Mediationen am Gnadenstuhl: What Leads Away From Wisdom, Proverbs 6:1-5

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Proverbs 6:1–5

[1] My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

have given your pledge for a stranger,

[2] if you are snared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth,

[3] then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.

[4] Give your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber;

[5] save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Proverbs 6: Four Character Flaws Which Lead One Away From Wisdom

Proverbs 6:1-5: Wisdom Allows You to

Avoid Entanglements with Your Neighbor

Proverbs chapter six comprises four sections containing wisdom from a father to a son concerning character flaws that will lead one away from the path of wisdom. In this first of the four sections, the father teaches how to avoid entanglements with your neighbor.

The first two verses very poetically advise the son not to be the guarantor of the debt of others or enter into sole responsibility of the liability of a business venture with a partner. It does not matter if the deal is with someone he knows (a neighbor) or a stranger (someone he does not know well, possibly meaning an unbeliever or non-Israelite cf. 1 Corinthians 6:4–6; 2 Corinthians 6:14–15).

This is counsel from a father to a son regarding the wise virtue of prudence. Prudence means the care and good sense someone shows when making a decision or taking action. Some business deals may promise a "sky's the limit" return on investment but instead may be a greater burden than foreseen, incurring great loss rather than gain. This is not to say we shouldn't invest in the stock market or enter into business deals! It is a caution to be prudent. We're talking about what sounds almost cliche: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and don't invest more than you can afford to lose.

The wise son avoids temptations that would entrap him by an appeal to his desire to become rich. Get rich quick scammers are as old as money, and they are still at work trying to fleece the elderly and the young alike with pyramid schemes and things of that nature. The trap Solomon is pointing out is becoming weighed down with huge debts, to be sure, but also that obsession with financial concerns may lead him away from God, who is the source of wisdom. He may find himself worshiping the money game and lose his faith and salvation in the process (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

The wise son avoids such situations and is instead content with God's blessings. The preacher to the Hebrews acknowledged this wisdom when he wrote, "Let your way of life be free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself [God] has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

However, if the son finds himself ensnared in the folly of a financial scheme, he is to use all available resources to extricate himself from it, like a trapped animal seeks to escape. The father advises his son not to resign himself to the situation he has made for himself but to seek to move the debtor to pay off his debts, freeing the son in the process. Then the son is fulfilling the mandate of Romans 13:8: "Owe nothing to anyone, except to love each other, for he who loves another person has fulfilled the Law.”