PROVERBS LESSON 7

    We will begin this lesson in Proverbs 6:1 "My son, if thou be
surety for thy friend, [if] thou hast stricken thy hand with a
stranger," Proverbs 6:2 "Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,
thou art taken with the words of thy mouth."

     This is very good advice about to be given in verses 3 through 5;
 get off the note. This is just saying you are responsible for the
 note this other person has made. Young people, many times, do not
 realize that they could have to pay the whole debt for something they
 did not receive by just signing an innocent looking piece of paper.
 When this chapter of Proverbs was written, a hand shake was just as
 binding as notarized notes are today. Our society has gone debt
 crazy. We buy things on time that we should not have bought at all,
 because we do not have the money to pay for it. The #1 cause of
 divorce in America is debt.

    Proverbs 6:3 "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." Proverbs 6:4 "Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor
slumber to thine eyelids."  Proverbs 6:5 "Deliver thyself as a roe
from the hand [of the hunter], and as a bird from the hand of the
fowler."

     This is just saying, don't even wait until tomorrow, go today and
 beg your friend to let you off of this note. Just as a deer escapes
 from the hunter or a bird from a net, you will be free and not
 responsible for someone else's note.

    We are seeing in these parables just good rules for living
successful business lives.  These parables are to help us prosper in
all that we do.

    Proverbs 6:6  "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways,
and be wise:" Proverbs 6:7 "Which having no guide, overseer, or
ruler," Proverbs 6:8 "Provideth her meat in the summer, [and]
gathereth her food in the harvest."

    God does not like for us to be lazy (sluggard). The ant throughout
history has shown great industry. It is wise to follow someone or
something that teaches us good habits. The ant works without another
ant over him and, yet, gets his work done and done well. The ant
prepares ahead and is never short of food. We can learn a lesson from
the ant. We should not have to be driven to work, but should do our
work, because it needs to be done. We should work hard and prepare
ahead for the winter.

    Proverbs 6:9 "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou
arise out of thy sleep?" Proverbs 6:10 "[Yet] a little sleep, a little
slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:" Proverbs 6:11 "So
shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an
armed man."

    This lazy person (sluggard) loves to sleep late rather than to
work. This lazy person uses every kind of excuse to avoid work. He
says," I have to sleep a little, I do not have time to work right
now".  Poverty will come upon a person who does not want to work.
Money is earned by the sweat of the brow and with busy hands. People
who do not like to work, receive no money. This is just a warning
against being lazy and a sleepy head.


    Proverbs 6:12  "A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a
froward mouth." Proverbs 6:13 "He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh
with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;" Proverbs 6:14
"Frowardness [is] in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he
soweth discord." Proverbs 6:15 "Therefore shall his calamity come
suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy."

    This naughty, wicked man is an example of what none of us want to
be. This man would not be a truthful person, but would be someone who
lies to get his way or for evil gain. We see from this description and
other descriptions of winking with the eye that it is used to trick
people. This speaking with his feet shows that he is running to
mischief. This talking with his fingers indicate evil gestures of the
fingers. We have talked before about the mouth speaking from the issue
of the heart. As the man thinketh in his heart, the mouth speaketh.
Evil men, with evil hearts, speak evil words. This evil person is
continually thinking up ways to do wickedness. This man is not a peace
maker.  He is continually causing fussing and fighting because he
spreads strife. God will not always overlook this evil. There is a day
of reckoning. When God decides that reckoning day is here, it comes
suddenly as a thief in the night. When God says it is enough, there
will be nowhere for him to turn to.

    Proverbs 6:16  "These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven
[are] an abomination unto him:"

    We see here that there are some sins that God will just not
tolerate. They are so terrible in His sight that He calls them an
abomination. These 7 (spiritually complete) abominations to God just
means that they cover all the abominations.  Seven speaks of
completeness and the number six has to do with man or mankind.
Possibly, these seven sins that God hates probably fully describes the
evil man above who may be guilty of one or all of these sins.

    Proverbs 6:17 "A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed
innocent blood,"

    Haughtiness (a proud look) or you might say conceit is
unacceptable unto God. Whatever we are, we have no reason for bragging
about it, because God made us what we are; we had nothing to do with
it. Even a king is a king because God planned it. You see, that leaves
us no room to brag.  The tongue is the most evil part of the body and
to add lying to it really is terrible in God's sight. Jesus is the
truth.  Everything of God is based on truth, so you can see how awful
it is to lie.  The hands should be used as tools of mercy, not as
instruments of death to the innocent. You can easily see why these
three top the list of sins that God hates.

    Proverbs 6:18 "An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet
that be swift in running to mischief,"

    The heart is either desperately wicked or pure. God will judge our
hearts, not our deeds. These wicked imaginations here are speaking of
people who imagine evil things which cause trouble for other people.
In the Scripture of the evil man, we learned that an evil person is
eager to get into all kinds of mischief.

    Proverbs 6:19 "A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that
soweth discord among brethren."

    In court, a false witness is said to purger himself. If the court
finds that person has given a false witness, the court will prosecute
him and he might even spend some time in jail. You see, giving a false
testimony is a very serious crime. It can cause great pain and
suffering to the individual the false witness is against. In the
Sermon on the Mount, we see blessed is the peacemaker. One who sows
discord is the opposite of a peacemaker.  He is a troublemaker.

