He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
Enemies Of The Lord: The Slothful: Proverbs 26:13-16
13) The slothful [man] saith,
[There is] a lion in the way; a lion
[is] in the streets.
14) [As] the door turneth
upon his hinges, so [doth] the
slothful upon his bed.
15) The slothful hideth his hand in [his] bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
16) The sluggard [is] wiser
in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
In
this chapter, Solomon describes for us three of the greatest enemies of the
Lord:
1. The Fool (vs 1-12), One who does not apply
the Word of God to their life.
2. The Lazy (vs 13-16), One who is not diligent
and industrious in their responsibilities
3. The Cruel (vs 17-28), One who is angry,
malicious and out of control
EXPOSITION:
In this devotion, Solomon
takes a look at those who are slothful.
By slothful we mean those who are lax in their responsibilities. In other words, they are not careful, reliable,
nor swift in their labors.
13) The slothful [man] saith,
[There is] a lion in the way; a lion
[is] in the streets.
1. The lazy man reports that there is a roaring
(hungry, fierce) lion in the busy country pathways
2. The lazy man reports there is a young
(strong, swift) lion in the city streets
The
lazy man quickly justifies why he is not faithful to his employment
responsibilities but, instead, stays within his house. He claims that there is danger outside the
home. There are hungry and fierce lions
on the well-trodden country paths and there are young strong lions on the city
streets. Therefore, there is no route
for him to take to get to his employment. Therefore we must excuse him from fulfilling
his responsibilities of employment.
“The slothful [man] saith, [There
is] a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.” (Proverbs 22:13)
14) [As] the door turneth
upon his hinges, so [doth] the
slothful upon his bed.
1. The door swings back and forth on its hinges
picturing
2. the slothful man who rolls back and forth on
his bed.
In
both cases, the door and the slothful man do not make any progress. It is as if they are a hamster on a wheel, or
a car stuck in the mud… moving back and forth but never accomplishing anything
or escaping the position they are in.
“And we desire that every
one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the
end: That ye be not slothful,
but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:11-12)
15) The slothful hideth his hand in [his] bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
1. The lazy man covers his hand in the bowl of
his chest (probably armpits?)
2. it brings great sorrow and dread for him to
move his hands to his mouth (to feed himself)
The
lazy man, when extreme, will be pained to do the least bit of labor necessary
to meet his own needs. He will desire
for EVERYTHING to be done for him and desire to take upon himself absolutely no
responsibilities. Much like a man who
keeps his hands buried for warmth in his armpits not wanting to move them to
his mouth.
“A slothful [man] hideth
his hand in [his] bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.” (Proverbs 19:24)
16) The sluggard [is] wiser
in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
1. The lazy man sees himself as more intelligent
and skillful than
2. Seven men who can give counsel to one another
and give a reasonable justification for all of their actions
The
lazy man is so blinded to his own condition, he believes he is better than a
group of seven men who can give and receive counsel from one another. He believes his actions are more just and
proper than those seven men who act based upon reflection and decisions made
with the aid of much Godly counsel.
In
other words, the lazy believes his lie about the lion in the streets is more
reasonable than the justification behind the actions of the seven men. Even though these seven used proper
consideration and the exchange of Godly wisdom and instruction to dictate their
actions.
“The way of a fool [is]
right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel [is] wise.” (Proverbs 12:15)
SUMMARY:
In our study of the slothful,
we have seen that:
1. The lazy man quickly justifies why he is not
faithful to his employment responsibilities.
2. The slothful man moves back and forth but
never accomplishes anything or escaping the position they are in.
3. The lazy man, when extreme, will be pained to
do the least bit of labor necessary to meet his own needs.
4.
The lazy man is so blinded to his own
condition, he believes he is better than a group of seven men who can give and
receive Godly counsel from one another to aid in their decision making.
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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