SEEK FREEDOM

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.

So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:

Go—to the point of exhaustion—and give your neighbor no rest! Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. 

Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.

One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor.

Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.
 

Proverbs 6:1-5, 11:15, 17:18, 20:16, 25:13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Old Testament times, like today, people would often find themselves in a position where they needed to borrow and become indebted to someone else. This was as much of a problem then as it is now as people tried to deal with the financial circumstances they found themselves in. In some instances, the person seeking assistance would not be able to gain it on their own merit and would have to seek a third party who would agree to obligate themselves to cover the debt of the borrower in the event that they could not repay. The third party would essentially then become the debtor to the lender.

This was a precarious situation in the days of Solomon because one who could not repay debt could be enslaved by the lender and caused to labor to repay what was owed. Or worse yet, the lender could choose to sell the person into slavery with someone else to collect the money he was due.

With this, it’s little wonder why the words of wisdom from Solomon warn against entering into such an agreement known as surety. We find words of caution in the opening verses of Proverbs, Chapter 6:

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.

So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:

Go—to the point of exhaustion—and give your neighbor no rest! Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

Note the analogy of what surety does to the person who agrees to put up security for another. It is as if the person has agreed to entrap themselves, like an animal at the hands of its hunter. This underscores the precariousness of such a decision and shows us why it was considered folly or foolishness, an action no one should take. There is a stern warning contained in the wisdom of the proverbs to shun entering into any surety situation.

For those who had already done so, we see a real urgency in the words of scripture regarding how one should handle the matter of surety. They were to seek freedom from their sworn obligation and not rest while doing it. Every moment spent within the bonds of surety was a moment at risk and so the one who had put up security was to work to the point of exhaustion to secure liberation from their obligation. There was no guarantee this would work but some aspects of Mosaic law included commands to release the poor from the obligations of debt and show mercy. Thus there was a chance that such an urging would lead to one’s release.

Yes, the Old Testament warned sternly against surety but there was one significant New Testament of surety that took it from an act of folly to an act of redemption and salvation.

Of course, I’m talking about our Savior, Jesus.

You see, before Christ, all mankind was indebted to God for the sins they had committed. There was a heavy price to pay, the price of death itself at the hands of God’s wrath for it was no secret that God hated and despised sin as much as He does today and will forever more.

The real problem with this scenario is that no man was able to fully make restitution with God, no matter how many sacrifices they may have offered up to Him. The only hope was to have a third party enter in and cover the debt once and for all.

Enter Jesus.

For when Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified, His hands and feet nailed to the cross of Calvary, He permitted Himself to be the surety for us all, one final sacrifice of the perfect, unblemished Lamb and Son of God to cover the cost of everyone’s sin. And as if that were not enough, His subsequent resurrection three days later paved the way for others to defeat death and the grave as well.

Yes, Jesus was the focal point of the New Testament or Covenant, a blessed submission and surrender of one’s self to save everyone else and the sole example of how surety was not always necessarily folly.

So what does this mean for us?

It means freedom from the bondage of sin and the debt it has drug us into but that freedom does not come automatically. No, it comes through your belief and trust in Jesus, the One who paid the price for you and secured your release. When we seek true freedom, it all begins and ends with Him.

Are you free today? Have you accepted the liberty from sin and death that Jesus is offering you at no cost, except the cost of following Him, today?

If the answer is no, then I pray you will not rest until you seek your personal freedom in Christ, accept Him into your life, and free yourself from the entrapment of sin.

Please do not delay.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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