Introduction
Have ever promised to do something for someone but never got around to doing it?
Have you ever promised something to someone and regretted promising it?
Warnings Against Foolishness
‘My son, if you have put up security for your neighbour, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth. So, do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbour’s hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion—and give your neighbour no rest! Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.’ Proverbs 6:1-5
What’s the writer saying here? He’s saying we need to keep a balance between helping people and looking after our own families.
He gives a warning not to put up security for a neighbour, in other words, do not make yourself liable for someone else’s debt but if you do, then get out of it as quickly as possible. even if its humility and pleading, just get out of it, Proverbs 11:15 / Proverbs 17:18.
The reason for this is simply because at the time, it may seem like kindness to take out a loan for a friend but there are reasons it may not be. You might be helping them to buy something which it is not God’s will for them to have in the first place.
You might be encouraging them to spend carelessly or get involve in gambling etc. If the person you loan to misses any payments, you end up having to pay which would end your friendship with them.
What’s the point of giving someone £100 to help them, if you are going to leave yourself without any money for food? It’s not so much the amount we give but the way we give that counts, Matthew 5:42 / 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 / 1 Timothy 6:10 / 2 Corinthians 9:7.
‘Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.’ Proverbs 6:6-11
What do we know about the ant? If anything, they are always busy and very well organised as a group. They are diligent without the need of an overseer, they provide in the summer and gather in the harvest, Proverbs 30:25. The emphasis is on being diligent in our work.
Laziness just brings poverty, Proverbs 10:4 / Proverbs 13:4 / Proverbs 20:4. When someone is lazy, the ultimately only steal from themselves, Ecclesiastes 9:10 / Romans 12:15.
Before I became a Christian, when I was younger my dad used to shout at me every single morning to get me out of bed and on Sunday mornings I was woken up by the wonderful sound of country and western music.
When we go to bed at night on a Sunday evening and we have a good night’s sleep, but the alarm clock goes off, what do we feel like? Most of the time most of us don’t really want to get out of our beds, most of us want to sleep longer.
Have you ever taken a day off work even though there is nothing wrong with you? What the writer is saying here is that when we get a lazy attitude toward work, then the time will come when we won’t work, and we’ll end up being poor.
God isn’t saying we can’t rest and chill, He’s not saying that we need to work seven days a week. He’s saying work when you are supposed to work and in between that time rest.
What about the preacher who works full time for God, why should he continue to work? Simply because of the reward, 1 Corinthians 15:58. Even though you are working in a place and your work may be different from the preacher, you’re still working for the Lord, Colossians 3:23-24.
‘A troublemaker and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks maliciously with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers, who plots evil with deceit in his heart—he always stirs up conflict. Therefore, disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed— without remedy.’ Proverbs 6:12-15
What kind of person is the writer describing here? He’s describing a troublemaker. They don’t work, they are lazy and all they do is go about making trouble.
They walk with a corrupt mouth, wink with their eyes, shuffle their feet and point with their fingers, all indicators of deceit. Thier heart is continually plotting evil. This is the opposite of the righteous person, Proverbs 4:20-27.
The apostle Paul warns the young widows about becoming lazy busybodies, 1 Timothy 5:13. In other words, they cause trouble.
Seven Things That God Hates
We have only to look at the daily newspaper and we read it is filled with these sins. They go on all around us every day. Read of the cruel things that happened to people in the past which sound unbelievable, but things are no better today. All seven of these sins overlap, there are elements of them all in each of them.
‘There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.’ Proverbs 6:16-19
HAUGHTY EYES
Why does God hate those with ‘haughty eyes’? Haughty eyes are referring to those who are proud and arrogant, Matthew 23:12 / James 4:6.
It means showing great pride in oneself and disdain, contempt, or scorn for others. Proud, arrogant, Mr. Know it all. Mr. Expert. Someone who is quick to criticize some statement someone else makes.
When Nebuchadnezzar looked out upon his kingdom, he became full of pride and his own achievements, Daniel 4:28-37. Nebuchadnezzar demonstrated great pride when he had the desire to be like God, Isaiah 14:13-14.
When a Pharisee compared himself to the tax collector in Jesus’ parable, he was full of self-righteousness, Luke 18:9-14. Even Jesus’ disciples became full of pride when they wrestled for positions of prominence, Mark 10:35-45.
