Proverbs 6:11-15
 
Prov 6:11 (KJB)
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
 
Here Solomon speaks of one who travels, that is, in eastern understanding it is a highwayman, one who waits in hiding to attack and steal from an unsuspecting traveler on the road. This highwayman has nothing and must continue to steal to survive. Solomon is also making a comparison that the life of the lazy man is akin to the life of the thief. The lazy man does nothing to better himself and hopes to live on handouts and sympathy. The one who travels loses everything to the highwayman and that is what happens to lazy people, they lose everything. The thief lives his life from robbery to robbery and does nothing to try and improve his life. The lazy man becomes like the man with the shield, that he wants everything he sees and the man with the shield will steal and not be resisted. The lazy man wants to earn his keep by doing nothing and living on the sympathy of others in hopes that he will get everything he wants by means of a symphony of one lie upon another to cover his laziness. (Prov 22:13 KJV) The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. The lazy man makes all kinds of excuses just as we see in Proverbs 22:13. Lazy people are great at anticipatory excuses when it comes to working or commitment.
 
Prov 6:12 (KJB)
A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
 
Naughty - Corrupt
Froward - Perverse or distorted
 
Here Solomon speaks about the traits of the unsaved man. He is one that is corrupted by sin and that corruption increases his wickedness. Then out of the wickedness of his heart, he speaks perverse or distorted things. He takes the truth and twists it to his benefit. This is what the lazy person does also. They take the reality of the situation and begin to distort it to their benefit and after a while, even they begin to believe their lies sourced in their laziness.
 
Prov 6:13 (KJB)
He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
 
The evil person sends signals with his eyes. He may be hiding the evil in his heart with certain eye gestures or he may be sending signals to an accomplice in his evil deeds. He may also use his feet to designate a signal to someone. He may also stamp his feet or something to that effect to show his disdain about something. He may use his finger to point at someone or something and in these ways may avoid any speech which may indict him for some crime. The evil person will always come up with some type of system to protect himself from criminal indictment. In the Mafia, the boss would give a nod and the person he was nodding about would mean that he was to be killed. The lazy person also sets himself up with systems to protect his lazy lifestyle.
 
Prov 6:14 (KJB)
Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
 
Frowardness - Perversity
Deviseth - This word is in the Qal stem and means to “prepare, arrange, or concoct”
 
The unsaved man is living in perversity, as we read that is what is in his heart. Out of the heart comes the issues of life and the issue of evil is always coming out of the heart of the wicked man. This evil heart will cause him to continually devise mischief. The wicked man is always scheming about his next engagement in a criminal venture. This person is an expert at causing strife between two people or between others. He sows discord and when the time is right, he will then step in with the answer, which of course, will be to his own benefit. This is the essence of the evil heart as it brings discord and heartache to others.
 
Prov 6:15 (KJB)
Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
 
Calamity - Distress
Broken - Break into pieces or shatter
 
Here Solomon tells his son that that those who take up a life of crime will not go unpunished. They may go for a while and think that they are impervious to getting caught, but at a time they least expect it, their end will come and they will be shattered suddenly and without warning. One can never live a life of crime and expect to get away with it. It is the same principle with the lazy man, he may live the lazy life a while but soon he will face the reality of his laziness head on and that may come to him suddenly and because he was lazy for so many years, he will be devastated. This is why Solomon wanted his son to study the ants, because their diligence teaches a powerful lesson for life.

Back