[Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger; And for an adulterous woman hold him in pledge.]
There are just plain dumb decisions that are made in life. At times when we make these stupid decisions, God in His mercy will deliver us from the consequences. If this happens, do not think God approves your actions - He is just showing amazing mercy to you in the midst of them. But there are some decisions God decides to allow us to face - with the full measure of the consequences being given to us. This proverb tells us about two of them.
The first has to do with a man acting foolish financially. When someone becomes surety for a stranger, that is a very foolish thing to do. This proverb tells us to even take a man's garment when this happens. Just as a reminder, surety is when we co-sign a loan - or guarantee another person's debt. If they default on the loan - we are on the hook for what they owe. The reason this is so foolish here is because someone is doing this for a stranger. He doesn't know the man - and is not related to him. He is just guaranteeing a loan for someone he does not know. He does not have a clue as to his character or his integrity - he just lays down his money to guarantee this man's borrowing. Surety is discouraged for anyone - but this should be a no-brainer when it comes to a stranger. With a family member of friend, we at least have a sense of their character and whether they will be likely to repay the loan. But a stranger - we know nothing about him. Thus, Solomon tells us to take this man's clothes when the loan defaults. This is something that hopefully will teach him a lesson about guaranteeing the loans of others - especially those he does not even know.
[Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger; And for an adulterous woman hold him in pledge.]
There are just plain dumb decisions that are made in life. At times when we make these stupid decisions, God in His mercy will deliver us from the consequences. If this happens, do not think God approves your actions - He is just showing amazing mercy to you in the midst of them. But there are some decisions God decides to allow us to face - with the full measure of the consequences being given to us. This proverb tells us about two of them.
The first has to do with a man acting foolish financially. When someone becomes surety for a stranger, that is a very foolish thing to do. This proverb tells us to even take a man's garment when this happens. Just as a reminder, surety is when we co-sign a loan - or guarantee another person's debt. If they default on the loan - we are on the hook for what they owe. The reason this is so foolish here is because someone is doing this for a stranger. He doesn't know the man - and is not related to him. He is just guaranteeing a loan for someone he does not know. He does not have a clue as to his character or his integrity - he just lays down his money to guarantee this man's borrowing. Surety is discouraged for anyone - but this should be a no-brainer when it comes to a stranger. With a family member of friend, we at least have a sense of their character and whether they will be likely to repay the loan. But a stranger - we know nothing about him. Thus, Solomon tells us to take this man's clothes when the loan defaults. This is something that hopefully will teach him a lesson about guaranteeing the loans of others - especially those he does not even know.
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