all because we did not use the opportunities to work when we had them.
worthlessness: Solomon equates worthlessness and wickedness and describes the activities of one who takes advantage of others. Through dishonesty and plotting perverse activities, the worthless person is constantly stirring up trouble. His activities include seven things God detests: arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, bloodshed, wicked schemes, evil activity, false testimony, and stirring up trouble among brothers. From this we get a good picture of the worthless person of whom Solomon instructs his son against becoming. The irony is that though such a person is always stirring up trouble for others, it is he who is eventually struck down by calamity. But the one foolish enough to engage in such behavior is too foolish to make the connection between his behavior and his calamity.
Sexual immorality: Next come the warnings against sexual immorality. It is introduced with instructions to the son to not turn away from the teachings of his parents. Evidently prominent in their teaching is caution against sexual immorality. Heeding his parent's teaching, says Solomon, will protect him from the "evil woman." She comes in two forms: as a prostitute and as an adulteress. The prostitute will take his bread from his table, but the adulteress will take his life, whether by ruining it or by death.
The son would not walk on live coals for he is smart enough to know he would get burned. And he should use the same understanding with the evil woman. As with walking on the live coals, he is just as sure to get burned. A thief is punished by having to pay back seven times what he took, but the adulterer destroys himself. He faces dishonor and disgrace as well as the rage of a jealous husband who will show no mercy.
No comments:
Post a Comment