The Book of Proverbs is filled with warnings about haughty eyes, Proverbs 16:8 / Proverbs 18:12 / Proverbs 21:4. Israel’s sin made Sodom look righteous, Ezekiel 16:49-50.
LYING TONGUE
Why does God hate a liar? Simply because they are hypocrites, Proverbs 6:17 / 1 John 1:10 / James 3:7-10.
People who lie usually do so to gain some advantage other another, or to cover their tracks.
The devil lied to Eve when he told her she wouldn’t die, Genesis 3:4. Cain lied to God when he said that he didn’t know where his brother Abel was after murdering him, Genesis 4:9. Joseph’s brother lied to their father by telling him that Joseph had been eaten by a wild animal, Genesis 37:31-21.
Peter lied about knowing Jesus three times, Matthew 26:69-75. Ananias and Sapphira lied to God about the amount of money they received from selling their land, Acts 5:1-11. There will be no liars in heaven, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 / Revelation 21:8.
HANDS THAT SHED INNOCENT BLOOD
Why does God hate the shedding of innocent blood? We are all made in the image of God, Genesis 1:27.
God is the one who gives us life, Deuteronomy 32:39, and God is the one who numbers our days, Psalm 139:16. In the Old Testament God commanded His people not to murder, Exodus 20:13. Committing murder was punishable by death, Leviticus 24:17.
God values human life, and made a covenant with all of creation that life wasn’t to be taken from anyone, Genesis 9:1-6. Jesus says murder starts in the heart, Matthew 5:21-22.
Cain murdered his brother Abel, Genesis 4:8. Moses killed an Egyptian and tried to hide the evidence, Exodus 2:11-14. David orchestrated the killing of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah in an effort to cover up his adulterous behaviour, and her pregnancy, 2 Samuel 11:1-17. The Jews orchestrated the murder of Jesus, Acts 2:36.
A HEART THAT DEVISES WICKED SCHEMES
Why does God hate a deceitful heart? A deceitful heart is exactly that, it’s deceitful, Proverbs 23:7.
These are people who want to deceive you and take advantage of you. They devise tricky schemes to deceive you into trusting them with your money. People who are not willing to be honest with others, never mind themselves.
The heart is what He wants from all people, Deuteronomy 6:5 / Jeremiah 17:9 /Proverbs 4:23 / Romans 13:14. When Joshua led the people into the Promised Land and all the land was given to the Israelites Joshua asked the Israelites where their hearts were and declared that his heart and his family’s hearts belong to God, Joshua 24:20-24.
FEET THAT ARE QUICK TO RUSH INTO TROUBLE
Why does God hate those who are quick to get into trouble? Whatever we are thinking about in our minds, our feet tend to lead us to do those things.
People rush into trouble, simply because they don’t care what the consequences are, Isaiah 59:7-8. They just don’t care about who they hurt, or the consequences, they don’t even care about God and His punishment. There are those who spend all their time plotting and scheming evil deeds. They have plans in place and know exactly what course of action to take.
We often make quick decisions which end up being bad for us. Sarah asked Abraham to sleep with Hagar in order to have a child, Genesis 16:1-3. Moses struck the rock twice instead of just speaking to it, Numbers 20:10-12.
Samson was set upon having a wife, despite being foreign, Judges 14:1-3. The mother of Zebedee’s sons rashly asked Jesus to give her sons positions of authority in the Lord’s kingdom, Matthew 20:20-21.
A FALSE WITNESS WHO POURS OUT LIES
Why does God hate false witnesses? Giving false testimony was forbidden by God in the Law of Moses, Exodus 20:16.
Have you ever had someone say false things about you? Maybe they have accused you of something you didn’t do. How did you feel? What damage does that cause? It causes destruction, it destroys people’s lives and reputations.
Satan accused God of lying to Eve concerning eating the fruit, Genesis 3:1-6. Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of trying to seduce her into bed, Genesis 39:7-20. Multitude people accused Jesus of being a glutton and drunkard, Matthew 11:19.
The Scribes and Pharisees falsely accuse Jesus of blasphemy, when he forgave sin, Matthew 9:2-6 / Mark 2:7 / Luke 5:21. Many religious people accused Stephen of blasphemy, Acts 6:7-15.
