Proverbs 12:27, The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

Proverbs speaks much about men whom God classifies as slothful.  

There is an animal that is called a sloth and this animal has been so named for its inactive, sluggish, almost idle ways for this is what slothfulness is all about. 

God uses this term in the following proverbs and it is never used in a complimentary way.

Proverbs 15:19, The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns (full of barriers): but the way of the righteous is made plain.

Proverbs 18:9, He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. (Waster of time)

Proverbs 19:15, Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

Proverbs 19:24, A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

Proverbs 21:25, The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. (Always wanting things but not willing to make effort to get it)

Proverbs 22:13, The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. (Full of excuses)

Proverbs 26:14, As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.

And Proverbs 24:30-34 speaks of the conclusion of a wise man as he observed the field of the slothful for it was all grown over with thorns, having its stone wall broken down.

The wise man concluded that little by little that which a man owns will reveal the man as slothful or diligent for both slothfulness and diligence are ways of life. 

We all exhibit sloth at times but to the man of our proverb sloth is a way of life.

So our proverb for today reveals to us another characteristic of slothfulness, and that characteristic concerns the wasting of that which God has provided. 

It is a waste not, want not proverb.  

I taught this proverb 17 years ago and did not throw away my notes therefore when arriving at this proverb in chapter 12 I did not have want.

I wasted not therefore I want not and so here is the lesson for the second time!

Proverbs 12:27, The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

God uses the subject of hunting to teach us our lesson but in case you say you are not a hunter and therefore this proverb does not apply to you, I will recite the message of the first portion of this proverb in several ways?

Perhaps one of the ways will snatch you, for all of us are slothful in one thing or the other, are we not!

1) The slothful man eats not of the fruit of the tomato plants he bought but never planted, nor the food from a plowed, but unplanted field, nor does he smell the flowers which would come from the seeds or bulbs he bought but never sowed.

2) The slothful mother who does not teach her children to obey will not enjoy the children which she bore in her body, suffering great pain from child birth.

For she sacrifices the effort of childbearing by not being rewarded with the pleasures of obedient children who are or will be a blessing.

Birthing was a good start, but the ending will not be good because she did not finish the job.

3) The slothful man lives not in the house which he started building but never finished or he never enjoys the project which he began but today collects dust.

His beginning efforts were lost and resulted in no blessing for himself and his family.

4) The slothful man works all day holding up "Will work for food" signs but that effort never extends to real work that results in the enjoyment of the fruit of labor and blessings to others.

Will work for food is a promise not kept!

He offers a promise of work but has no intention of working.

5) The slothful person through much effort develops a talent such as the playing of an instrument or the development of his or her voice yet never uses that talent for man or for the Lord.

6) A slothful man makes great effort to develop a body of strength yet he does not use that strength in service to others.

7) The slothful man hoards all manner of material goods and money yet never puts to use that which takes great effort to accumulate.

Lifetimes are spent hunting for wealth but the wealth is never roasted, that is, turned into something that will bless.

Money in the bank has no taste just like that which is hunted but never roasted has no taste.

An identifying mark of the slothful has to do with a lack in turning a start into a blessing.

It has to do with a lack in finishing what he starts.

The slothful man may start out successfully but has no staying power.

He may be filled with ideas and activity but has not the character to execute ideas and extend that activity to a useful purpose.

God gives only a short time to act on that which is taken in hunting and if that which is taken is not roasted he takes back that which he gave.

God has made natural processes to provide opportunity to roast only for a short time for in this system He promotes diligence.

God does not give opportunity forever.

That which is not roasted in the allowable time is unfit for roasting and for eating.

To everything there is a season, even for the roasting of meat.

Strike while the iron is hot the saying goes! 

Why put the iron into the fire using up fuel if the iron is not shaped?

Why does God say in Ecclesiastics 12:1,  Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

That which is not done in youth many times cannot be done in old age.

The slothful waste their youth on things of little value and provide no blessing for future years from their youth.

Benjamin Franklin said:  Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of.

If you waste your youth, you are wasting much of your life.

Another mark of the slothful is his lack of understanding that lost opportunity results in no further opportunity.

Opportunity ceases to knock at a door that is unanswered.

Opportunity must be encouraged by acceptance, otherwise opportunity goes elsewhere.

Did not Jesus Christ tell us of the parable of the talents?

What about the lost opportunity of the slothful servant who hid his talent in the earth.

He had an opportunity to increase that talent for the Lord but his slothfulness governed him to the point of him hiding that talent in the earth.

He chose the easy road but that road resulted in severe rebuke of his master instead of honor.

Another mark of the slothful is a doing or taking of that which is pleasant but a rejection of that which is not pleasant.