    Proverbs 6:20  "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake
not the law of thy mother:"

    All of the things (the 7 abominations) are in direct contrast to
keeping the commandments of father and mother.  Our parents teach us
the correct way to live. We should never grow too old to live up to
the teachings of our parents.

    Proverbs 6:21 "Bind them continually upon thine heart, [and] tie
them about thy neck." Proverbs 6:22 "When thou goest, it shall lead
thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and [when] thou awakest,
it shall talk with thee." Proverbs 6:23 "For the commandment [is] a
lamp; and the law [is] light; and reproofs of instruction [are] the
way of life:"

    In verse 21, here, we see that God is telling us to never lose
sight of His laws (commandments).  We read that God, Himself, will
write His laws upon the fleshly parts of our heart. God's laws should
be in our heart, not on a piece of paper.  This hanging it on the neck
just means to me that we are to ever keep His laws before our face.
His laws shall lead us into paths of righteousness. When we are
asleep, even our subconscious mind is stayed upon Him. The law is
light. Those who live for the Lord walk in the light as He is in the
Light. Godly people love instructions in righteousness.

    Proverbs 6:24 "To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery
of the tongue of a strange woman." Proverbs 6:25 "Lust not after her
beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids."
Proverbs 6:26 "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."

    In Matthew 5:28 "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a
woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart." Fluttering eyelids have been used by sinful women for
centuries to draw men to them. Prostitution is as old as the Bible,
itself. It has been condemned from Genesis to Revelation. The whole
book of Hosea is about a whorish woman. The woman in the instance in
Hosea is speaking of Israel being unfaithful to God. Adultery (either
spiritual or physical) has always been condemned of God. These few
verses here are warning against falling into this type of sin.

    Proverbs 6:27 "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes
not be burned?" Proverbs 6:28 "Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet
not be burned?" Proverbs 6:29 "So he that goeth in to his neighbour's
wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent."

     We already touched on the dangers of living in sex sin in a
 previous lesson, but we see here that a man who touches his
 neighbor's wife is in serious trouble with God. We spoke on the body
 being the temple of the Holy Ghost.

    Proverbs 6:30 "[Men] do not despise a thief, if he steal to
satisfy his soul when he is hungry;" Proverbs 6:31 "But [if] he be
found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of
his house."

    In these verses, it is not saying that it is not a sin to steal.
It is saying a person has sympathy for someone who is so hungry that
he steals to feed himself. If he is caught, the person he stole from
will be happy to not prosecute him, if he will pay back what he stole
7 times. The stealing here is not nearly as serious as the sin of
adultery that we read of in the next few verses.

    Proverbs 6:32 "[But] whoso committeth adultery with a woman
lacketh understanding: he [that] doeth it destroyeth his own soul."
Proverbs 6:33 "A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach
shall not be wiped away." Proverbs 6:34 "For jealousy [is] the rage of
a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance." Proverbs
6:35 "He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content,
though thou givest many gifts."

    Adultery is a cruel crime. Love for each other is the most
precious gift a man and woman have on this earth except for the gifts
of God. There is something very special about a man and his wife being
one. To invade on this privacy of a man and his wife is without
excuse. There is no money or gift that can repay this type of sinful
act. The marriage of a man and his wife is likened unto the marriage
of the Lord and His church. Just as anyone coming between the Lord and
His church will not be permitted, neither is anyone to come between a
man and his wife. It is unforgivable.





                         Proverbs 7 Questions


1.  Being surety for a friend means you have gone on his ---------.
2.  A handshake in these Bible times was like what in our day?
3.  Our society has gone -------- -------.
4.  The #1 cause of divorce in America today is what?
5.  What should you do if you have co-signed a note?
6.  When should you do it?
7.  What was getting off a note compared to?  Two things.
8.  These Proverbs in chapter 6 are for what purpose?
9.  What is a sluggard?
10. What is the sluggard told to study and imitate?
11. Who is the ant's boss?
12. In verse 9, what question is asked the sluggard?
13. Sleep and folding of the hands brings to what?
14. How does money come to a person?
15. Who walks with a froward mouth?
16. Describe 3 other things he does.
17. What shall happen to him?
18. How will it come upon this evil one?
19. How many things does God especially hate?
20. Why does God call them abominations ?
21. Name the first 3 evils that are abominations.
22. What is something else a proud look could be called?
23. Why do we have absolutely no room to brag?
24. What is the most evil part of the body ?
25. Everything of God is based on --------.
26. What should the hands be used for?
27. How is an evil man's heart described?
28. What is false testifying in court called?
29. What is the penalty for false teaching?
30. Who is the opposite of a peacemaker?
31. What does it mean to bind the commandments on our heart?
32. The law is ----------.
33. Who love instructions in righteousness?
34. In verse 25, we are told not to lust after a beautiful woman and
    not to let her take thee with what?
35. A man who seeks whorish women will be brought to -------.
36. What kind of a thief do men not despise?
37. If the thief is caught, how much shall he pay?
38. Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh ---------.
39. What is the rage of a man?
40. Marriage of a man and woman is symbolic of what?