Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
    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 neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—
    and give your neighbor 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.
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.
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.
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 6:1-19

“Proverbs 6:16-19 ‘six . . . seven’. ”The sequence of these two numbers was used both to represent totality and as a means of arresting one’s attention (cf. 30:15, 18; Job 5:19; Amos 1:3). These seven detestable sins provide a profound glimpse into the sinfulness of man. These verses act as a summary of the previous warnings: (1) haughty eyes (v. 13a, ‘winks’); (2) lying tongue (v. 12b, ‘perverse mouth’); (3) hands (v. 13c, ‘fingers’); (4) heart (v. 14a); (5) feet (v. 13b); (6) false witness (v. 12b); and (7) discord (v. 14c).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

We are again reminded that the first nine chapters of Proverbs are fatherly encouragement to pursue wisdom.  This portion of Proverbs 6 is about Warnings Against Folly, per the NIV.

One might think the first few verses are all admonitions to the sluggard to get up and go to work, but the first admonition is really to not enter into any vows.  If you do, work tirelessly day and night until you are out from under the yoke that you put yourself into.  Make it a burden to the person that you owe, so that your debt is cleared quickly.

Then, in doing that, you mustn’t be a sluggard, one who sleeps all the time.  Poverty overtakes the sluggard.

But then troublemakers and villains have corrupt mouths.  They wink maliciously; they stir up conflict.  Their destruction will be sudden.

Then, as Rev. MacArthur points out, the final verses of this section basically summarize the first few verses, but it points out that God hates this type of attitude.  Haughtiness goes beyond the eyes; it is a detestable attitude to which Solomon refers.  Telling falsehoods is mentioned twice: lying tongue and a false witness who pours out lies.

And no one wants to have someone stirring up conflict and devising evil schemes.

And now let us sing.

The following song is sung by Abby and Annalie, Blessings.  In searching for a song about avoiding conflict and wicked schemes, I flipped it to something positive, peace and wisdom.  I got this song as a suggestion.  Maybe Artificial Intelligence gets it right by mistake sometimes.  I have heard it many times, sung in church and on the radio.  I think these two young girls are adorable.

“We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if the thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

When friends betray us
And when darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It’s not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if the thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?”

• Laura Story, Blessings

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  The world has gone mad.  We fear the next pandemic or the next mutation of the old virus.  We fear our climate.  We fear nations who war against their neighbors.  We fear the crumbling foundation within our churches.  Yet, we forget that You are in charge.  You hate those that devise evil schemes, but You have given those people the choice to choose evil or choose You.  They chose unwisely.  And some day You will make everything right again.  We have no need to fear.  We only need to trust in You.  And as the song says, maybe our trials are Your mercies in disguise.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.