January 5, 2024
What Does the Bible Say About Laziness?
Proverbs 6
Dawn Johnson
Big Book Idea
Living wisely; God's way.
Key Verse | Proverbs 6:10-11
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
Proverbs 6
Practical Warnings
1
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
have given your pledge for a stranger,
2
if you are snared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
3
then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten,
1
6:3
Or humble yourself
and plead urgently with your neighbor.
4
Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5
save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
2
6:5
Hebrew lacks of the hunter
like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6
Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
7
Without having any chief,
officer, or ruler,
8
she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest.
9
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
12
A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with crooked speech,
13
winks with his eyes, signals
3
6:13
Hebrew scrapes
with his feet,
points with his finger,
14
with perverted heart devises evil,
continually sowing discord;
15
therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
16
There are six things that the LORD hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
Warnings Against Adultery
20
My son, keep your father's commandment,
and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21
Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
22
When you walk, they
4
6:22
Hebrew it; three times in this verse
will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24
to preserve you from the evil woman,
5
6:24
Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
6
6:24
Hebrew the foreign woman
25
Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
26
for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
7
6:26
Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
but a married woman
8
6:26
Hebrew a man's wife
hunts down a precious life.
27
Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned?
28
Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?
29
So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
none who touches her will go unpunished.
30
People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31
but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house.
32
He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
33
He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34
For jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
35
He will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
Footnotes
[1] 6:3 Or humble yourself[2] 6:5 Hebrew lacks of the hunter
[3] 6:13 Hebrew scrapes
[4] 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
[5] 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
[6] 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
[7] 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
[8] 6:26 Hebrew a man's wife
Table of Contents
Introduction to Proverbs
Timeline
Author and Date
Proverbs itself mentions Solomon (reigned c. 971–931 B.C.) as author or collector of its contents (1:1; 10:1), including the proverbs copied by Hezekiah’s men (25:1). There are also two batches of sayings from a group called “the wise” (22:17–24:22; 24:23–34), and “oracles” from Agur (30:1–33) and Lemuel (31:1–9). No author is named for the song in praise of the excellent wife that ends the book (31:10–31). Although Proverbs was begun in the time of Solomon, it probably was not in its present form until the time of Hezekiah (reigned c. 715–686 B.C.).
Theme
The goal of the book is stated right at the beginning (1:1–7): to describe what wisdom is and to help God’s people become wise. Wisdom is founded in the “fear of the Lord,” and it enables believers to express their faith in the practical details of everyday life.
Audience
The book is addressed to a young man. The situations he will face while he is young receive much attention. These situations supply concrete examples from which all readers can apply lessons to their own lives. Anyone who is wise and who pays attention will benefit (1:5) from this instruction.
Reading Proverbs
The reader of Proverbs must seek to understand the various types of people the book describes. The most obvious characters in the book are the wise, the fool, and the simple. Proverbs urges its readers to be wise, which means embracing God’s covenant and living out the covenant in everyday situations (compare 2:2; 10:1). The fool is the person who constantly opposes God’s covenant (1:7b). The simple is the person who is not firmly committed, either to wisdom or to folly; he is easily misled (14:15).
The first nine chapters of Proverbs are “wisdom poems” that urge the reader to pursue wisdom. The main section of Proverbs—the concise, memorable statements of two or three lines—begins in 10:1. Proverbs often seem to be mere observations about life, but their deeper meanings will reveal themselves if the following questions are kept in mind: (1) What virtue does this proverb commend? (2) What vice does it disapprove of? (3) What value does it affirm?
Key Themes
Proverbs offers wisdom on a wide array of topics from daily life: diligence and laziness (6:6–11); friendship (3:27–28; 18:24); speech (10:19–21); marriage (18:22; 19:14); child rearing (22:6); domestic peace (15:17; 17:1); work (11:1); getting along and good manners (23:1–2; 25:16–17; 26:17–19; 27:14); eternity (14:32; 23:17–18); and much more. It shows that “godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:8).
- God’s will is intensely practical, applying to every aspect of life. A proper relation to God involves trying hard to understand his truth, and then embracing and obeying that truth.
