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.
6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
7 Without having any chief,
officer, or ruler,
8 she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
This is a strong warning against co-signing or being a guarantor for someone else’s loan, especially a non-family member. To guarantee someone else’s loan is to say that if they can’t pay it, you will. That is not a wise promise to make over something you have no control over. The advice here is to get out of such an agreement as quickly as possible. This is a trap where you are now in the hands of the other person. You should do whatever you can to get out of the situation like a bird or a deer trying to flee from a hunter. To really heed this warning is be to avoid getting into a situation like this in the first place.
Solomon next points to the ant and uses her as an example of wisdom for the lazy. Without anyone managing or driving her she prepares and gathers and works. If you are lazy and do not work as you should then it won’t take long for poverty to come upon you. This is also a warning against procrastination. Do not put off for tomorrow what you know you need to do today because tomorrow will come with its own things to do. Rest is much sweeter when it comes after completing your work rather than when you have the nagging of unfinished work in the back of your mind.