Men do not despise the thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger. Sermons
I. SIN SPRINGS FROM THE ROOT OF DESIRE. (Ver. 25.) This is the general law (James 1:14, 15). Hence the last command of the Decalogue (Exodus 20:17; Matthew 5:28). The objects of desire may be good in themselves, but not lawful for our possession, as e.g. anything that belongs to our neighbour. Or the object may only seem to be good in itself, and its possession may be both unlawful and pernicious. This is the case with the adulteress. Her beauty is a deceitful show. It is a symbol with no moral worth behind it. The beauty, the "twinkling eye," are only sensuous charms. We must not speak of desire abstractly as if it were wrong, but of the indiscriminating desire, which confounds the lawful with the unlawful, the real with the unreal. II. ADULTEROUS DESIRE BOTH UNLAWFUL AND PERNICIOUS, 1. The extravagance and avarice of the adulteress. (Ver. 26.) This is a commonplace of observation. Excess in one passion affects the whole moral equilibrium, and she who will lavish away her honour will be reckless of other waste. 2. She is a spendthrift of her lover's life. The Hebrew designates the soul or life as dear, or costly. After making havoc of his possessions, she preys upon his life, more precious than all. 3. The deadly certainty of those results of such liaisons. (Vers. 27-29.) By two impassioned questions the teacher conveys the most emphatic denial of what they suggest. 4. The further certainty of penal consequences on detection. Conveyed by means of an analogy (vers. 30, 31). The act of the thief who steals to quiet his starving stomach is not overlooked. If apprehended, he is made to restore sevenfold. The Mosaic Law says four or fivefold (Exodus 21:36; Exodus 22:1, sqq.; cf. Luke 19:8). The "sevenfold" merely expresses a round sum generally; the thief might have to buy off his exemption from legal prosecution with all he had. Much less, then, can the graver crime of adultery escape punishment, if detected. And hence the senselessness and suicidal conduct of the lover (ver. 32). 5. Other risks of detection. Castigation and ignominy at the hands of the outraged husband (ver. 33). Exposure to all the fury of excited jealousy, which is unsparing, fiercely vindictive, insatiable, unappeasable (vers. 34, 35). 1. The lower motive - fear of consequences - is the most powerful deterrent from crime. 2. But the higher motives, derived from the sense of what crime is in itself and in relation to the doer, are needed when the other is not acting. 3. It is not being found out that makes the evil evil, - that is an accident; the essence of the clime is in the wrong done to the soul. - J.
If he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. The deceitful and perverting influence of sin requires careful consideration. While as yet it is only a principle in the mind, and not ripened into an external action, it draws into its service the various powers of imagination, invention, and even reason itself. By these powers the forbidden object is represented as a source of peculiar enjoyment, or it is invested with features of external attraction, or it is exhibited as fitted to gratify curiosity at least, and to extend the sphere of natural knowledge. Even after the principle is matured into action, and its fatal consequences begin to be felt, it employs the same powers to find excuses and apologies for the act. The sources from which apologies are drawn are exceedingly numerous. But this is the striking peculiarity of sin, that it seeks with greatest eagerness to draw them from the character, the providence, or the Word of God. The passage now before us seems to hold out an excuse for stealing, or at least to take off the odiousness and criminality of it.I. THE ASPECT OF THIS ACT IN THE SIGHT OF MEN. The text implies that by men it is considered as venial or excusable. But it is the act under special limitations. 1. Limited exclusively to food. The thing stolen is not classed as property. It is that which is seldom coveted, and never for its own sake except under the influence of hunger. But this can never be drawn into an excuse for stealing in general. The food is supposed to be taken by the thief only when he is hungry. It is not inspired by covetousness, but by hunger. This is a very important limitation. Food may be stolen with as much criminality as any other thing, for it may be turned into money. 2. But the feeling of hunger itself is restricted by the text. The purpose for which it supposes food to be stolen is to satisfy. The thief must take no more even of it than is necessary to extinguish present hunger. He is not permitted to carry any away either to provide against future necessity, or to procure anything which he may be anxious to possess. 3. Food is supposed to be stolen merely to "satisfy the soul"— that is, to preserve the life. The thief must be at the point of extreme necessity, at which, if he did not commit the act under consideration, he would actually surrender his life. II. THE ASPECT OF THIS ACT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. The text does not state that God regards this thief with indulgence. The context implies that this individual has incurred the penalty of the law, and must be punished if he be found. Mercy, which sets aside the demands of the law, is only sin, and, if generally acted on, would be attended with the most ruinous consequences. The mercy of man is a very inadequate medium for contemplating the mercy of God. Though the act under consideration may seem perfectly innocent to man, it may appear highly criminal and dangerous in the sight of God. The justice of this estimate may be clearly perceived by attending to this case of necessity in two aspects. 1. If the thief has been involved in this necessitous condition by his own misconduct — by idleness, intemperance, or any other immoral habit — he is plainly guilty. The very necessity to which he has been reduced is s sinful necessity, since it has been occasioned by his own misconduct. 2. When he has been involved in it by the providence of God. Even in this view the act under consideration is decidedly sinful. It is a serious misimprovement and abuse of God's providence. We may see that even the most extreme case of necessity will not warrant unbelief and the commission of sin. It is better to surrender even life itself than give way to an immoral and criminal act. A case can never occur in which one precept of the law may be set aside in order to avoid the violation of another. The case in which life is in danger is evidently the most extreme; it plainly comprehends every other. If the law is not to be broken in the superior, it is not to be broken in the inferior case; if it is not to be violated when life is at stake, it is much less to be violated when any inferior benefit is at stake. (George Hislop.) People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Appetite, Despise, Fill, Hunger, Hungry, Low, Opinion, Satisfy, Soul, Starving, Steal, Stealeth, Steals, Takes, ThiefOutline 1. against indebtedness6. idleness 12. and mischievousness 16. seven things detestable to God 20. the blessings of obedience 25. the mischief of unfaithfulness Dictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 6:30 5447 poverty, causes 5341 hunger Library The Talking BookA Sermon (No. 1017) Delivered on Lord's Day Morning, October 22nd, 1871 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee."--Proverbs 6:22. It is a very happy circumstance when the commandment of our father and the law of our mother are also the commandment of God and the law of the Lord. Happy are they who have a double force to draw them to the right--the bonds of nature, and the cords of grace. They sin with a vengeance who sin both against … C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs An Appeal to Children of Godly Parents The Talking Book How Sowers of Strifes and Peacemakers are to be Admonished. A Jealous God How Subjects and Prelates are to be Admonished. The Preface to the Commandments "Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. " The Heavenly Footman; Or, a Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven: In Death and after Death "And Watch unto Prayer. 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