Proverbs 6:3 (Mini Sermon)

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3. Pro 6:3 - "Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend." A. Do this now, my son, i. If you have become surety for a friend's debt, it's necessary to act now. ii. Now adv. - 1. a. At the present time or moment. a. Time is of the essence. b. You are only one layoff, late payment, or emergency away from being on the hook for his debt. c. Today is the day of salvation (2Co 6:2). d. Solomon was exhorting his son today while there was still time (Heb 3:13). B. and deliver thyself, i. By agreeing to be surety for a friend one has snared himself in a trap (Pro 6:2). ii. Deliver v. - 1. trans. To set free, liberate, release, rescue, save. 2. a. To free, rid, divest, clear. b. refl. To free oneself, get clear or rid of. iii. The man now needs to free himself from the trap and get clear of the obligation because no one else can or will do it for him. iv. We cannot save ourselves eternally, but we can save ourselves temporally from the consequences of bad decisions (Act 2:40). C. when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; i. To come "into the hand" of someone is to be put under their power (Deut 1:27; Deut 19:12; Jdg 3:8; Jdg 6:1). ii. "Come into the hand of thy friend" cannot be referring to the friend defaulting on his debt and causing the man to be obligated to pay the debt to the creditor. a. If that was the case, the man would be "come into the hand of the stranger" who was the creditor whom he had stricken hands with (Pro 6:1). b. Therefore, this must be referring to something else other than the friend defaulting and making the man be obligated to pay off his debt to the stranger/creditor. iii. When a man agrees to be surety for a friend and assume responsibility for his debt if he defaults, he has "come into the hand of his friend" because his future is now in the power of his friend. a. If the friend is irresponsible, then the guarantor is on the hook for his debt. b. In such a situation, the man needs to deliver himself from the trap before it's too late. D. go, humble thyself, i. Because of the agreement that was made he is in the hand of his friend. a. His friend has the upper hand because all of the risk has now been transferred to the guarantor. b. Since a legal agreement has been made, the man is in a position of weakness. ii. Because of his weak position, it is necessary for the man to humble himself in order to influence his friend. a. God resists the proud but gives grace unto the humble (Jam 4:6). b. The man who is in debt (or in this case in danger of assuming debt) needs to be humble when approaching a man that has power over him (Mat 18:23-27). c. The poor must use intreaties, not demands, when they want something (Pro 18:23). E. and make sure thy friend. i. The man that has become surety for his friend can't back out of being a guarantor of his debt because he has stricken hands with the creditor and given him his word that he would pay the debt if it is defaulted on. ii. Thus it is crucial that he makes sure that his friend will pay off his debt. iii. He therefore needs to make his friend sure. a. Sure adj. - II. Trustworthy, firm, steadfast. 4. a. That can be depended or relied on; not liable to fail or disappoint expectation; trustworthy, reliable. 13. Phr. to make sure (intr. or with clause). a. (a) absol., or with of followed by a noun of action: To make something certain as an end or result (cf. 9a); to preclude risk of failure. b. In other words he needs to gently encourage his friend to be a trustworthy man and be steadfast in his promise to pay off the debt that he owes. (i) Since he is in a position of weakness, he needs to approach his friend humbly and not simply demand that his friend pays the debt. (ii) In such a case it would be wise to remind his friend that it would be in his friend's best interest to pay off his debt because not doing to would hurt both his reputation and his credit score. c. If he influences his friend for good and encourages him to faithfully pay off his debt, the result will be certain and will greatly reduce the risk of him failing to pay. d. If his friend is made sure, then he will not end up being on the hook for his debt, and he, his friend, and the creditor will all be happy.