I. The scene shows that if we will not have flowers and fruits, we shall certainly have thorns and nettles.
II. The scene shows that the sluggard and the fool cannot hide the results of their neglect.
III. The scene shows how possible it is to be right in some particulars and to be grievously wrong in others. The legal right of the slothful man to the possession of the field might be undisputed. It is not enough to possess; we must increase.
IV. The scene shows that even the worst abuses may be turned to good account. Keep your eyes open, and you will read moral lessons everywhere. (1) You will see that the finest possessions may be wasted: property, talent, influence, opportunity. (2) You will see that wickedness always moves in the direction of destruction.
Parker, City Temple,vol. ii., p. 108 (see also Pulpit Notes,p. 48).
References: Proverbs 24:30-34. S. Cox, Expositor,2nd series, vol. vi., p. 401; W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven,2nd series, p. 290.