Proverbs 6:7 (NKJV) — 7 Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler,

No employer, no supervisor, no training. The ant has no guide, no one to train her to do her job. She  has no overseer, no supervisor to tell her what to do and to make sure she has done what she should. She has no ruler, no employer to whom she must ultimately answer. How much would the average person accomplish if he had none of these? People have abundant opportunity to make wise use of the counsel of those in authority, but they often ignore it. They think they would like to be free of restraint, but if they were free, they would often resort to anarchy.

Proverbs 6:6 (NKJV) — 6 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,

The example of the ant. Lazy people can learn from the example of the ant. The ant is mentioned only twice in the Old Testament, here and  in Proverbs 30:25. The Scripture uses many illustrations from the animal kingdom, for we can learn valuable lessons from God’s creation. The ants, for example, operate purely by God-given instinct. Humans also have instruction from God, but they often subordinate it by laziness and carelessness. The lesson for the sluggard is that the ant provides for her needs by industrious work and wise storing in reserve, and she does not have to borrow unwisely or depend upon the work of others.

Proverbs 30:25 (NKJV) — 25 The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

[archive]

Proverbs 6:1–5 (NKJV) — 1 My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, 2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. 3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; For you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; Plead with your friend. 4 Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids. 5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

The dangers of co-signing. Several passages in Proverbs warn against surety. The definition of surety is, in law, “one that is bound with and for another; one who enters into a bond or recognizance to answer for another’s appearance in court, or for his payment of a debt or for the performance of some act, and who, in case of the principal debtor’s failure, is compellable to pay the debt or damages; a bondsman; a bail” (Webster).

The Hebrew word translated “surety” is arab, which means “to braid, i.e. inter-mix; also to give or be security.” The person who is a surety involves himself with the life of another in the same way that strands of a rope are braided together. These and other verses in Proverbs warn against being a guarantor or security for someone else’s debts.

The most common way of being a guarantor today is co-signing. This practice is dangerous because a lender that requires a co-signer is indicating that the borrower is possibly not in a sound enough financial position to pay the debt. In other words, he is possibly borrowing beyond his means. The lender is saying, “We are not confident that he is qualified to pay the debt.” The one who co-signs is in the final sense himself the lender.

Thus, according to Proverbs, co-signing for an unlimited amount, for an amount beyond one’s means, or for an uncertain future amount is wrong. (See Proverbs 22:26-27.) It appears that co-signing for a limited amount is appropriate only if one is genuinely willing and able to loan this amount of money and, if necessary, to pay it and consider it as a gift, with no regrets.

In short, co-signing can be a dangerous snare. Being a guarantor is so dangerous that Solomon recommended a formula for extricating oneself. The first step to take is to humble oneself, which implies an admission of folly or wrongdoing, and plead with the friend for release. The second step is to refuse sleep until the matter is resolved. Tomorrow could bring disaster; it should be taken care of today. The third step is to escape as an animal would from a hunter by cancelling the agreement if possible or by otherwise limiting liability. If the person for whom one co-signs defaults on the loan, the co-signer will be the hunted.

[archive]

Proverbs 5:23 (NKJV) — 23 He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

The final result of sin. The sin described here started by listening to the smooth and sweet words of a strange woman, but it ends with death. Without instruction, people die. The ultimate consequence of spiritual folly is destruction.

[archive]

Proverbs 5:22 (NKJV) — 22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

The sinner brings about his own death. People die spiritually for their own sins, not the sins of others. It is impossible for someone to escape the results of his sin, unless he confesses and forsakes  it.

Proverbs 28:13 (NKJV) — 13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

[archive]

Proverbs 5:21 (NKJV) — 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths.

The Lord observes all we do. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). God’s knowledge is complete; He is omniscient. (See Psalm 139:1-12). Everyone will stand before Him to answer for the deeds done in the body.

Romans 2:6 (NKJV) — 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:

Revelation 20:12 (NKJV) — 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

[archive]

As Susan and I were doing our Bible reading this morning, I noticed an interesting allusion to the deity of Jesus in the account of Paul, Silas, and the Philippian jailer.

When the jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved,” they responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31, NKJV).

After having washed their stripes and having been baptized along with his family, the jailer brought Paul and Silas into his house and set food before them. Then, “he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household” (Acts 16:34, NKJV).

To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to believe in God.

Lest anyone worry about the translation “on” in Acts 16:31 and “in” in Acts 16:34, it should be noted that many English translations render the phrase in Acts 16:31 as “in the Lord Jesus.”

The second reference to the deity of Jesus in Acts 16 is found in verses 6-7: “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them” (NKJV).

We readily recognize the deity of the Holy Spirit, but we may miss the reference to the deity of Jesus here if we are not aware of the textual variant in verse 7.

Whereas the KJV and NKJV, following later Greek texts, read “the Spirit” in verse 7, referring obviously to the Holy Spirit of verse 6, the earlier Greek texts read “the Spirit of Jesus” in verse 7, still referring to the “Holy Spirit” of the previous verse.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus.

[archive]

Proverbs 5:20 (NKJV) — 20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

What purpose is served by moral impurity? When a satisfying relationship is possible in a fully legitimate way, why would someone turn from his lawful companion to develop a furtive, fruitless, and frustrating relationship with another?

[archive]

As Susan and I sat on our back porch a few minutes ago, God put a rainbow in the sky. What a pleasant reminder of His faithfulness! I wonder what kind of response Noah had when he saw the first rainbow, a sign of God’s covenant.

Look carefully in the upper right corner of the picture to see the beginnings of a second bow!

[archive]

Proverbs 5:19 (NKJV) — 19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love.

God  created man and woman to enjoy a full relationship spiritually, socially, and physically. There is nothing wrong with the marital relationship and its physical dimension.

1 Corinthians 7:3–5 (ESV) — 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Hebrews 13:4 (NKJV) — 4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

[archive]