Brain Outdo Muscle VI

Friday, August 19, 2022

30-34 One day, I walked by the field of old lazybones,

    and then passed the vineyard of a slob;

They were overgrown with weeds,

    thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.

I took a long look and pondered what I saw;

    the fields preached me a sermon, and I listened:

“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,

    Sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?

Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,

    with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”

-Proverbs 24:-30-34 The Message

30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,

    by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,

31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;

    the ground was covered with nettles,

    and its stone wall was broken down.

32 Then I saw and considered it;

    I looked and received instructions.

33 A little sleep, a little slumber,

    a little folding of the hands to rest,

34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

    and want like an armed man.

-Proverbs 24:30-34 ESV

Verses 30-34 studies: You can look at a man’s work and tell if he is lazy or not. For example, when you look at his farm, you will see the tragedy of idleness based on his work. These verses draw out how the proverbs are applied. The observer walks upon a field and vineyard that went through laziness (v. 30,31), observer recognizes (v.32) that the wise instruction he heard about sluggish people applies to this situation (v. 33,34). The observer and the reader should encourage themselves that ongoing labor is part of the path to wisdom.