Proverbs 6:1-5 says,...
Today's verses are Proverbs 6:1-5, which read,
v.1-3 - My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, have given a pledge for a stranger, if you have been snared with the words of your mouth, have been caught with the words of your mouth, do this then, my son, and deliver yourself; since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.
Solomon is continuing to give some practical wisdom to his sons and this deals with finances. It seems that the practice being talked about here is the giving of money to another in a loan type of situation or co-signing for a loan but the loanee is not qualified to pay it back because of their present situation and work ethic or it is someone who you don't know enough about to know if they can pay it back. You have wrapped up the resources given by God to be used for Him in a situation that could end up being completely lost. It would have been better to just give to the need if it was truly a need rather than make an arrangement for some return or a continue tie through their financial irresponsibility.
Surety and pledge are financial words. You have co-signed for a loan that is not your own with someone who is defaulting. What do you do? Now you are tied up with the institution, person, or business that they associated with and they are coming for what is owed them.
First is to humble yourself that you have done something that you should not have done. You admit that it was the wrong thing to do and it was truly not a help in the situation. You might have been looking for some type of return for personal gain or maybe you realize that giving financial resources to the need or your name was not what was really needed. You have to face up to what you have done wrong and not follow it up with a "but."
Second is to importune your neighbor. The Hebrew word for importune is "rahab" and it almost looks like where we would get our word for rehab. In rehab, the physical therapists work with you to do things that you do not want to do because you know it is going to hurt but it needs to be done so that you will heal properly. Sometimes you really don't like the rehab person because they push you to do what is right. That is exactly what the word importune means here. After you have humbled yourself that you have done wrong then you need to push that neighbor or stranger who you gave resources to or co-signed a loan for that is defaulting to do the right thing. You rehab them to be a person who pays their debts no matter how painful it might be.
v.4, 5 - Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids; deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
This unholy arrangement that you are in needs your attention that will rob you of peaceful sleep. It will take work to release you of this debt that is not yours but you made it yours by going into a formal agreement with those who need a different type of help. You know that now. You are the gazelle that has been captured and you are the bird that is in the hunter's bag and you need to get out of this to be free. It will be a struggle.
You can not do wrong like the one you loaned to but you need to put for the effort to make things right that you have tied yourself to. You are now working to make things right so that you can use what God gave you in a different way than it being tied up in interest and payments to someone or something. Someone has to pay the bill and it really should be the other person but you have signed your name to it also or you have tied up money where you shouldn't have and you are stuck with it. These situations are not just about you and your neighbor but also whoever they are connected with and they want things to be righted. Take responsibility for what you shouldn't have gotten yourself into.
v.1-3 - My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, have given a pledge for a stranger, if you have been snared with the words of your mouth, have been caught with the words of your mouth, do this then, my son, and deliver yourself; since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.
Solomon is continuing to give some practical wisdom to his sons and this deals with finances. It seems that the practice being talked about here is the giving of money to another in a loan type of situation or co-signing for a loan but the loanee is not qualified to pay it back because of their present situation and work ethic or it is someone who you don't know enough about to know if they can pay it back. You have wrapped up the resources given by God to be used for Him in a situation that could end up being completely lost. It would have been better to just give to the need if it was truly a need rather than make an arrangement for some return or a continue tie through their financial irresponsibility.
Surety and pledge are financial words. You have co-signed for a loan that is not your own with someone who is defaulting. What do you do? Now you are tied up with the institution, person, or business that they associated with and they are coming for what is owed them.
First is to humble yourself that you have done something that you should not have done. You admit that it was the wrong thing to do and it was truly not a help in the situation. You might have been looking for some type of return for personal gain or maybe you realize that giving financial resources to the need or your name was not what was really needed. You have to face up to what you have done wrong and not follow it up with a "but."
Second is to importune your neighbor. The Hebrew word for importune is "rahab" and it almost looks like where we would get our word for rehab. In rehab, the physical therapists work with you to do things that you do not want to do because you know it is going to hurt but it needs to be done so that you will heal properly. Sometimes you really don't like the rehab person because they push you to do what is right. That is exactly what the word importune means here. After you have humbled yourself that you have done wrong then you need to push that neighbor or stranger who you gave resources to or co-signed a loan for that is defaulting to do the right thing. You rehab them to be a person who pays their debts no matter how painful it might be.
v.4, 5 - Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids; deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
This unholy arrangement that you are in needs your attention that will rob you of peaceful sleep. It will take work to release you of this debt that is not yours but you made it yours by going into a formal agreement with those who need a different type of help. You know that now. You are the gazelle that has been captured and you are the bird that is in the hunter's bag and you need to get out of this to be free. It will be a struggle.
You can not do wrong like the one you loaned to but you need to put for the effort to make things right that you have tied yourself to. You are now working to make things right so that you can use what God gave you in a different way than it being tied up in interest and payments to someone or something. Someone has to pay the bill and it really should be the other person but you have signed your name to it also or you have tied up money where you shouldn't have and you are stuck with it. These situations are not just about you and your neighbor but also whoever they are connected with and they want things to be righted. Take responsibility for what you shouldn't have gotten yourself into.
This passage is taking a good hard look at what we do with the financial resources that God gives us. Be very careful with it to give honor to God. We are to give and we are to be generous but survey the landscape of where it is going and how you are giving so that you don't find yourself holding the bag of some irresponsible person or organization. You will be using the resources that God gave you for His glory and finding it tied up in places that you will regret as you think about what it could have done. You can lean heavily on the one who has done wrong financially with your name tied to it but you can not follow what they have done. You have to own up to responsibility and not ditch it like they are doing. Let's pray.
"Lord, what a very practical proverb today. Thank You for the resources that You have given us to use and also invest in the lives of others. Help us to use them in a way that honors You and may our motivation for anything we do financially be to glorify Your name. You are a great God and we want to follow Your instruction and wisdom rather than get caught in the snares and traps of the devil. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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