EVEN the unregenerate, did they but order their lives and their business methods in accordance with the instruction here given, would be saved many a failure and loss. Suretyship has been the downfall of many who, avoiding it, might have been comfortable and prosperous. Here the one so-ensnared is urged to deliver himself if possible, ere the penalty has to be paid.
1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,
If thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2 Thou art snared with the sayings of thy mouth,
Thou art taken with the sayings of thy mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,
When thou art come into the hand of thy friend;
Go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, Nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter,
And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Unlikely as it may seem on the face of it, pride is generally the incentive to suretyship. A desire to be thought well of, to be accounted in easy circumstances, has led many a man to “strike hands,” or go on another’s bond, who was quite unable to assume so serious a responsibility and yet discharge his obligations to those properly dependent on him. With others it is an easy-going disposition that leads one to thoughtless pledges, the performance of which would be ruinous. In either case, if thus entrapped, it is well if the command here given is heeded; and humbling though it may seem to be, the confession made that one has undertaken more than righteousness and foresight would advise. Far better a little temporary embarrassment and misunderstanding, even ill-will, than to find out later that others have to suffer for the maintenance of a foolish and sinful pride.
Prudence and forethought (not to be confounded with the anxiety of the morrow condemned by the Lord in His discourse on the mount) are commendable virtues, to teach which even so feeble a creature as the ant may well serve.
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
Consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer.
And gathereth her food in the harvest.
A lesson for eternity as well as for time is taught by the ant, which however we reserve until we reach the thirtieth chapter, where it is again brought before us as one of four wise things, each of which teach spiritual truths. The temporal lesson is of grave importance. Improvidence is not faith; it is the grossest presumption to act the part of the sluggard and then to expect divine provision in the hour of need. In this as in all else sowing follows reaping. Diligence and carefulness are commanded and commended by the Lord, and both honor Him; while slothfulness on the part of one of His is a reproach upon His name. To arouse such to a sense of duty, is the object of the verses that follow. In the spiritual, as in the natural things, “the diligent soul shall be made fat” (chapter 13:6.)
It has become the fashion for certain wiseacres to sneer at “Solomon’s grain-eating ant” who stores her food in the harvest for future use. Solomon is supposed to have mistaken the eggs of the ant for grains. But it is now fully demonstrated that he was wiser than his critics.
In Palestine there is a species of ant which is not carnivorous, but feeds on grain and does indeed store its food in harvest time as he declared. Scripture here, as always, is correct and exact.
How much more fitting it would be if, in weighing the words of the Omniscient, poor short-sighted man would own his limitations and at least take it for granted the Bible is right until proven otherwise!
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?
When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth,
And thy want as a man with a shield.
Sleeping in time of labor is out of place in a scene where man has been commanded to eat his bread by the sweat of his face. No one has a right to count on God to undertake for him in temporal matters, who is not himself characterized by energy and wakefulness. Poverty and want follow slothfulness; as in a spiritual sense, endless woe must follow the one who sleeps on in this the day of grace, refusing to be awakened. “A little more sleep, a little more slumber,” says Judson, “and thou shalt wake in hell to sleep no more forever!”
12 A man of Belial, a wicked man,
Walketh with a froward mouth.
13 He winketh with his eyes,
He speaketh with his feet,
He teacheth with his fingers;
14 Perverseness is in his heart,
He deviseth mischief continually; he soweth (or, casteth forth) discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly;
Suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
The one who is careless as to his own affairs, is likely to interfere altogether too much with those of others. Having naught to occupy his time, he becomes an idling busybody, every part of his being devoted to folly. His mouth is froward; his eyes belie the words his lips give utterance to; feet and hands are used to call attention to what were better left unnoticed; for in his heart is frowardness and mischievous devices. He becomes thus a sower of discord, scattering evil words as one might scatter thistledown, to bring forth a harvest of sorrow that can never be fully destroyed. There were such among the Thessalonian saints, against whom the apostle warns, and bids the godly keep no company with them that they may be ashamed.
16 These six things doth Jehovah hate;
Yea, seven are an abomination of His soul:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood;
18 A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,
Feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies,
And he that soweth discord among brethren.
In no uncertain terms Jehovah’s judgment of the evil speaker is set forth. Seven things are abominable, six he hates in addition to the one already noticed. It is put in as though the worst of them all.
A proud look He ever detested. Haughty eyes belong not to the one who has been a learner at His feet who is “meek and lowly in heart.” The twelfth Song of Degrees gives the utterance of one who has thus been discipled into His school. “Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me” (Psa. 131:1). This is the state that is well-pleasing to Him who has said, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor (or, lowly) and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word” (Isa. 66:2).
A lying tongue! How opposed to Him who is Himself the Truth, and who desireth truth in the inward parts. False words bespeak a deceitful heart.
With these evidences of the activity of a corrupt nature He joins “hands that shed innocent blood.” For he is of one ilk who would with his tongue destroy the good name of another with him who would with wicked hands take his brother’s life.
“A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations” is the spring of all the rest. Out of the heart proceed all unholy words and doings. So “feet that be swift in running to mischief” are at once mentioned. They follow where the heart has already gone. The last two are often found together. “A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” Good and pleasant it is in the eyes of our God when brethren dwell together in unity. The talebearer, who, by spreading abroad evil insinuations and accusations, mars that happy unity, is abhorred of the Lord.
If we would, any of us, having all a common nature, be kept from these hateful ways, there must be an earnest cleaving to God and His Word that we may thus be sanctified by the truth.
20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment,
And forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thy heart,
And tie them about thy neck.
Subjection to parental discipline is subjection to God. If the parents are themselves godly and seek to bring up those committed to their care in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” they are laying a solid foundation upon which all the superstructure of the after-life can safely rest.
22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee;
When thou liest down, it shall keep thee;
Practical and precious will the instruction of wisdom thus become. Abroad or at home, in activity or in the place of repose, the word shall be alike sweet and shall keep from stumbling.
And when thou awakest, it shall be thy meditation.
23 For the commandment is a lamp;
And the law is light;
And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman,
From the flattery of the tongue of the strange woman.
Once more is the young man’s particular snare referred to. The purifying influence of the word of God will, above all else, be his protection from the flattering lips of the false stranger who would allure him from the path of truth and virtue to falsity and ruin. Earnestly is he warned to beware of her fascinations.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart;
Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread:
And the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
Again are we reminded that it is the heart which must be kept or guarded if the feet would be preserved from forbidden paths. Sorrow and poverty—spiritual and natural—will be the dread result if there is any tampering with uncleanness. With her fascinating glances the adulteress will endeavor to entrap. Unhappy then the one whose heart is not garrisoned by the sanctifying truth of God! To trifle here is to be overcome, as the next verses strongly urge,
27 Can a man take fire into his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one go upon hot coals,
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
How many a dreadful blot upon an otherwise upright and honored life has resulted from what at first was a thoughtless familiarity, which led on step by step to the awful overthrow of uprightness and virtue, culminating in lifelong sorrow. No other sin, unless it be the taking of human life which is often its fearful result, leaves so dreadful a stain behind, as witness David’s case.
30 Men do not despise a thief,
If he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold;
He shall give all the substance of his house.
32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding:
He that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33 A wound and dishonor shall he get;
And his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not regard any ransom;
Neither will he rest content though thou givest many gifts.
How faithful is the God who thus condescends to point out in language severely plain and clear the awful consequences of the sin that brought the flood, and yet shall bring the fire!
Other wrongs men may forgive and forget. This one is never forgotten. A thief stealing to satisfy his hunger excites no one’s abhorrence. Yet, if arrested, restitution is demanded. Jehovah’s law said he should restore it in the principal and add the fifth part. Human law, according to verse 31, demands even up to seven-fold, and may indeed involve the culprit in utter ruin, causing him to forfeit “all the substance of his house.” But at least it is possible to make amends, though it take all one has. But there is a sin for which amends can never be made, either to the wronged husband, or the partner of the folly. Repentance toward God will not efface the reproach. The marks of the wound and the dishonor will remain to haunt one through the years. The rage of the rightly jealous man who has been so terribly incensed will not be appeased by gifts however great, or protestations however earnest and sincere.
He who, with warnings such as these before him, deliberately goes on trifling with sin is without excuse. The only safe course is to gird up the loins of the mind; to bring every sinful, wandering thought into subjection; that thus the truth of God may control the heart and reins. Only thus shall one be enabled to “flee also youthful lusts,” which are elsewhere described as “fleshly lusts that war against the soul.” In this way Joseph stood in circumstances far more tempting than those in which David fell. “Shall I do this great evil, and sin against God?” This was what preserved him. This alone will preserve any similarly tempted one.