- A life lived by God’s will is a happy life (3:21–26).
- A life lived by God’s will is a useful life (3:27–28; 12:18, 25).
- A life lived by God’s will does not just happen. One must seek after it (9:1–6).
Outline
- Title, Goal, and Motto (1:1–7)
- A Father’s Invitation to Wisdom (1:8–9:18)
- Proverbs of Solomon (10:1–22:16)
- The Thirty Sayings of “the Wise” (22:17–24:22)
- Further Sayings of “the Wise” (24:23–34)
- Hezekiah’s Collection of Solomonic Proverbs (25:1–29:27)
- The Sayings of Agur (30:1–33)
- The Sayings of King Lemuel (31:1–9)
- An Alphabet of Womanly Excellence (31:10–31)
Fact: Wisdom
Wisdom is a key term in Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The word can mean “skilled at making sound decisions in life.” Proverbs 9:10 states that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
Fact: A different kind of security
A different kind of security. In biblical times, if a person was unable to pay his debt, the consequences could be serious. The whole family could be sold into slavery. If someone put up “security” for another person, he promised to pay that person’s debt if he was unable to do so himself. Proverbs teaches that putting up security for another person is generally unwise, since those who do so risk losing everything if the other person cannot pay his debt (11:15).
Fact: Hezekiah’s contribution to Proverbs
Hezekiah’s contribution to Proverbs. Although most of the Proverbs were collected or written by King Solomon, who reigned from 971–931 B.C., the book of Proverbs did not exist in its present form until the time of King Hezekiah, some 200 years later. Hezekiah and “his men,” probably his scribes, recorded chs. 25–29.
Fact: Rock badgers
Rock badgers are small cliff-dwelling animals closely resembling guinea pigs. They live and forage for food in large groups and are good at hiding. They are best known for posting sentries that alert the group when danger is near. Perhaps it was this mark of wisdom that earned them a mention in Proverbs (30:26).
Fact: Ants
Despite their small size, ants are a picture of wisdom and initiative (6:6–8; 30:25). Ant colonies can reach populations of more than half a million, and will work tirelessly during the harvest season to store food for the winter.
Fact: Finger-pointing
Finger-pointing (58:9) was a very serious gesture that had several potentially negative meanings. It could be taken as an official accusation against someone or could mean that the person was the subject of gossip (Prov. 6:12–13).
OT Testimony that All Are under Sin (3:9)
| Romans 3 | OT Reference |
|---|---|
| Sinful Condition | |
| v. 10, none is righteous | Ps. 14:3/53:3; Eccles. 7:20 |
| v. 11a, no one understands | Ps. 14:2/53:2 |
| v. 11b, no one seeks for God | Ps. 14:2/53:2 |
| v. 12, all have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one | Ps. 14:3/53:3 |
| Sinful Speech (note progression from throat to tongue to lips) | |
| v. 13a, b, their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive | Ps. 5:10, Septuagint (English, 5:9) |
| v. 13c, the venom of asps is under their lips | Ps. 140:3 |
| v. 14, their mouth is full of curses and bitterness | Ps. 10:7 |
| Sinful Action | |
| v. 15, their feet are swift to shed blood | Prov. 1:16/Isa. 59:7 |
| v. 16, in their paths are ruin and misery | Isa. 59:7 |
| v. 17, and the way of peace they have not known | Isa. 59:8 |
| Summary Statement | |
| v. 18, there is no fear of God before their eyes | Ps. 36:1 |
Prov. 6:1–5 security. Promising to pay someone else’s debt if he does not pay it is described as a trap in which one’s life is endangered. A person should not put himself in a position in which his labor or wealth could be wasted because someone else does not pay his debts. This does not mean that putting up security for someone is morally wrong in every situation, but rather that it is generally unwise (see 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13).
Prov. 6:3–5 If the son has already given security for a loan, he is urged to save himself from the whim of the one in debt and plead urgently with him. The point of such pleading is made clear by the comparison to game caught in a trap. The son should focus all his energy on finding a way out of such a situation and thus save himself from ruin.
