The Apple of Sodom
Reflective Reading: Proverbs 10:16, 13:11, 14:23, 21:25, 23:4
This morning I found a wealth of treasure tucked away in a seemingly simple verse. There is always more than meets the eye when studying the Scriptures. Such was the case when I came upon Proverbs 15:19,
“The way of the slothful is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.”
Pretty straightforward, right? I think of it like this—a slothful or lazy person is always filled with excuses. There’s always something in the way that restricts his forward motion. Often he just can’t get started. His life is filled with distractions, a lack of focus, and a lack of drive.
The classic “lazy person” sees difficult but obtainable tasks as insurmountable. In Proverbs 22:13 we read:
“The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”
The lazy person believes his excuses for not getting the job done, are acceptable and rational. Even after hours of so called “work,” the results are superficial. This brings us back to our verse:
“The way of the slothful is as an hedge of thorns…”
This word thorns appears only twice in the Bible. In Micah 7, this word appears as briar: Micah writes, “The best of them is as a briar…” In both passages the idea is that the lazy person who gives the impression of efficiency and effectiveness is no better than a briar or prickly thorn. This reminds me of the time I was interviewing a man for a position here at Lamplighter. He was dressed impressively, right down to his gold cufflinks. (Who wears gold cuff links today?!) He was a bit overdressed, but I was impressed with, ahmmm—his outward appearance!
The interview went well, and he seemed a good fit for the position—until I invited him to my favorite café. My secretary had borrowed my car, so I asked him if he could drive. He looked like he was about to faint, but said, “Sure, I just need to rearrange some things.” A short time later he was still “rearranging” his vehicle. As I approached, I was astonished. His car was filled with what looked like years of garbage. There were more McDonald’s and Wendy’s bags of old lunches than I had ever seen!
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with laziness and thorns. Let’s take a closer look at today’s text. “The way of the slothful is as an hedge of thorns…” The word thorns carries the idea of prickly thorns or a prickly plant. In Micah 7, the context around the word “thorn” presents three people: a prince, a judge, and a rich man. Each of these individuals are in positions of authority and opulence. Similar to today, these three characters weave evil plans together to make their case strong in the eyes of others. They have an appearance of righteousness and justice. But the prophet Micah helps us to see through their outward appearance. He uses them as an illustration to show that they are at “best” (“The best of them is as a briar”)…a brier, thorn, or prickly plant. Some theologians believe this refers to a class of plants known as the “apple of Sodom.” The apple of Sodom is a proverbial expression for something that promises good but only gives trouble. In the Pulpit commentary we read,
“The osher of the Arab is the true apple of Sodom. A very tropical-looking plant, its fruit is like a large smooth apple or orange, and hangs in clusters of three or four together. When ripe, it is yellow, and looks fair and attractive, and is soft to the touch, but if pressed, it bursts with a crack, and only the broken shell and a row of small seeds in a half-open pod, with a few dry filaments, remain in the hand.”
So there you have it—beware of people who give the appearance of being one thing but are really another. As we come to the last part of this verse, I would like to focus for a moment on the righteous and their reward:
“The way of the slothful is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.”
The righteous person is not affected by obstacles and adversity. What was once seen as dangerous and impassable to the sluggard, is a king’s highway for the righteous. The word plain is the real treasure of this passage. In Hebrew, it means to lift high or to lift a burden. It carries the idea of exaltation. The lazy person can look good with their gold cuff links, but the righteous person lifts burdens and in the end is exalted.
Just seconds ago, I received the following quote from a friend. I believe it is a perfect ending to this article:
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work!”
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
M.S., M. Div., Th. M., D. Min.
Recommended Reading:
Basil, or Honesty and Industry (Ages 6+)
Stick to the Raft (Ages 9+)
Phil Tyler’s Stand (Ages 12+)
