WWUTT 1359 Six Things the Lord Hates, Seven an Abomination (Proverbs 6:1-19)

The Bible instructs us to deal honestly with one another. Lies are the way of the enemy. Truth is the way of Christ. We find that even, and especially, in the book of Proverbs, when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand the Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we feature New Testament study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our Q &A on Friday.

Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Proverbs 6:1-5 and the Warning Against Securing Another Person’s Debt

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study of the book of Proverbs, chapter six this week, if you wanna open up your Bible and join with me there. Last week, we looked at all of chapter five, where a father warns his son to stay away from the adulterous woman.

We have another warning about adultery coming up at the end of chapter six that's gonna go into chapter seven. But in between these warnings, there are practical warnings, and that's Proverbs chapter six, verses one through 19.

I'll read through that section. "'My son, if you have given up security for your neighbor, "'have given your pledge for a stranger, "'if you are snared in the words of your mouth, "'caught in the words of your mouth, "'then do this, my son, and save yourself, "'for you have come into the hand of your neighbor.

"'Go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. "'Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber. "'Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, "'like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

"'Go to the aunt, O sluggard, "'consider her ways and be wise. "'Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, "'she prepares her bread in summer "'and gathers her food in harvest. "'How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

"'When will you arise from your sleep? "'A little sleep, a little slumber, "'a little folding of the hands to rest, "'and poverty will come upon you like a robber "'and want like an armed man. "'A worthless person, a wicked man, "'goes about with crooked speech, "'winks his eyes, signals with his feet, "'points with his finger, "'with perverted heart devises evil, "'continually sowing discord.

"'Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly, "'in a moment he will be broken beyond healing. "'There are six things that the Lord hates, "'seven that are an abomination to him, "'haughty eyes, a lying tongue, "'and hands that shed innocent blood, "'a heart that devises wicked plans, "'feet that make haste to run to evil, "'a false witness who breathes out lies, "'and one who sows discord among brothers.'".

Now, even though these are general practical warnings, there's still a context going on here, and we could divide this section up into three parts. The first part is verses one through five, and this is about securing or collecting a debt.

Verses six through 11 are warnings regarding sloth or laziness, and then verses 12 through 19 is a warning against sowing discord among brothers. Yeah, there's some other things that are mentioned in there, but that's the focus of that third section here in Proverbs chapter six.

So let's go through this in order. So beginning in verses one through five, my son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, like securing a debt is the reference here, if you have given your pledge for a stranger, if you're snared in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself, plead urgently with your neighbor.

So what's going on here? I'm not so great at understanding matters of borrowing and lending, so I needed a little help on this section myself. I turned to a commentary from Charles Ellicott, who was an English theologian in the 19th century, and here's what he wrote on Proverbs six, one through five.

When the Mosaic law was instituted, commerce had not been taken up by the Israelites, and the lending of money on interest for its employment in trade was a thing unknown. The only occasion for loans would be to supply the immediate necessities of the borrower, and the exaction of interest under such circumstances would be productive of great hardship, involving the loss of land and even personal freedom, as the insolvent debtor and his family became the slaves of the creditor.

An example of this would be in Nehemiah chapter five, verses one through five, when the poor of the land had given up everything that they owned to the wealthy. So now they didn't even have anything that they could live on.

They couldn't pay to be able to have food for themselves or for their families, and furthermore, they couldn't even afford the interest, and Nehemiah put a stop to that because the law prevented this kind of oppression of the poor.

Leviticus 25, verses 35 through 38 says, if your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.

Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest nor give him your food for profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

By the way, this is exactly a principle that Joseph had instituted when he was second in command over Egypt. When he gave food to the Israelites, he did not give it to them at interest, but when he gave it to the Egyptians, he gave their food back to them.

He gave it to them at interest. They had to pay for it. So Joseph practiced this even before it was set down in the law, and this is how the Israelite was to consider one another. And so you see this implemented also in Proverbs chapter six, verses one through five when it comes to securing a debt.

So going on here with Ellicott's commentary, to prevent these evils, the lending of money on interest to any poor Israelite was strictly forbidden. And there you have the reference to Leviticus 25. The people were enjoined to be liberal and lend for nothing in such cases.

But at the time of Solomon, when the commerce of the Israelites had enormously developed and communications were open with Spain and Egypt and possibly with India and Ceylon, while caravans penetrated beyond the Euphrates, then the lending of money on interest for employment in trade most probably became frequent and surety ship also.

The pledging of a man's own credit to enable his friend to procure a loan. And when the wealth that accompanied this development of the national resources had brought luxury in its train, borrowing and surety ship would be employed for less worthy purposes to supply the young nobles of Jerusalem with money for their extravagance.

