Proverbs 6:4-5 (ESV)
4 Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
The father continues his teaching on financial matters, now pressing the urgency of the situation. If the son has put up security for his neighbor and given his pledge for a stranger, he must do whatever he can to free himself from that agreement. There is no time for sleep. He should resolve it before the day is done. No time for slumber. He must not minimize it or assume it will sort itself out. This requires immediate action.
We are often tempted to procrastinate when a situation feels complicated or embarrassing. We tell ourselves we will deal with it tomorrow. Wisdom teaches the opposite. When something is urgent, treat it with urgency. Do not let another day pass. This must become a top priority for the son. The father explains the great lengths he must take to free himself from any foolish decision to pledge for another’s debt.
He says, “Save yourself.” Then he adds two vivid images. Like a gazelle escaping from the hand of a hunter or a bird escaping from the hand of a fowler, the son must act to free himself. Bruce Waltke writes, “As he got into the trap by shaking hands, now he must escape that hand.” An animal caught in a trap does not shrug and plan to try again tomorrow. It struggles to break free because delay could mean death. In the same way, the one who has backed another’s debt must make every effort to be released from an unwise commitment.
Even if we do not co-sign or pledge for another’s debt, we should avoid significant financial decisions without prayerful thought and counsel from wise believers. There may be rare situations when stepping in financially is right before God, such as Paul’s willingness to cover Onesimus’s debt in Philemon 18. But most often, taking responsibility for another person’s debt is unwise, especially if you do not have the means to repay it.
If you have entered into a financial agreement and now recognize the foolishness of your decision, do what you can to get out of it immediately. We are often slow to admit we were wrong. This passage calls us to act decisively. Repair what you can. And if you truly cannot be released, make it your priority to pay it off as quickly as possible. Do what you can to become debt free. Then let this passage train you for the future. Think carefully, and then think again, before you sign the next dotted line.