Proverbs 6
Given that this is the last day of the year 2024, it is appropriate to reflect upon Proverbs chapter 6. It teaches us how to live our lives with respect for ourselves, our families, our neighbors and fellow man. And if we live our lives as suggested by this teaching, we will ultimately give respect to God. Isn’t this a great way to plan on living our lives in the new year?
In order to be able to truly give respect to others and God, we need to be able to respect ourselves. King Solomon advises us to look at the daily lives of the ant in order to teach us how we can live our lives with the utmost respect for ourselves in regards to our accomplishments and purpose given to us by God.
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. Proverbs 6:8-11
So… what does being as diligent as an ant have to do with self-respect? First off, notice that the ant works according to what he knows to do every day. God has given the ant the sense to gather when food is plentiful and store it up for when no food is available. In other words, the ant actually plans for the future. We are to do the same. We are to work daily at what God has given us to do. This goes to making sure we know God’s purpose for our lives, which can change throughout the course of time. Sometimes, our daily lives are hectic and full like when we are in our 30’s, working and raising our children. Other times we are in the winter of our lives and maybe our purpose is to get to know God on a very personal level and mentoring others. Life slows down. There may even be times when we are sick or injured and we need to take each day as it comes; just giving God the glory for that day is all that we can manage. In other words, God gives sick days. The whole idea is that we work towards the purpose He has given us and He will take care of us financially. When we live our lives according to the purpose God has given us, then there is no way we live in doubt. Rather, we have self-respect given to us by God.
As Proverb 6 continues, we are given a list of seven things that God detests. When we parse out this list, we can understand why God doesn’t like these actions – because generally speaking, these actions do not show respect toward others.
There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things He detests:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
18 a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
19 a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family. Proverbs 6:16-19
They are given to us in the form of negatives here, but Jesus shows how they can be lived out in a positive way. Also, there is a lot of Old Testament references that lose their meanings for us today. Barker and Kohlenberger explain this list and how God means for it to be used in an informative and meaningful way.
“The seven things that the Lord hates are specific personal attitudes and actions. There is something of a contrasting parallel arrangement with the Beatitudes in Mt 5, which has seven blessed things to answer these seven hated things; moreover, the first beatitude (“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Mt 5:5) contrasts with the first hated thing (“haughty eyes,” v.17; i.e., “a proud look”) and the seventh (“peacemakers,” Mt 5:7) with the seventh abomination (“stirs up dissension,” v.19).
The first in the list, “haughty eyes,” refers to a proud look suggesting arrogant ambition. This term “high” is similarly used in Nu 15:30 for the sin of the high hand, i.e., willful rebellion or defiant sin. Usage of “haughty eyes” in the OT is telling: it describes the pompous Assyrian invader in Isa 10:12-14 as well as the proud king in Da 11:12 (NIV, “pride”). God will not tolerate anyone who thinks so highly of oneself (see Pr 21:4; Isa 2:11-17).
The second description is “a lying tongue.” The term is used in Jer 14:14 to portray false prophets who deceive people and in Ps 109:2 to describe the deceiver who betrays—a passage that the disciples applied to Judas in Ac 1:20. Deception in speech is harmful (Pr 26:28), but in the end truth will prevail (Pr 12:19).
The third description focuses on hands as the instruments of murder. Genesis 9:6 prohibited shedding human blood because people are made in the image of God—no matter what one might think of them. But shedding “innocent blood” was an even greater crime. King Manasseh had filled the streets with innocent blood (2Ki 21:16; 24:4). Princes did it for gain according to Ezekiel (Eze 22:27). Even King David was prohibited from building the temple because he had shed much blood (1Ch 22:8).
The fourth phrase concerns the heart that “devises wicked schemes.” The “heart” represents the will most often. Here it plots evil. God early on declared that the human heart was capable of this (Ge 6:5); and Proverbs elaborates on the theme, showing that the heart that schemes wickedness is also deceitful (12:20; 14:22).
The fifth description uses the figure of “feet that are quick to rush into evil.” This captures the enthusiastic and complete involvement in activities that bring pain to all concerned.
The sixth abomination returns to the theme of deception. Here the focus is on perjury (“a false witness”)….
The final description is general—God hates one “who stirs up dissension.” “Dissension” is attributed in Proverbs to contentious, quarreling people (21:9; 26:21; 25:24) who have a short fuse (15:18). Paul, on the other hand, warns against envy, malice, and strife (1Ti 6:4). These things, then, God will not tolerate. If he hates these things, then conversely he must love and desire (1) humility, (2) truthful speech, (3) preservation of life, (4) pure thoughts, (5) the eagerness to do good things, (6) honest witnesses, and (7) peaceful harmony (2004).”
All of these things that God hates hurts our family, neighbor and fellow man. They are attitudes that are selfish and do not bring glory to God. They are all actions that in the end hurt ourselves as well. Therefore, let’s start the new year living our lives with respect toward God, ourselves, our family, our neighbor and our fellow man. Let’s bring peace and honesty into our daily work so that others will see God in us.
*All cited scripture is from the New Living Translation of the Bible.
References:
Barker, K and Kohlenberger III, J. (Authors), Verbrugge,V, and Polcyn, R. (Eds.). 2004. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Abridged Ed. Zondervan Academic.
