Bird's-eye view
Here in Proverbs, the wisdom of God descends from the heights of theological principle to the dusty floorboards of everyday life. And there is nothing more everyday than money, debt, and the entanglements that come with them. These two verses are a sharp, practical warning against a particular kind of financial folly, what we call co-signing or becoming a guarantor for someone else's loan. It is a warning against presumption, against foolishly overextending yourself for another, and it is rooted in a fundamental realism about human nature and the nature of worldly wealth. Solomon is not telling us to be ungenerous; the book of Proverbs is full of exhortations to help the poor. Rather, he is telling us to be wise, to not make promises we cannot keep, and to not risk our own stability on the uncertain foundation of another man's financial discipline.
The core issue is one of stewardship and jurisdiction. God has given you certain resources, and you are to manage them wisely before Him. To pledge your own assets as collateral for another man's debt is to step outside your lane, to presume upon the future, and to entangle your own household in a web you did not spin and cannot control. The consequences, as the text makes brutally clear, can be devastating, extending to the loss of your own bed. This is not just bad financial advice; it is a violation of the created order. It is a failure to recognize that while we are called to bear one another's burdens, we are not called to take up another's foolishness as our own.
Outline
- 1. The Prohibition Against Foolish Pledges (v. 26)
- a. The Act: Striking Hands (v. 26a)
- b. The Role: Becoming Guarantors for Debts (v. 26b)
- 2. The Consequence of Foolish Pledges (v. 27)
- a. The Condition: Having Nothing to Pay (v. 27a)
- b. The Result: Forfeiting Your Own Security (v. 27b)
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 26 Do not be among those who strike hands in pledge, Among those who become guarantors for debts.
The verse opens with a direct prohibition: "Do not be among those." This is covenantal language. It is a call to be separate, to not associate with a particular class of people who engage in a particular kind of folly. The wisdom of God creates a people, and that people is defined by what they do and, just as importantly, what they refuse to do. The Christian life is one of marked separation from the world's patterns of thought and behavior, and this extends to financial dealings.
The specific action prohibited is to "strike hands in pledge." This was the ancient equivalent of signing on the dotted line. It was a physical act that sealed a formal, binding agreement. When you struck hands, you were giving your word, and in the ancient world, your word was your bond. The issue here is not the act of making a promise itself, but the nature of the promise being made. You are putting yourself forward as surety, as a guarantor, for the debts of another.
This is different from giving or lending to a man in need. It is one thing to give a man a hundred dollars. It is another thing entirely to tell a third party that if the man to whom you would have given a hundred dollars defaults on a ten thousand dollar loan, you will make it good. In the first instance, you have controlled the extent of your risk. You have given what you determined you could give. In the second, you have handed control of your financial future over to the character and circumstances of another man. This is what the Proverb condemns. It is a form of financial Russian Roulette. You are providing the collateral for someone else's debts, and as the next verse shows, it may be your bed that goes away. This is what it means to be "void of understanding" (Prov. 17:18).
v. 27 If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take your bed from under you?
This verse lays out the brutal logic of the situation with a rhetorical question. The "if" here is not a remote possibility; it is the likely outcome that the wise man foresees and the fool ignores. "If you have nothing with which to pay" assumes the very real possibility that the original borrower will default. The world is full of men who are long on promises and short on cash. The fool believes every word (Prov. 14:15), but the prudent man looks well to his going.
The question is stark: "Why should he take your bed from under you?" The "he" is the creditor. The creditor is not a villain in this story; he is simply acting according to the terms of the agreement that the foolish guarantor made. He is owed money, and the guarantor has pledged his own property as security. The bed represents the most basic level of personal security and comfort. To lose your bed is to lose your place of rest, your stability, your home. It is a picture of utter ruin.
The question "Why should he?" is not asking for a legal justification. The legal justification is plain: you struck hands, you made a pledge. The question is aimed at the guarantor's folly. Why would you put yourself in this position? Why would you risk your own basic necessities on the reliability of another man's finances? It is an unnecessary risk, a self-inflicted wound. You are not helping the poor by making yourself poor. You are not exercising faith by being presumptuous. You are simply being a fool, and the Proverb is a sharp slap to the face to wake you up before you find yourself sleeping on the floor.
Application
The application of this passage is as straightforward as it gets. Do not co-sign loans. Do not put your name and your assets on the line for another person's debt. This is not a popular message in a culture that runs on credit and easy promises. But the Word of God is not concerned with popularity; it is concerned with wisdom, and wisdom builds her house on a firm foundation.
This does not mean we are to be tight-fisted and unhelpful. The Scriptures command generosity. If your brother has a need, and you have the ability to help him, then you should help him. Give to him. Lend to him, expecting nothing in return (Luke 6:35). But notice the difference. When you give, you are the one making the decision about how much you can afford. When you lend directly, you are still in control of the transaction. But when you become a guarantor, you have outsourced your financial well being to another. You have, in a very real sense, made that man your master, because his decisions can bring ruin to your doorstep. "The borrower is servant to the lender" (Prov. 22:7), and the guarantor has foolishly volunteered for a form of that same servitude.
Our central encumbrance should be the debt of love (Rom. 13:8). All other debts should be minimized. We are to be free men in Christ, and this freedom has a practical, financial dimension. Do not allow yourself to be entangled in such a way that you cannot freely serve God and your neighbor. Be generous, be helpful, be a true friend, but do not be a fool. Do not strike hands, and do not let the creditor take your bed.