The slothful does the part of the activity that is pleasant but he does not do the part of the activity that is unpleasant.

He gets excited about hunting and takes part but is not willing to do the dirty work so that the hunted can be roasted. 

Also some think it fun to go fishing but the price of fishing, that of cleaning the fish, is often avoided.

So many want to take the good without paying the full price.

Hunting ought to be done for the purpose of blessing others and yourself with food.

The blessing of hunting is not fully realized unless that which is gained from hunting is roasted and eaten.

The slothful man does the part of the work that he likes but rejects the part that is difficult.

Therefore the slothful man is a waster of God's provision.

The slothful man may plant the seed but he refuses to cultivate, water, fertilize, prune, purge, pick, crush, or bottle, the fruit.

He is good at starting but he is not good at finishing.

The slothful man has no root from which to draw strength to continue to the end.

In a spiritual sense the natural man is a hunter but never eats of that which is gained, and therefore he suffers loss.

The natural man may hunt for God but never partakes of God.

The natural man is spiritually slothful.

In John 6:53-58, Jesus said to the Jews:... Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Jesus here describes the most intimate of relations with him which is brought about by being born of the Spirit.

But as the hunter abhors the intimacy required to prepare the hunted for roasting, the natural man abhors intimacy with Christ because it requires the humbling of oneself in repentance.

So there may be head knowledge of Christ but there never comes a real knowing of Christ, who He is and what He has done.

Now we are told in this proverb that the substance of a diligent man is precious.

Is not Christ precious? The slothful think not.

They refuse to bring to a closure that which they hunt.

Remember King Agrippa who listened long to Paul as he preached Christ?

King Agrippa was a hunting as he listened to Paul but he refused to roast that which he took in hunting.

He said to Paul in Acts 26:28 ... Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

Almost, almost, almost, a synonym for the slothful.  

Hunting without eating.

The slothful have a lack of understanding of the value of substance.

The slothful have a lack of understanding as to from where that substance comes.

The slothful do not understand that that which they took in hunting comes from God and God expects all to be good stewards of that which he provides.

The substance of a diligent man is precious.

He knows that substance comes from God.

He knows that substance is the reward of the diligent.

He knows that that which is taken in hunting is a reward from God for diligence and to be enjoyed by adding the labor of roasting to it.

The diligent know that if God gives tomatoes they must be picked, they must be sliced or diced or cooked.

The diligent know that if God gives children they must be loved, and nurtured and admonished for the Lord.

The diligent know that substance is given by God for a purpose and that stewardship of that substance must be exercised.

As Proverbs 3:9 says, Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Even that which is taken in hunting should be used to honor the Lord.

The slothful man is slothful and his slothfulness extends even to his lack of homage to the Lord by not roasting what the Lord has put into his hands by hunting.

God always gives full blessings but the slothful stop before the fullness comes. 

The natural man stops at what the eye, the nose, the ear, the taste, the touch reveal. 

Jesus said, Ask and it shall be given you Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.

The slothful only go so far and take but do not ask and miss out on what God will give, they do not seek and therefore will not find, and refuse to knock and in so doing nothing is opened to them. 

And as Paul wrote Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:7, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For coming to the knowledge of the truth about themselves is shunned as too difficult to face. 

So instead they choose to take hold on what they say is the good life, but in reality it is simply the way of death.

God provides for all we need and what we take from the hand of God is to be thought of as precious. 

And that which is precious to us is not to be wasted but instead used for God’s glory. 

God gives us life and as our Pastor has recently taught He gives us that life that we may spend it and be spent by it. 

We are not to be as the slothful man who prepared himself to hunt, was rewarded with his prey but ended up wasting his time for no eating of the prey took place. 

God gives us a life to hunt and he also promises us the prey to enjoy for an eternity with him. 

But the slothful will not reach beyond the hunt and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

An Earlier and Shorter Version

Proverbs 12:27,  The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

Lest you say you are not a hunter and therefore this proverb does not apply to you, I will recite the message of the first portion of this proverb in several ways?

Perhaps one of the ways will catch you, for we are all of us slothful in one thing or the other!

1) The slothful man eats not of the fruit of the tomato plants he bought but never planted, nor the food from a plowed, but unplanted field, nor does he smell the flowers from the seeds or bulbs he bought but never sowed.

2) The slothful mother who does not discipline will not enjoy the children which she bore in her body suffering great pain from child birth.

She sacrifices the effort of childbearing by not being rewarded with the pleasures of obedient children who are a blessing.

Good start, horrible ending because she did not finish the job.

3) The slothful man lives not in the house that he started but never finished.

His beginning efforts were lost and resulted in no blessing for himself and his family.

