Proverbs 5:1-3 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding, So that you may maintain discretion And your lips may comply with knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And her speech is smoother than oil;
For whatever reason, we tend to gravitate towards things that we have no business going after. Young children who love to reach up on the stove, not realizing that those burners may be hot, and then grab whatever is on the stove. It obviously has something to do with them seeing their parents and grandparents cooking but I can’t tell you how many times I have had to tell my children “do not reach up here or you will get burned”. Some children tend to treat these kinds of warnings as a “challenge”. Like, “oh boy, lets see if I can do this without getting hurt”. People treat immorality in the same fashion.
Proverbs is filled with instructions regarding sexual sins and sometimes we may get ourselves hung up with words that may hinder our understanding of what is being talked about. As you can see, the NASB translation says “adulteress” but it isn’t speaking only specifically about adultery. The Hebrew word means “strange” and some translations renders it that way. Even with that, that doesn’t specify much so we need to dig a little deeper for a better understanding. Adultery is definitely involved, but it is much more than that. Solomon is dealing with all sexual immorality, and he is instructing his son concerning sexual sins with other women who are not his spouse.
Let me say that one more time for those in the back. He is giving us instructions concerning sexual sins with women who are NOT YOUR SPOUSE. This instruction is also true for women. This means that this is dealing with sexual sins with other men who are NOT YOUR SPOUSE. Consider how the ESV and CSB renders Proverbs 5:3.
ESV “For the lips of a forbidden woman…”
CSB “Though the lips of the forbidden woman…”
This is about the time that most people start yapping back saying “that old book is outdated!”, “you need to get with the times preacher!”, or “God said do not judge!”. Let me say it in another way where anyone who reads this can understand what I am trying to say. You have no business having any sort of sexual relations with anyone who is not your spouse. No, I do not care how old you are. I do not care how mature you think you are. No, I still do not care about how you think that this is the only way that you can choose your spouse. No, I will never care about your opinion on this matter if you are not providing a book, chapter, and verse foundation for your choice.
It is irresponsible for anyone to tell our children that the only way to find a spouse is to make sure that you are sexually compatible. Exactly how shallow do we have to be? Nobody is denying that this is an act that comes with marriage but do not let that be the only selling point. If it is, I can promise you that your marriage will be miserable.
Proverbs 7:18-21 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning; Let’s delight ourselves with caresses. For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey. He has taken a bag of money with him. At the full moon he will come home. With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him.
People are comfortable with the idea that they won’t get caught. “Nobody has to know about this”, “This will be our little secret”, “It is only this one time!”. We are led to believe that we will get away with what we are doing and that nobody else will know. This is not only dangerous, but very stupid. It is foolish for us to think that we will be able to hide these kinds of behaviors from everyone. Hello, did you forget about God?
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Proverbs 5:4-6 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.
Why is it important to guard against immorality? Because Solomon reveals to us that the end result is bitter. Everything seems great but nobody considers the end results of sexual sin. Movies and TV shows glorify immorality, but very rarely do they reveal the negative effects of such behaviors. Your lives will be full of regret and sorrow. With immorality, nobody considers going home to their families and the damage being done to them. Nobody is considering the possibility of pregnancy or disease. Nobody is considering the emotional damage that stems from these sins and they are certainly not thinking about how their sins impact their relationships with God.
Proverbs 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?
It is silly to think that we can carry literal fire on our chests and not be burned. With this being the case, why on earth would we think that we can engage in any form of immorality and not pay the consequences?
Proverbs 6:32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it.
-Lee Elkins
