Putting up security for another and striking hands in a pledge were talked about in detail in chapter 6 verses 1 thru 5. There the Father tells his son to escape such a trap as quickly as possible. These two phrases are referring to business responsibilities for someone else’s debt or for some other obligation like paying back a debt because I paid for something on credit.
Here the truth is stated that he who puts up security for another will surely suffer. The bondsman trade is a similar type of transaction. The bonding company charges a fee, usually between 12% and 15% of the bond amount so a person who is charged with an alleged crime does not have to be in jail as they await trial. Unlike a cash bond, this fee is non-refundable.
Jesus is like a bondsman in that he put up himself as a bond so that I can go free as I await trial. More than that, on the day of trial I will be found innocent of sin because he paid the price for my sin. Jesus is my bondsman and my scapegoat. Surely Jesus suffered when he put security for me.
1 Peter 2:21-25 states, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
