Wisdom Delivers
Lessons from the Book of Proverbs • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 31 viewsNotes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Text - Prov 6.1-5; Prov 2.10-12
10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,
Review
Review
There is the way of wickedness, and there is the way of wisdom
the way of the wicked is darkness
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.
Wisdom delivers us from the way of evil by showing us the way of righteousness
Wickedness comes to us in various forms and shapes
the immoral woman (adultery)
Prov 6 the wise man shows 2 foolish ways from which we must deliever ourselves.
becoming surety for a friend
laziness
Deliverance from becoming surety
Deliverance from becoming surety
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.
What is surety?
What is surety?
it means collateral, guarranty
SURETY. A surety is a person who undertakes responsibility for a debt, or the fulfilment of an engagement by another.
SURETY Person who is legally responsible for the debt of another or the money or thing of value put down to guarantee the debt. Should there be a default, the surety would have to pay the debt or even be enslaved until the debt was paid.
to be surety means to promise to pay the debt of another person, should he/she fail to do it
in O.T. it could mean -
imprisonment or bondage
death
It is a big respomnsiblity
It is a big respomnsiblity
Judah became surety for the life of his brothers
8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.
9 I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.
32 For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.’
33 Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.
34 For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?”
becoming surety is done only -
in the most critical situations
for people you really know and care about
It is risky
It is risky
You will suffer
15 He who is surety for a stranger will suffer, But one who hates being surety is secure.
It is good as “lost”
16 Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger, And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
it is common practice to take a garment as guarantee for a loan - Exodus 22.26-27; Deut 24.10-11
It is foolishness
It is foolishness
2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth.
18 A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, And becomes surety for his friend.
26 Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;
27 If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you?
So what?
Loans are a common reason why neighbors fight
Don’t use “friendship” as a means to secure help
Don’t be afraid to deny a request for guaranty
If you have to do it -
only if the need is real and life-threatening
be ready to suffer
Become surety to your neighbor only if -
you are able to pay his debt
you give it willingly
Deliverance from Indolence
Deliverance from Indolence
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,
7 Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler,
8 Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.
9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
What is a sluggard
What is a sluggard
a lazy person, one who does want to work or exert himself in order to gain something
laziness is based on bad principles
expecting others to work and earn for him
lack of concern for the future
love of pleasure
Ex - 2 Thess 3.10-12
10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.
12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
Marks of a sluggard
Marks of a sluggard
13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges, So does the lazy man on his bed.
15 The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can answer sensibly.
24 A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
The rewards of laziness
The rewards of laziness
Poverty
9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
4 The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
Unfilled desires
4 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
25 The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor.
Chaotic life
30 I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest;
34 So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
18 Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.
Forced labor
24 The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
Be Diligent!
Be Diligent!
Diligence is the opposite of laziness
24 The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
27 The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.
4 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Be diligent
11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
as a servant of God - 2 Tim 2.15 “15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
to enter into Christ’s rest - Heb 4.11 “11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
to be found in peace - 2 Pet 3.14 “14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;”
add to your faith - 2 Pet 1.5 “5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,”
Conclusion
Conclusion
God’s deliverance comes in many ways
wisdom is one of God’s ways of delivering us from trouble, from the snares of the devil.
SONG -
