PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain” (Proverbs 15:19).

“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns,” the slothful man is the lazy man in the Bible. His way is full of troubles, full of problems, and unexplained events. Hedges will hinder you from going somewhere. The hedge is full of thorns which will stick you and prick you.

Conviction is said to be a prick in your heart. In Acts 9, Jesus told Paul that it was “hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” or to fight against a clear conviction of truth. In Acts 2, we read that Israel was “pricked in their heart” (verse 37). There comes a point where you can no longer deny your own conscience as to the truth of the Gospel. This is exactly what Paul is saying in Romans 1: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). . Every man that hears the Gospel knows instinctively that it is true.

When a man has sinned against God the Holy Spirit reproves and convicts of sin, and there is a thorn in their heart. After a while, if they continue to ignore that thorn, they wax over it and sear their conscience to the place where it no longer bothers them. This is what the Bible speaks of when it talks of “hardening one’s heart.” This is what Pharaoh and others have done down through the centuries. At first, there is conviction and sorrow—but over time it is covered up with spiritual callouses.

“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns,” he is too lazy to get out and do right, so everything goes wrong. He is too lazy to read, too lazy to study, too lazy to work so, it just seems that every time he turns around things are falling apart, and things are looking bad.

“. . . but the way of the righteous is made plain,” notice how God contrasts the lazy man with the righteous man. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). The slothful man says that his way is just as good as the other man’s way. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21).

The slothful man is a lazy man, he doesn’t care about doing right, he just cares about something being convenient and easy. Well, life is not easy. It is not easy to be righteous. “. . . but the way of the righteous is made plain,” God makes it plain how you are to live and how you are to walk. Just do right. Anybody that wants to do right can do right. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

Daily Bible study is necessary if we are going to begin our day with the right attitude and the right spiritual diet. Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, so let's read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let's keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread! Ideally, a chapter or two of Proverbs will fit in nicely with a good plan of reading our Bibles through each year.

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