Prov. 6:7 The fact that the ant has no chief, officer, or ruler shows that it has initiative, which the sluggard lacks.
Fact: Ants
Despite their small size, ants are a picture of wisdom and initiative (6:6–8; 30:25). Ant colonies can reach populations of more than half a million, and will work tirelessly during the harvest season to store food for the winter.
Prov. 6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber. The sluggard may rationalize his late rising and his too-frequent naps as “just a little,” but they destroy his productivity.
Prov. 6:11 The poverty and want that the sluggard’s idleness causes are compared to external forces that will just as surely leave him in poverty (a robber and an armed man).
Fact: Finger-pointing
Finger-pointing (58:9) was a very serious gesture that had several potentially negative meanings. It could be taken as an official accusation against someone or could mean that the person was the subject of gossip (Prov. 6:12–13).
Prov. 6:12–14 A worthless person, a wicked man describes someone who lacks any desire to act righteously. devises. A worthless person’s communication comes from a perverted heart that intends to create distrust and suspicion among others (continually sowing discord).
Prov. 6:16–19 The literary device of naming six things . . . seven indicates that the list is representative rather than exhaustive (compare 30:15–16, 18–19, 21–31). It also draws particular attention to the final item as the focus of God’s hatred. It is easy to agree that God hates the first six items, but it is also easy to overlook the seventh (one who sows discord), and thus the author surprises the reader.
Prov. 6:20 your mother’s teaching. In chs. 1–9, usually only the father is mentioned. The mother as teacher appears here and in 1:8. The young man’s mother represents respect for the institutions of family and marriage.
Prov. 6:26 Being with a prostitute can be as cheap as a loaf of bread, but having an affair with a married woman can cost the man his very life.
Prov. 6:27–31 The father uses two comparisons to show how adultery leads to disaster. First, he says that one who engages in foolish behavior will suffer for it (vv. 27–29); embracing a neighbor’s wife is like taking fire to one’s chest. Second, he reasons that if someone who steals due to need has to pay a severe penalty, then someone who commits an unnecessary offense will suffer a greater penalty (vv. 30–31).
Prov. 6:35 He will accept no compensation. The offended husband will not be satisfied until you (that is, the son being addressed, vv. 20–25) have paid the full penalty.
S3:005 Proverbs 6
Listen NowDive Deeper | Proverbs 6
Lazy: disinclined to action or exertion; habitually slothful; averse to labor; idle; inactive.
It is surprising how much the Bible has to say on the topic of laziness. In this passage, we observe how the ant works hard, prepares for harsh weather, and needs no boss or oversight to tell it to get busy.
This passage goes on to teach that if we habitually stay in bed just a bit longer and sit with hands folded doing nothing, then suddenly and unexpectedly, we will find ourselves poor and needy (Proverbs 6:10-11). Proverbs also teaches that a lazy person doesn't take care of his things (Proverbs 24:30-31), loves sleep (Proverbs 19:15), will be forced to labor or will owe debts (Proverbs 12:24), makes ridiculous excuses about why he cannot work and thinks himself wise (Proverbs 26:13-16), and does not use time wisely (Proverbs 20:4).
Hmm, well that is interesting Old Testament stuff. What does the New Testament say?
1 Timothy 5:8: But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12: For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
Wow! According to the New Testament, we should encourage each other to work, to provide for our families, and to lead a disciplined life—avoiding too much sleep or folding of the hands (or scrolling aimlessly on an electronic device) because these do not honor God.
Beyond the diligent work demonstrated by an ant, Colossians 3:23-24 urges us to "work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men . . . ."
So church, with a joyful and grateful heart, LET'S GO!
This month's memory verse
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
– Ephesians 4:2
Discussion Questions
1. How has this discussion of laziness challenged you?
2. Can you name two things you will change based on the biblical principles highlighted here?
3. How do you think we can apply this teaching on laziness in our Community Groups? In our outreach efforts?
As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!
Sarah Crotty
Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Michael Scaman
greg jones
Sue Bohlin
Lindsey Driscoll
Ruby Anderson
Maryann Adams
Amy Lowther