Warnings Against Folly

Proverbs 6:1-35

Reminder: Pray to God to set your heart right as you engage His word. The text you are about to study was not written to you but is written for you. So, before applying we must ask the following questions:

What did it mean to the original reader or original audience?

READ THE SCRIPTURE(Multiple times & translations and notice the words that standout)

Biblegateway (NIV) (My choice of all-round site. Great app, better on computers or on phone)

StepBible (ESV) (Great on phone or computer with good resources.)

#Hashtags:

#Working Hard And Not Being Lazy

Topical Bible

Kevin's Teaching Blog About Folly

Themes

Wisdom and Foolishness

Laziness vs Diligence

Warning against Adultery

The Consequences of Sin

Topics

Financial wisdom and pitfalls

The virtue of hard work

The sins of a false witness, a liar, and an adulterer

Seven things God hates

Potential Sermon Titles: ??

Intro Questions to get us thinking:

What is your favorite animal? Why?
Who is the person you most admire? What is it about their personality that you admire?
Which of your dad's or mom's sayings can you recall? Which do you use?
What were you disciplined for most often? How were you disciplined?

ESV Text with Highlights

#God
#People = Listener, Borrower, Guarantor, Ant, Sluggard, Adulterer, God
#Time =
#Place = Field, Vineyard, Home of the Neighbor
#Obedient faith
#Sin
#Key Idea

Proverbs 6 ESV

Practical Warnings

6 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
    have given your pledge for a stranger,
²if you are snared in the words of your mouth,
    caught in the words of your mouth,
³then 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.
⁴Give your eyes no sleep
    and your eyelids no slumber;
⁵save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
    like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, O sluggard;
    consider her ways, and be wise.
⁷Without having any chief,
    officer, or ruler,
⁸she prepares her bread in summer
    and gathers her food in harvest.
⁹How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
¹¹and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man,
    goes about with crooked speech,
¹³winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
    points with his finger,
¹⁴with perverted heart devises evil,
    continually sowing discord;
¹⁵therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
    in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.

¹⁶There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
¹⁹a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

²⁰My son, keep your father's commandment,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching.
²¹Bind them on your heart always;
    tie them around your neck.
²²When you walk, they will lead you;
    when you lie down, they will watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
²³For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
²⁴to preserve you from the evil woman,
    from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
²⁵Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
²⁶for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
    but a married woman hunts down a precious life.
²⁷Can a man carry fire next to his chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
²⁸Or can one walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her will go unpunished.
³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
³¹but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
³²He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
³³He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
³⁴For jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
³⁵He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

OBSERVATIONS(Reflect on the topic and build the concept the writer is trying to communicate to the original audience)

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Thematic Bible(Books and Chapters Structure)

Bible Hub = Outline, Themes, Topics, People, Locations, and Questions

STUDY RESOURCES (This takes some work and here are more resources than you can go through completely)

StudyLight (LEB) (Great site with commentaries by Burton Coffman)

NETBible (New English Translation) (Great for original text information)

BibleHub (HCSB) (Good on computer or app/phone with lots of well-organized information.)

BlueLetter (KJV) (A variety of resources and good on Phones / better on Computers)

Literal Word (NASB) (Works well on a smartphone or computer + for searching for words like a printed concordance)

Biblia.com (NCV) (Great on a computer especially if you have a logos account)

KnowingJesus (Phone / Computer and great for comparing translations)

https://www.openbible.info/labs/ai-bible-study/passage/Prov.6

God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
When have you pledged yourself to something you later regretted? How does humility (v. 3) work to get you out of difficult situations?
What does sluggard-like and ant-like behavior look like in your friends? In yourself? In what one way can you be more like the ant this week?
If all your material needs were met without having to work, would you still work? Why?
Where have you seen the character described in verses 12-14: In a TV melodrama? In church? In the mirror? How do you deal with the villain within you? Likewise, the villain in your fellowship?
Solomon gives a checklist (vv. 16-19) to evaluate our relationship to the Lord: How do you measure up? How would your closest friend rate you? How can your small group help you improve in one of these areas?
What do you suppose this "father-son" (or mother-daughter) talk involved: Monologue? Q & A? Trial and error? Bedtime prayers?
What images help picture what the "commands" and "teaching" are like? And what sexual sin is like? What does it mean that a "prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread"?
How does the use of poetry (exaggerated language, parallelism, emotional pull) help to make the point vividly?
What do you see in verses 30-31: Situation ethics? Moral relativity? Justice? Or what?
Do you think God's judgment (vv. 32-35) is brought on by ourselves, or exacted by others? Why?

Link to More Questions

APPLICATION(God wants us all to arrive at action, life-changing faith)

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Precept Austin Devotionals

Scripture Graphics

Proverbs 6 presents idleness as a pathway to sin, including adultery, illustrating how laziness in one area of life can lead to moral compromise and spiritual downfall in other areas.

In our bustling world, idleness might seem a small concern. Yet, Proverbs 6 alerts us to its covert dangers.

1. The allure of laziness is deceptive, luring us into a false sense of security. (Proverbs 6:6-11)
    A. The passage uses the ant as a model of diligence, contrasting with human laziness.
    B. Idleness leads to poverty, symbolizing broader spiritual and moral decay.
2. Idleness breeds a culture of irresponsibility and deceit. (Proverbs 6:12-15)
    A. The 'worthless person' exemplifies the consequences of a lazy spirit.
    B. Such behavior not only affects the individual but undermines community integrity.
3. Engaging in laziness opens the door to more egregious sins, like adultery. (Proverbs 6:20-35)
    A. Adultery is depicted as a result of not prioritizing wisdom and godly instruction.
    B. The severe consequences serve as a dire warning against moral complacency.
Proverbs 6 not only condemns laziness but also illustrates its perilous trajectory towards spiritual downfall. Let us strive for diligence, not just in our work but in our spiritual lives, guarding against the subtle encroachments of idleness.

How would you describe the "intensity" of this passage: Fireside chat? Fiery sermon? Political filibuster? Ad for a TV mini-series? Or what?
What is Solomon's point? How well does he present it? How effective are his figures of speech?
If he were writing for a modern audience, would he have to change anything? If so, what? Why?
From verses 1-5 (also Psalm 15:4b), what are the dangers of "co-signing for a loan"? Why?
From verses 6-11, why work? Why use an ant to make this point?
What is the ultimate end of the "scoundrel and villain" (vv. 12ff)? Is this a natural consequence? Or the judgment of God? Why do you think so?
How have your parents' instructions guided, watched, or spoken to you? If their instruction is wrong or not of God, must you still obey? Why? What experience of parental discipline illustrates your point?
When in your life, past or present, have you been burned when "playing with fire" (vv. 27f)? How does this passage suggest you keep your life pure?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.

#GodHates

#GodLoves

Proverbs 3:32 For the froward is an abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is an abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
Proverbs 11:20 They that are of a froward heart are an abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.
Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
Proverbs 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
Proverbs 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
Proverbs 16:11 A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.
Proverbs 17:15 He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are an abomination to the LORD.
Proverbs 20:10 Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.
Proverbs 20:23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.
Proverbs 21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
Proverbs 22:14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
Proverbs 28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.