A MAN WHO STIRS UP CONFLICT IN THE COMMUNITY
Why does God hate people to cause trouble? Division is of the devil as it tears down instead of building up, James 4:1.
Conflict is everywhere and has become a part of our lives. We read about it in our newspapers and hear about it on the news. Country fighting country, gangs against other gangs, family against family, conflict is everywhere.
Division causes the church to stop functioning properly, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. Each part has to do its work, it may have a different task, but it is just as important as the other parts, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
Those who cause division are usually those who have hidden agendas, those who love to gossip, Romans 1:29 / 2 Corinthians 12:20, but no one should tolerate them, Proverbs 22:10-20/ Titus 3:10.
CONCLUSION
I’m sure you noticed that haughty eyes refer to how we see people.
Lying tongues refer to how we speak to people.
Hands that shed innocent blood refer to how we treat people.
A heart that devises wicked schemes refers to how we plan our lives.
Feet that are quick to run into trouble refer to our moral decisions.
A false witness who pours out lies refers to how we influence people’s perceptions of others.
The man who stirs up conflict within the community refers to how we influence people’s relationships with one another.
We may be forgiven for thinking all of the things which God hates are not linked together, but they actually are. What we read is one action or sin leading to another.
In Proverbs 6:16-19, Solomon describes six qualities that God hates and the seventh as worse than them all. We know that the number seven symbolizes completeness, so what we read here are actually the qualities of the very person he described earlier in Proverbs 6:12-14.
All of these things listed, totally destroy the unity of God’s purpose, 1 Peter 2:11-17. Christians are called to be united with each other, 1 Peter 3:8 / 1 Corinthians 1:10, and Christians are called to maintain the unity of the Spirit, Ephesians 4:3.
God wants His people to be humble, Micah 6:8 / Philippians 2:3-4 / 1 Peter 5:6.
God wants His people to tell the truth at all times, Proverbs 12:22 / Zechariah 8:16 / Ephesians 4:15 / Ephesians 4:25.
God wants His people to protect the innocent, Isaiah 1:17 / Acts 7:24 / James 1:27.
God wants His people to have hearts which make good plans, Proverbs 16:3 / James 4:13-15.
God wants His people to run quickly towards good, Psalm 34:14 / Romans 12:9 / Romans 12:21.
God wants His people to be true witnesses who speak nothing but the truth, Proverbs 14:25 / Matthew 5:16 / 1 Peter 3:15.
God wants His people to sow peace, not conflict, Psalm 34:14 / Matthew 5:9 / Romans 12:18.
Warning Against Adultery
‘My son keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life, keeping you from your neighbour’s wife, from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.’ Proverbs 6:20-24
Why should children always listen to their parents? They’ve lived longer, they have a lot more experiences in life, etc, Proverbs 1:8 / Proverbs 3:3. It is interesting how the father gives the commands and the mother does the teaching, Ephesians 6:11-24.
God’s commands keep children safe, Deuteronomy 6:6-9 / Psalm 119:105. Unlike what the world thinks about discipline, God tells us that discipline is a way of life.
If we listen to our parent’s warnings and obey them, they will keep us from a smooth-talking wayward woman.
‘Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread, but another man’s wife preys on your very life.’ Proverbs 6:25-26
Why is there a difference in consequences between a prostitute and an adulteress? You pay for one but not the other. How can a prostitute reduce you to a loaf of bread? Simply because they cost money. How does the adulteress prey upon your life? They eventually wreck your life, Proverbs 7:1-27.
The two forms of evil bring, each of them, their own penalty. By the one, a man is brought to such poverty as to beg for ‘a piece of bread’ by the other and more deadly sin, he incurs a peril, which may affect his life, 1 Samuel 2:35-36 / 1 Kings 2:26-27.
‘Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.’ Proverbs 6:27-29
What is Solomon saying here? She is too hot to handle safely, you will only burn yourself. He’s basically saying if we touch, we will get burnt, you will get punished.
‘People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay seven-fold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house. But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself. Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away. For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse a bribe; however great it is.’ Proverb 6:30-35
What’s Solomon saying here? He’s saying if we do wrong, we will get punished, we will have to pay back, Exodus 22:1-4. Someone who commits adultery will always be ashamed, there’s no way of paying that back. Adultery is serious. People may have a little tolerance for one who steals out of hunger, but no one has respect for a man who steals someone else’s wife.
