February 6, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 6
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Following Scripture Verses

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 words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words 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.
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.
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 travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12. A naughty person, 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. Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16. These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17. A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18. An 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.
20. My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21. Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
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 a strange woman.
25. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
27. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28. Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29. So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
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 dishonour 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.

Today's Pathway:
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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. - Proverbs 6:3

Proverbs 6 opens with a warning against becoming surety for a neighbor. Today we might refer to this person as a co-signer: one who pledges to pay someone else's debt if he fails to do so. The section we want to notice today deals with how a person should respond once he realizes that his becoming surety has been a mistake.

In verse 3 Solomon tells his son to deliver himself. In other words, when you realize that you have made a foolish alliance with someone, don't simply sit there and feel sorry for yourself; get yourself out of the deal. You have been delivered into your friend's power, and this is not where you want to be. According to verse 5 you want to extricate yourself with the same vigor that a deer uses to escape the hunter or a bird uses to escape a fowler. This mistake may not cost you your physical life, but it may ruin your testimony, cost you financially, and limit your ability to serve the Lord.

The end of verse 3 gives our proper attitude and goal. When we go to the individual we must go with an attitude of humility. There can be no arrogance, for it is our own fault that we became surety for him. Thus, we go humbly, admitting our sin and asking for him to release us from our bond. However, our humility does not change what we need to accomplish. Instead of being a "surety" for our friend, we need to "make sure" our friend. This literally means to "urge severely". We may go with a humble spirit, but we are begging, pleading, and whatever else we need to do to get him to release us.

Don't make poor financial decisions. If you already have, humble yourself, go to the person in question, and do everything you can to remove yourself from your foolish commitment.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery