Proverbs 6

PROVERBS 6

"Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand
And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep? "
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest."
(vs 4-10)

As I read this passage, I sense the Spirit exhorting us not to settle or get to comfortable in our Christian walk, to the point where we take the Lord for granted, cease to press in, and are no longer watching and preparing as Jesus commanded us. (Matt 24:42-51, Mark 13:32-37, Luke 12:35-40)

"Give no sleep to your eyes..."

This is not talking about physical sleep, as is referred to in verse 22, but to spiritual laziness, assumed security, and self-centered indifference to the things of the Lord.

"For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober." - 1 Thess 5:2-6


God is calling for us to ’wake up’ even now, as we see the darkness around us increasing. Isaiah prophesied -

"Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. "
For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the LORD will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you."- Is 60 1-2

Those whose hearts are in, and whose minds are on the things of, this world, the Day of the Lord will be a day of sorrow. For those who are spiritually awake, and prepared, it will be a day of great rejoicing. As disciples, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul warns the saints not to be asleep, unable to discern the signs of the times. We are to be ever watching, walking by the Spirit, and ’working out our own salvation...’

"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" - Heb 2:1-3


To those who are ’asleep’, whose hands cease from working, the Proverb continues -

"Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.
A worthless person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,
Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,
Who points with his fingers;
Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,
Who spreads strife.
Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;
Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing."
(vs 11-15)

"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ’Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father He who has ears, let him hear.’" - Matt 13:41-43

In that Day, all that causes sin will be removed from the Kingdom, and all who do evil will be broken and not healed. God will never allow sin to enter into His Kingdom. Even now, any sin that we allow to remain in us, prevents us from entering into His Presence.

"There are six things which the LORD hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers."
(vs 16-19)

These are things that God hates. Those who are ’being conformed into the image of Christ’ must ’put off’ these characteristics of the old man. Paul warns us often that those who practice such deeds of darkness shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. (1 Cor 6:9-10, Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:5, 1 Thess 4:1-8)

"Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." - Rom 13:11-14

Again, we see, the call is to ’awaken from sleep’, to repent and turn away from that which we know our Father hates, and ’put on the Lord Jesus Christ.’

Dear saints, I pray that you who are parents, and all of us who have opportunity to minister to the younger generation, will teach them the ways of the Lord, and not by words only, but by our actions. (Titus 2) And may those of you who are younger be blessed to find around you, elders who teach sound doctrine, and lead by example.

"My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
When you walk about, they will guide you;
When you sleep, they will watch over you;
And when you awake, they will talk to you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life."
(vs 20-23)

Wow, I must say, I’ve never spent this much time, or dug so deep into the Truths of the Proverbs. It’s been a real blessing to do so, and I pray His wisdom and strength will be with all of us.

God bless each of you, my brothers & sisters, and your loved ones,

Michael


Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
(vs 27)