Hence possibly the emphatic language of the text. And also we'll see this again in Proverbs 20, verse 16 and Proverbs 27, 13. In Proverbs 20, 16, it says, take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.

And Proverbs 27, 13 says the same thing. So anyway, you'll see why I needed help explaining that. I didn't quite understand that myself. I hope that Ellicott's answer was helpful for you because it certainly makes more sense than I would have said.

So once again, Proverbs six, verse one, my son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this my son and save yourself for you have come into the hand of your neighbor.

Go hasten and plead urgently with your neighbor. So more credit has been given to the stranger than to the neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber. Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

So what's being said here is that it's not good for anybody. This lending of money and taking of interest is not beneficial to you. It is not beneficial to the person that you are collecting a debt from.

It's not going to be beneficial when somebody else is trying to collect a debt from you. You might also apply the principle to this that the borrower is a slave to the lender. So be wise, be careful in the borrowing and lending of money, especially on interest.

Proverbs 6:6-11 and the Call to Diligence

We continue on with cautions that are given to the lazy. That's Proverbs chapter six, verses six through 11. Go to the aunt, oh sluggard. So the father talking to his son is saying to look at an aunt as an example here.

Consider her ways and be wise without having any chief officer or ruler. She prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, oh sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man. In second Thessalonians chapter three, the apostle Paul talks to the church in Thessalonica and says that we provided an example for you when we were with you.

He says that we and my missionary brethren, we would have been right to expect from you to provide for us, like provide a living for us. Give us your bread so that we would have something to eat. We're here for the cause of ministry.

We're apostles of Jesus Christ. So you should be taking care of us and doing so would be serving the Lord. But Paul says we decided not to be a burden to any of you. This is second Thessalonians three eight.

It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command. If anyone is willing to not work, let him not eat.

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

So again, Paul was right to accept support from them because he was an apostle and he was a missionary for Jesus Christ. Instead, he decided to work. He did his own labor while he was there teaching in Thessalonica so that he and his missionary brethren could provide for themselves and give an example of hard workers to the Thessalonians there.

Remember what Paul's trade was. He was a tent maker by trade. So he was a bivocational preacher in that sense. He would preach and teach the Thessalonians and then he was also doing his tent making trade so that he could earn money and be able to feed and provide for himself.

But notice the statement that he says there, and this is a controversial statement this day and age. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. A person earns his own living. He is not to be a mooch and living off of the charity of others.

Though there's certainly a time when a person may hit some dire straits, they may go through a difficult time and then there are people that can help support them. Or you have the situation with the elderly being too old to work for and provide for themselves or the infirmed that cannot work for and provide for themselves.

In those instances, the church should be taking care of those individuals. But when you've got an able-bodied person who's able to work and they're not working, they are a sluggard and if they're not willing to work, then let them not eat.

Even more strictly here, Paul goes on and says that if anyone does not follow what we have said in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. That's later on in 2 Thessalonians 3 .14.

Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. So it's even a matter of church discipline if a person is unwilling to work. And the wise father giving instruction to his son here in Proverbs 6 says that you need to work.

And if you don't work, ruin is gonna come upon you. It's even worse than a church disciplinary action here. It's that you could fall into the judgment of God. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest.

This isn't talking about the usual sleep that you get when you go to bed at night. You gotta remember during this time, also we didn't have electricity. So there weren't these night owls that were staying up at all hours of the night.

That could get really expensive because they're burning oil the whole time that they stay awake. That's a more recent phenomenon, the night owl thing. And I'm one of them. I'm one of those night owl guys.

But I still get the same amount of sleep as anybody. I work hard. Anyway, so a person went to sleep when it was dark and they woke up when the sun came up. And the illustration that's being given here is if you're resting more than that, if you're slow to get up in the day, if you're constantly lying down and taking naps instead of doing your work, well, poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man.

If you're not making the most of the daylight and getting the work done that you need to get done, then you're not gonna be able to make your living and provide for yourself and poverty will come upon you.

So that's the warning of laziness here in this particular passage. And notice also, as it refers to the ant, the hardworking ant, it says that she doesn't have a chief, an officer or a ruler, and she prepares her bread in summer.

Proverbs 6:12-19 and the Destructive Power of Lies and Discord

In other words, don't wait for somebody to tell you what to do. You know you need to work, so find your work to do and do it. Now we continue with this last section of Proverbs chapter six. This is verses 12 through 19.

A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger. The whole thing with the signals with his feet, have you ever heard a liar referred to as a shifty person?

Can't ever really trust what they say. They don't have any integrity. You can't know if what they say they're going to do, they'll actually follow through and do it. They seem to be a little unsure of themselves, so they're constantly like shuffling on their feet.

