He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
Cultivate Godly Attitudes: Diligence Not
Laziness: Proverbs 24:30-34
30) I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man
void of understanding;
31) And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, [and] nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall
thereof was broken down.
32) Then I saw, [and]
considered [it] well: I looked upon [it, and] received instruction.
33) [Yet] a little sleep, a
little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34) So shall thy poverty come [as]
one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
Solomon
now shares with us teachings on the need to cultivate Godly attitudes…
EXPOSITION:
One
of the most profitable attitudes for the Christian is an attitude of diligence
(to give care, to give attention, and to be conscientious in all our endeavors
)…
30) I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man
void of understanding;
As
Solomon travels he comes across…
1.
the field of a lazy man
2.
in other words, the vineyard of a man who lacks insight into the true nature of
things
What
does he find as he examines this?....
“Go to the ant, thou
sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the
summer, [and] gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy
sleep? [Yet] a little sleep, a
little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as
one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:6-11)
31) And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, [and] nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall
thereof was broken down.
1. it was all overtaken by prickly plants
2. sharp weeds now concealed the form of it
3. the rock surrounding wall was in pieces
Due
to the man’s laziness, we find his material possessions were slowly entering
into ruin.
“By much slothfulness the
building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth
through.” (Ecclesiastes 10:18)
32) Then I saw, [and]
considered [it] well: I looked upon [it, and] received instruction.
1. Solomon visually perceived it with his eyes
2. Solomon thoroughly thought about what he had
seen
3. Solomon perceived (understood) what was
taking place
4. Solomon learned a lesson from this event
Not
only does this event teach us that an attitude of laxness will result in the
decay and ruin of our physical possessions, but there is a greater lesson to be
learned. This clearly teaches us that,
when we are uncaring, indolent, and lazy in spiritual warfare we are headed for
spiritual shipwreck and ruin.
“For they [are] a nation
void of counsel, neither [is there any] understanding in them. O that they were wise, [that]
they understood this, [that] they would consider their latter end!” (Deuteronomy 32:28-29)
33) [Yet] a little sleep, a
little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34) So shall thy
poverty come [as] one that
travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
1. What seems like a little matter… just a bit
of sleep; just a bit of relaxation; just a bit of cessation of our labors;
yields
very big results….
2. Entering into an extreme state of physical
and spiritual want (like one that has been traveling, leaving his possessions
unguarded.)
3. Unable to stop our entrance into a condition
of great spiritual and physical need (much like being unable to oppose an armed
man who is robbing us of all our goods.)
The
results of lacking diligence is great, indeed.
For the Christian, it will irresistibly work extreme spiritual poverty
which will result in utter ruin of testimony and effectiveness for Christ.
“Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others;
but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep
in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the
day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet,
the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed
us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that,
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6-10)
SUMMARY:
May
we all seek to be diligent, putting off a spirit of slothfulness as we seek to
serve our Lord. After all, do we not
owe Him our consistent best? This can
only be accomplished by being ever diligent as we fight the good fight of
faith.
May
we all possess Godly wisdom and live our lives for Him.
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
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