Posted on 06/05/2022 11:29:57 PM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man” (Proverbs 6:9-11 KJV).
“How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?” Now sometimes a Christian goes to sleep, spiritually. In Ephesians, Paul wrote: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:11-17 KJV).
So, we are to consider the ant. She provides her meat in the summer, gathers her food in the harvest, so “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?” Are you going to sleep through the summer? Are you going to sleep through the harvest? Are you going to sleep through the opportunities to better yourself? The unsaved are sleeping through their opportunities of salvation. You talk to them and they don’t even seem to care, they just roll over and go back to sleep spiritually.
The ant takes a hold of the opportunities that she has, and takes advantage of them. While it is summer time, lay by in store for harvest time. While the church in America is still open, and still free, take advantage of what is available. When it comes to spiritual things, you ought to get all that you can get. Another few years from now and we may see churches boarded up. It’s almost a hate crime now to be a Christian.
“How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?” Are you going to sleep through all your opportunities? Are you going to sleep through all the chances you have to be a witness, to study
“Yet a little sleep,” is what the sluggard says. “Just five more minutes!” When I was a young men, I would just as soon get up then to lay there another five minutes because all you could think about is 4 minutes, 3 minutes, etc. Now that I’m old, well, that’s another story altogether. The old flesh would deceive people into thinking just five more minutes and they’ll feel better—I always felt worse. I hated those pause buttons on my alarm clock. Actually, it got to where I could awake before the alarm even went off. I always figured it was my angel telling me it’s time to get up.
“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep,” that is sin for you. Right there is the statement of sin. A little bit doesn’t hurt. I’ll take care of it after a while. One day, the after whiles will be gone. As R. G. Lee preached in his famous message, there will be a “Payday, Someday.”
The Solomon says, “So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.” Like a man traveling, and in his travels, he lays down somewhere in a field to sleep, and an armed man or a highway robber comes upon him and takes everything that he’s got, including his life. Just a little rest, just a little slumber, but that is exactly what destroyed him.
It is not being aware of what is going on. Not being aware of reality. He is simply unconscious of the dangers around him, and as a result the armed man comes in and takes everything he’s got.
“So shall thy poverty come,” or, you might say this to a lost man, “so shall thy damnation come.” He is sleeping away his opportunity to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is unconcerned about the terrors of hellfire. One day the death angel will come and will pull him screaming into hell and that without remedy
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I think this may refer to a "highwayman".
Also, I think this is more about the mentality of the "sluggard" than it is against appropriate rest which is commanded throughout the Bible.
One of my favorites.
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