Warning Against Adultery Proverbs 5:1-23

42 Pages·2009·0.2 MB·English

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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

Warning Against Adultery

Proverbs 5:1-23

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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

Warning Against Adultery

by

Nick Perez

Text:

Proverbs 5:1-23,

1. My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my
words of insight,
2. that you may maintain discretion and your lips may
preserve knowledge.
3. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is
smoother than oil;
4. but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-
edged sword.
5. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the
grave.a
6. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are
crooked, but she knows it not.
7. Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from
what I say.
8. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of
her house,

a Hebrew Sheol
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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

9. lest you give your best strength to others and your years
to one who is cruel,
10. lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich
another man’s house.
11. At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh
and body are spent.
12. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart
spurned correction!
13. I would not obey my teachers or listen to my
instructors.
14. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the
whole assembly.”
15. Drink water from your own cistern, running water
from your own well.
16. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your
streams of water in the public squares?
17. Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with
strangers.
18. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in
the wife of your youth.
19. A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy
you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
20. Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why
embrace the bosom of another man’s wife?
21. For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he
examines all his paths.
22. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords
of his sin hold him fast.

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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

23. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own
great folly. (NIV)

Introduction:

I. Though spoken some 3,000 years ago, it is good to know that
God’s Word is still just as practical and applicable today as it
was when first uttered.

A. Proverbs was written (most likely) by King Solomon,
son of King David (see Proverbs 1.1; 10.1; 25.1).

1. Proverbs 1:1, The proverbs of Solomon, son of
David, king of Israel: (ESV)

2. Proverbs 10:1, The proverbs of Solomon…
(ESV)

3. Proverbs 25:1, These also are proverbs of...
Solomon. (ESV)

B. Most scholars will place Solomon’s rule at around 970-931
BC, thereby making this Old Testament book quite ancient.

A. But again, though ancient it is still applicable.

II. In a world, a nation run rampant with adultery and illicit
sexual activity, Proverbs 5 is a word fitly spoken.

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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

A. “Recent statistics suggest that 40% of women (and that
number is increasing) and 60% of men at one point indulge
in extramarital affairs.

1. Put those numbers together and it is estimated that
80% of the marriages will have one spouse at one
point or another involved in marital infidelity.”1

B. In addition, recent studies show more teen girls, ages 15-
17, are getting pregnant: 22 per 1000 became pregnant in
2006. (2008 report from National Institutes of Health)

C. Our society is over-sexed; simply tune-in your television
and wait for a commercial with sexual overtones (it will not
take long).

III. Solomon addresses the temptation that plagues so many
today: adultery.

A. Adultery in the Proverbs 5 context, very simply, is the
breaking of marital vows by pursuing illicit sexual
activities with someone who is not your spouse.

B. Though aimed toward men (“My son,” v.1; “O sons,”
v.7), the warning is certainly applicable to both sexes.

1 http://www.lovegevity.com/marriage/collectiveguidance/need_to_know.html
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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

C. The admonition then was to “drink water from your
own cistern” (v.15) – that is, stay with your God-given
mate.

D. This admonition is still true today!

Commentary:

Proverbs 5.1-2, My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline
your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion,
and your lips may guard knowledge. (ESV)

I. “Listen up” says Solomon. This is something vitally
important.

A. Previously, Solomon has made a similar plea to “listen
up”:

1. Proverbs 4:20, My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings. (ESV)

2. Shakespeare’s Marc Antony similarly says, “Lend
me your ears” in “Julius Caesar” (Act 3, scene 2).

B. Here, Solomon is pointing toward his experiential
wisdom and understanding. This is something he knows
firsthand.

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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

C. He wants to pass on this wisdom, understanding so that
his son would not make the same mistake he made.

D. Truly, we too can learn from the wisdom and
understanding of Solomon.

II. “Learn something,” says Solomon. There is something to
glean from these words. What is it?

A. The hearer is to learn discretion.

1. This is to keep control over your thoughts. Bring
them into captivity lest they wander where they
shouldn’t.

2. You will guard yourself by hearing these words and
guarding your thoughts will lead to right conduct and
living.

3. So also the Christian has this responsibility: 2
Corinthians 10:5, We destroy arguments and every
lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God,
and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
(ESV)

4. Not every path in life is to be walked on!

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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

a. Not every thought need be entertained!

b. Solomon is teaching us that there are “mud
holes” to be avoided in life.

B. The hearer is to keep knowledge.

1. In other words, what is good and wholesome will
abide.

2. Only the knowledge and wisdom God desires will
remain.

3. Equipped with knowledge, we can navigate safely
through life and avoid the “mud holes” which can mar
our relationship with God.

Proverbs 5:3-4, For the lips of a forbidden1 woman drip
honey, and her speech2 is smoother than oil, but in the end
she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
(ESV)

I. The Lie about the Forbidden Woman (v.3).

A. First, she is forbidden.

1 Hebrew strange; also verse 20
2 Hebrew palate
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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

1. The marginal reading says “strange.”

2. Hence, she is a woman who is foreign to the son.

3. She is not his and is therefore off limits.

B. In regards to her lips, think voluptuous.

1. The temptation is to just have a little taste.

2. This could be pointing to her kisses – they are sweet
like honey.

C. She is a smooth talker. She says all the right things and
says everything he wants to hear.

1. Men like to hear how powerful they are.

2. Men like to hear how smart they are.

3. Men like to hear how handsome they are.

D. All these things entice the man and allure him to the
siren’s cry.

II. The Truth about the Forbidden Woman (v.4).

A. Solomon says that the honey is really bitter herbs.

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Commentary and Questions by Nick Perez

1. Wormwood is a bitter herb which produces dark
green oil.

2. Note the contrast: it is not smooth oil but bitter oil
if the son pursues the forbidden woman.

B. Since she is a double-edged sword, she ultimately results
in death.

1. The lie that is believed is that the son can have this
forbidden woman.

2. The truth, then, is that if the lie is believed, all that
results is bitterness and death

Proverbs 5:5-6, Her feet go down to death; her steps follow
the path to3 Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her
ways wander, and she does not know it. (ESV)

I. The Path to Death, verse 5.

A. Solomon tells us that this woman’s course of life only
ends in death.

1. