THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Do not sign a promissory note for anyone other than yourself
“My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. 4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
Proverbs 6:1-5 (KJV)
Song of Solomon 4
The Bridegroom (Jesus) Praises the Bride (Believers)
Christ explains the beauty and perfectness of how our souls are represented in heaven
Song of Solomon 4:7 (KJV), “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.”
Amos 9
Come judgement day, no unbeliever is safe
Amos 9:1-4 (KJV), “I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. 2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: 3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them: 4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.”
Only One can accomplish all of this
Amos 9:6 (KJV), “It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.”
Repentance
Amos 9:14-15 (KJV), “14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”
Lamentations 4
Jeremiah paints a dim picture for those who choose sin
Amos 9:14-15 (KJV), “14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”
Lamentations 4:6 (KJV), “For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.”
Lamentations 4:22 (KJV), “The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.”
Proverbs 6
Much of Proverbs 6 hits on many of the teachings of Solomon within this book:
- Surety/debt
- Laziness
- Wickedness
- Adultery
- What God deplores
Surety/Debt
There is much to be said for the use of credit these days. God does tell us to try and avoid being in debt to anyone:
Romans 13:8 (KJV), “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”
Proverbs 22:26 (KJV), “Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.”
The Bible neither expressly forbids nor condones the borrowing of money. The wisdom of the Bible teaches us that it is usually not a good idea to go into debt; but if we do, make every attempt to pay it off as quickly as possible
If, on the other hand, someone asks you to loan them money or to sign a loan for them, DON’T. If you get caught in this situation, do whatever you can do to resolve yourself from this
Proverbs 6:1-5 (KJV), “My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. 4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
Laziness
There are many ways to get into poverty; born into it or just being lazy and have no desire to work but depend on others; God despises laziness
Proverbs 6:6-11 (KJV), “6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.”
Wickedness
The definition of a wicked person
Proverbs 6:12-15 (KJV), “12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. 13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.”
What God deplores
Proverbs 6:16-19 (KJV), “16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 (1)A proud look, (2) a lying tongue, and (3) hands that shed innocent blood, 18 (4)An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, (5) feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 (6)A false witness that speaketh lies, and (7) he that soweth discord among brethren.”
If God hates six things, why does He list seven?
For emphasis, Solomon actually only lists six things the Lord hates. Two of the six (2) & (6) both depict lying so, lying is the seventh and an abomination to the Lord
Proverbs 12:22 (KJV), “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.”
Adultery
It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children
Proverbs 6:20-22 (KJV), “20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. 22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.”
Looks for the signs and avoid
Proverbs 6:24-27 (KJV), “24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. 25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life. 27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?”
Jonah 4
This chapter is a picture of God’s mercy no matter how trivial or egregious your sins are or were
Jonah 4:10-11 (KJV), “10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”
Footnotes
Song of Solomon 4:1-6 (KJV), “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. 2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. 3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. 4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. 5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. 6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.” [return]
Grow in the Word of the Lord 