Warnings Against Folly
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
2 if you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go and humble yourself;
press your plea with your neighbor!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.
12 A scoundrel and villain,
who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks with his eye,
signals with his feet
and motions with his fingers,
14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart—
he always stirs up dissension.
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;
he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
Warning Against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s commands
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them upon your heart forever;
fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For these commands are a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and the corrections of discipline
are the way to life,
24 keeping you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes,
26 for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread,
and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.
30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment;
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
and his shame will never be wiped away;
34 for jealousy arouses a husband’s fury,
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
he will refuse the bribe, however great it is.
My Understanding: This person has done something dishonest, and now he feels trapped, and he does not know the way out. He has been trapped by his own words, and he needs to free himself by coming clean. God requires that he humble himself and to press his plea, i.e. to beg forgiveness from the one he offended or whom he sinned against. Instead of running away from the problem by going into a state of depression and sleeping all the time, he is to allow no sleep to his eyes until this is resolved, and until he is at peace with his neighbor. Then, he will be free. Yet, he continues to just sleep, instead of resolving the issue with his neighbor.
This person is a villain and a scoundrel, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers. He is a deceiver, a manipulator and a liar of the worse kind. He plots evil with deceit in his heart against others, and he stirs up dissension, i.e. he willfully misleads people in the wrong direction, one against another in order to pit some people against other people. Therefore, disaster has been declared for him, and it will overtake him in an instant – very suddenly he will be destroyed, and without remedy. Jude said: “The blackest darkness has been reserved for this man.” He is like a wild wave of the sea, foaming up his shame – a shepherd who feeds only himself and who changes the grace of God into a license for immorality. As well, he denies Jesus Christ who bought him with his blood and who purchased him so that he could go free. Yet, he chooses to remain in bondage to his sin.
In further describing this sluggard, this scoundrel, this divider of people, the poet here describes that there are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty (proud; arrogant) eyes (eyes are the window into a person’s soul), a lying tongue (continuous lies, one piled on another), hands that shed innocent blood (this person takes advantage of the innocent), a heart that devises wicked schemes (this person plots evil in his heart against another), feet that are quick to rush into evil (all too ready to rush into Balaam’s error or to betray a friend for his own gain), a false witness who pours out lies (this person lies against another for his own advantage), and a man who stirs up dissension (conflict) among brothers via his lies and his deceit, again, for his own advantage.
Coupled with this is a warning against adultery. We, as believers in Christ, should bind God’s truths and commands upon our hearts forever. They should guide us when we walk throughout the day and they should watch over us as we sleep. When we awake in the morning, they should immediately speak to us. God’s word is like a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths showing us the way that we should go. We should love the Lord our God and we should love his word so much that his word is engrained within us and it becomes a part of our daily lives and practice.
God’s word keeps us from sin. It keeps us from idolatry and immorality. God’s word helps us to forsake our sins and to walk in obedience to God in daily fellowship with him. And, our Lord helps us to not yield to all temptation, but in particular this is dealing with the subject of temptation to lust after the beauty of another, and then to giving in to that temptation by the actual act of adultery. The Bible says that a man who lusts after a woman has already committed adultery in his heart against his wife. This goes, too, for a wandering wife who lusts after another man and who ends up in bed with a man not her husband. And, there are many ways in which this can take place today, not just in the act of actual physical adultery, but through many artificial means of satisfying one’s own sexual desires outside the marriage bed. The picture is pretty clear. If we scoop into our laps a tub of hot coals, we are going to get burned. We will not go unpunished. A person who commits adultery is one who lacks judgment. He destroys himself. His shame will never be wiped away unless he repents and turns from his wickedness.
Your Life / An Original Work / October 22, 2011
Based off of Colossians 3:1-17
Set your hearts and minds
On things up above
Where Christ sits with God;
Not on earthly things.
For you died and your life
Is now hidd’n with Christ.
When Christ, who is your life, is seen,
You will be with Him.
Your sins, put to death.
Don’t walk in these ways.
Don’t lie to yourselves
Or to others, too.
Since you have taken off
Your old sinful past;
Put on the new self in Jesus,
Get rid of such things.
Therefore, holy ones,
Put on gentleness;
Kindness; patience, too;
Be compassionate.
Bear with one another;
Forgive others, too.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
O’er all, put on love.
Let the peace of Christ
Rule in your hearts now.
You were called to peace.
Be ye so thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell
In you richly now
As you teach and instruct others;
Sing songs unto Christ.
Spoken: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17 NIV 1984).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3rBIcdt7uI
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