4) The slothful man works all day holding up "Will work for food" signs but that effort never extends to real work that results in the enjoyment of the fruit of labor and blessing to others.

Will work for food is a promise not  kept! He offers a promise of work but has no intention of working.

5) The slothful man through effort develops a talent such as the playing of an instrument or the development of his voice yet never uses that talent for man or for the Lord.

6) A slothful man makes great effort to develop a body of strength yet he does not use that strength in service to others.

7) The slothful man hoards all manner of material goods and money yet never puts to use that which takes great effort to accumulate.

Lifetimes are spent hunting for wealth but the wealth is never roasted, that is, turned into something that will bless.

Money in the bank has no taste just like that which is hunted but never roasted has no taste.

An identifying mark of the slothful has to do with a lack in turning a start into a blessing.

It has to do with a lack in finishing what he starts.

The slothful man may start out successfully but has no staying power.

He may be filled with ideas and activity but has not the character to execute ideas and extend that activity to a useful purpose.

God gives only a short time to act on that which is taken in hunting and if that which is taken in hunting is not roasted he takes back that which he gave.

He has made natural processes to provide opportunity to roast only for a short time.

Opportunity is not forever.

That which is not roasted in the allowable time is unfit for roasting and for eating.

To everything there is a season, even for the roasting of meat.

Strike while the iron is hot the saying goes!

Why does God say in Ecclesiastics 12:1,  Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

That which is not done in youth cannot be done in old age.

The slothful waste their youth on things of little value and provide no blessing for future years from their youth.

Another mark of the slothful is his lack of understanding that lost opportunity results in no further opportunity.

Opportunity ceases to knock at a door that is unanswered.

Opportunity must be encouraged by acceptance, otherwise opportunity goes elsewhere.

Did not Jesus Christ tell us of the parable of the talents?

What about the lost opportunity of the slothful servant who hid his talent in the earth.

He had an opportunity to increase that talent for the Lord but his slothfulness governed him to the point of him hiding that talent in the earth.

He chose the easy road but that road resulted in severe rebuke of his master instead of honor.

Another mark of the slothful is a doing or taking of that which is pleasant but a rejection of that which is not pleasant.

The slothful does the part of the activity that is pleasant but he does not do the part of the activity that is unpleasant.

He gets excited about hunting and takes part but is not willing to do the dirty work so that the hunted can be roasted.

He takes the good without paying the full price.

Hunting ought to be done for the purpose of blessing others and yourself with food.

The blessing of hunting is not fully realized unless that which is gained from hunting is roasted and eaten.

The slothful man does the part of the work that he likes but rejects the part that is difficult.

Therefore the slothful man is a waster of God's provision.

The slothful man may plant the seed but he refuses to cultivate, water, fertilize, prune, purge, pick, crush, or bottle, the fruit.

He is good at starting but he is not good at finishing.

The slothful man has no root from which to draw strength to continue to the end.

In a spiritual sense the natural man is a hunter but never eats of that which is gained, and therefore he suffers loss.

The natural man hunts for God but never partakes of God.

The natural man is spiritually slothful.

In John 6:53-58,  Jesus said to the Jews:... Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

As the hunter abhors the intimacy required to prepare the hunted for roasting the natural man abhors intimacy with Christ because it requires repentance.

It requires a cessation of hunting and the letting of God hunt him.

We are told in this proverb that the substance of a diligent man is precious.

Is not Christ precious? The slothful think not.

They refuse to bring to a closure that which they hunt.

Remember King Agrippa who listened long to Paul as he preached Christ?

King Agrippa was a hunting as he listened to Paul but he refused to roast that which he took in hunting.

He said to Paul in Acts 26:28 ... Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

Almost, a synonym for slothful. Hunting without eating.

The slothful have a lack of understanding of the value of substance.

The slothful have a lack of understanding as to where that substance comes from.

The slothful do not understand that that which they took in hunting comes from God and God expects all to be good stewards of that which he provides.

The substance of a diligent man is precious.

He knows that substance comes from God.

He knows that substance is the reward of the diligent.

He knows that that which is taken in hunting is a reward from God for diligence and to be enjoyed by adding the labor of roasting to it.

The diligent know that if God gives tomatoes they must be picked.

The diligent know that if God gives children they must be nurtured and admonished for the Lord.

The diligent know that substance is given by God for a purpose and that stewardship of that substance must be exercised.

As Proverbs 3:9 says,  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Even that which is taken in hunting should be used to honor the Lord.

The slothful man is slothful and his slothfulness extends even to his lack of homage to the Lord by not roasting what the Lord has put into his hands by hunting.

No present blessing can be enjoyed without grasping something beyond.