Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, since thou hast come into the hand of thy friend go, humble thyself, and be urgent with thy friend.
This verse speaks to someone who has already made the mistake and now has to get free of it. The advice is not how to avoid the trap but how to escape it — quickly, and by humbling yourself before the very person you tried to help.
To come "into the hand of your neighbor" is a real loss of control. One writer draws out both the force of the appeal and the cost of making it:
The sense would be "insist earnestly" with him, press upon him... The moral sense is clear, "to go and get it settled" at once, even if the process is humbling. The connection with humbling oneself is this: you have undertaken for the man, and now you must go and press upon him to clear you, and get you out of the scrape. This is very humbling, but you are in his hand... I suppose those who have been in this position know that "going surety" generally means "paying."
(Older translations render the phrase "humble yourself"; the ESV has "hasten.")
To "save yourself" here is not to attack the other man. The way out runs through an admission:
But suppose your words have been spoken, and you wake up to see your folly — do not give way to pride or stubbornness. "Deliver yourself"; and do it not by scolding your neighbour, but by confessing the simple truth of your own carelessness. "Give no sleep to your eyes nor slumber to your eyelids" until this is done. He who gives this direction can make His word effective, and it is as wise as ours may be foolish.
You are told to love your neighbour as yourself. So a command to untangle yourself from his debt can feel cold. The same writer names that tension:
It was all the more remarkable that Jehovah should counsel His own here. They might well feel awkward, since He had told them to love the neighbour as oneself. He does not leave the matter to human judgment, or to its clash with kindly feeling. He warns of the danger in yielding to impulse. If you have taken the unwise step, it is right to admit it. It is wrong to break the words you have spoken, even though keeping them hurts.
Own the folly, but keep your word. The outcome is God's: "Jehovah will not fail to bless subjection to His word, and make a way of escape for both, though each may have to suffer for his own share of the fault."
Does this rule out helping a friend at all? The same writer says no, but sets conditions:
It certainly warns against the thoughtless rashness that too often enters into such an agreement. If you are prepared before God to lose all that is at stake, and believe it is His will, you are free. But are you not a steward?
The verse says "go, hasten." One writer applies that speed to the moment you see you were wrong:
Humbling ourselves before the friend we have offended may not be easy. We may think he is partly to blame. But if I have been to blame in anything, it is my own failure I should judge. If in true humility I apologise to him at once after I have failed — not waiting for a later date — the results will always be good.
The loss here is bigger than money:
If a man has committed himself, he is not to treat his commitment lightly, but to take it as a present obligation. Yet if he wants to be free, he should go and get the person he is pledged for to discharge it at once. Otherwise we are in a situation we cannot control, in the hands of others. We are not free to serve God's will. We may face an unknown outcome that we are still bound to meet. Christians will find this rule of great importance for the quiet and peace of their lives. Breaking it brings sorrow and trouble of heart.
To be surety is to guarantee someone else's debt. One case of it went perfectly:
When the Lord Jesus became surety for us, He was fully prepared to bear all the consequences of our countless sins. He did this perfectly. He had both the ability and the willingness for this. Even if we should be willing to be surety for another, do we have the ability for it? Generally, the answer is no!
- Snared. Your own words caught you, not your neighbour's. So the way out starts with owning your carelessness.
- Humbled. The rescue runs through a humbling errand: go to the man himself and press him to release you.
- Now. Give no sleep to your eyes until it is settled. An apology made at once brings good results.
- Free. The aim is liberty, not just money saved. An obligation you cannot control leaves you unable to serve God's will.
- Covered. You may lack the ability to carry another's debt. Christ had both the willingness and the ability, and He bore it all.
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids
A man has put his name behind someone else's debt, and the answer in verses 1–5 is an alarm, not calm advice. Why is a money promise this dangerous, and what must he do before he lies down again?
Kindness is what makes such a promise easy to give. God does not leave the matter to warm feeling. He names the danger and gives the cure, even when the cure hurts.
It was all the more striking that Jehovah should counsel His own people here. They might feel awkward, since He has also commanded them to love their neighbour as themselves. He does not leave the matter to human judgment, or to the clash between judgment and warm feeling. Instead, He warns of the dangerous result of yielding to impulse. If you have taken the unwise step, it is right to admit it. It is wrong to break the words you have spoken, even though they hurt. What then is fitting? "Go, humble yourself, and press your neighbour." This is painful, but healthy. Jehovah will surely bless obedience to His word. He will make a way of escape for both men, though each may have to suffer for his own share of the fault.
(Verse 3 in the ESV reads, "go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor"; where these writers say "deliver yourself," the ESV says "save yourself.")
Losing sleep is not the point; a specific action is. And the action is not an argument with the other party — it is an admission about yourself.
Does this word forbid such an act of kindness altogether? It does warn against the thoughtless haste that so often goes into such an agreement. If you are prepared before God to lose everything that is at stake, and you believe it is His will, you are free. Even apart from the claims of those closest to you, are you not a steward? Are you sure the undertaking will bear the light? Is it for speculation? But suppose you have already spoken the words, and you wake up to see your folly. Do not give way to pride or stubbornness. "Deliver yourself." Do not scold your neighbour; confess the plain truth of your own carelessness. "Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber" until you have done it. He who gives this direction can make His word effective, and His word is as wise as ours may be foolish.
The rule reaches wider than money. When you have wronged a friend, the same speed is part of the cure.
It may not be easy to humble ourselves before the friend we have offended. We may think he is partly to blame. But if I have been to blame in anything, it is my own failure I should judge. If in true humility I apologise at once, without waiting for a later date, the results will always be good. I shall deliver myself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
What is at stake is more than money. An entangled person is no longer his own to direct.
This chapter starts with two great principles of life: do not commit yourself for the future, and do not be lazy in the present... If a man has committed himself, he is not to treat his commitment lightly, but to take it as a present obligation. Yet if he wants to be free, let him go to the man he stood for and get him to clear the debt at once. Otherwise we are in a position we cannot control, in the hands of others. We are not free to serve God's will. We may face an unknown outcome, and we are still bound to meet it. Christians will find this rule of great importance for the quiet and peace of their lives. Breaking it brings sorrow and trouble of heart.
Verse 4 calls for wakefulness. The next paragraph sends the sleeper to school with the ant, and the contrast is the point.
In full contrast with the earnestness urged here is the lazy folly pictured so vividly next. The sluggard has sunk so low that Jehovah tells him to learn from the tiny ant, which is warning enough for him... Moral weakness in its easygoing way has handed its prey to the hunter and the fowler. In the same way, poverty comes on the listless and lazy like a tramp, or like an armed man no one can turn away. What goodness on Jehovah's part to guard His people from both traps along their earthly path!
- The snare — a pledge made on impulse hands your future to someone else, and the words of your own mouth are what hold you.
- The alarm — God does not tell you to sleep on it. No sleep until the matter is settled.
- The escape — confess your own carelessness. Do not blame the friend you pledged for.
- The timing — apologise today, not at some later date. That speed is what frees the bird from the snare.
- The prize — freedom to serve God's will, and a quiet, peaceful life. The sleeper who will not wake for it meets poverty instead.
deliver thyself as a gazelle from the hand [of the hunter], and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.