There's no confidence there. Almost by their body language, they seem to indicate that they're not an honest person. And that's what's being talked about here in Proverbs six. He winks with his eyes and the winking of the eyes, like we use that as a gesture now as something cute, or I'm just kidding, or hey, I like you.

You know, that's sometimes what a wink can mean. But in this particular circumstance, the reference being made here is that a person is so dishonest they can't even be comfortable with their own lies.

What lie have I said to what person? And so it's almost like it affects them physiologically and their eyes twitch. That's the reference to the winking of the eyes or pointing with his finger, like making gestures almost like a sleight of hand, follow my hand and not the words I say or the look in my eyes.

With perverted heart, he devises evil, verse 14. He's continually sowing discord. If a person's not living according to truth, then their words are gonna cause division among people, even among friends, among close acquaintances.

So they continually sow discord. It may not be their intention to devise, I'm sorry, to divide others. They may not be their goal, but that's what ends up happening when a person cannot be honest. In Ephesians chapter four, we are told that as the church, we are to be speaking the truth and we're to be speaking the truth in love and doing so we build one another up.

We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head of the body into Christ from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped. When each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

That's what we get when we speak the truth in love. Later on in Ephesians 4 .25, therefore having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another.

A person who is not truthful, who lacks integrity, who is not honest with their words, they sow discord. The intention may not be to divide people, but that will be the result. And it says in Proverbs 6 .15, therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly.

In a moment, he will be broken beyond healing. When a person devotes themselves over to lies, it destroys the mind, it affects the thinking. I shared this with a Sunday school class just this past Sunday.

There are certain false teachers out there that at some point they may have been deliberately manipulative. Like they may have known this is wrong for me to say this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. They felt guilt in their conscience, but they ignored it and pressed through.

And eventually their mind was given over to a seared conscience. And now it comes to them completely naturally. And they may think that what they are saying is right. It's exactly what God said. It's what the Bible means when it says this, but it's because their mind is now completely dull to the truth.

They've broken themselves beyond healing. They're unable to see the truth at all anymore since they've so devoted themselves to the lie. And the lies they continue to spread destroy others. We go on in Proverbs 6, verses 16 through 19.

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. This is a very popular passage from Proverbs, but the focus here is still the one who sows discord among brothers. And let me show you that as we go on here.

So six things the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. Verse 17, haughty eyes, that's number one. A lying tongue, that's number two. And hands that shed innocent blood, that's number three.

A heart that devises wicked plans, that's number four. Feet that make haste to run to evil, that's number five. A false witness who breathes out lies, there's number six. And now finally, the seventh thing that is an abomination to the Lord, and one who sows discord among brothers.

That's what we've been talking about here in Proverbs 6, 12 through 19. So that's the focus, that's the emphasis of the seven things that are an abomination to the Lord. What this means is one who sows discord among brothers is just as evil as the one with haughty eyes, who is proud, who sees way too much of himself, rather than considering the needs of others.

A lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness that breathes out lies. Because when it comes down to it, the one who sows discord among brothers also does all these other six things as well.

May we be devoted to the truth of Christ and speak truth with one another, for it is this truth that builds each other up, that unifies. We're unified in the gospel of Christ, not in the ways of man, but in the ways of God.

Let me close by reading these verses here from the Apostle Paul to his protege Timothy, 1 Timothy 6, starting in verse two. Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.

He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved of mind and deprived of the truth.

That's what happens when we leave the sound teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we even start to marry that sound doctrine with worldly doctrine, with man's doctrine, with human cunningness and craftiness and deceitful schemes and the elementary principles of man.

We might have sound teaching at one part, but when we start to marry it with stuff that is not of God, then it becomes something else entirely. And it is not gonna unify people. It is certainly not gonna sanctify or make holy or bring people more in fellowship with God.

Rather, it's gonna divide and break up. And if you are devoted to that kind of teaching, you become a person who is suspicious of others, who has an unhealthy craving for controversy, who quarrels over words, who is envious and sows constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth.

Be committed to the gospel of Christ. Know the sound teaching that comes from his word. You will be guarded from deviation, from discord and from destruction. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that we would be committed to your truth, that we would deal with one another honestly as these passages direct us to do in Proverbs 6, verses one through 19, that we would consider others' needs ahead of our own, that we would be mindful of one another, and most especially that we would conduct ourselves in the fear of the Lord.

For as we read in Proverbs 1, 7, it is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. In Christ, we find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Grow us in your truth. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

This has been When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. For all of our podcasts, episodes, videos, books and more, visit our website at www .utt .com. If you'd like to submit a question to this broadcast or just send us a comment, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com and let your friends know about our ministry.

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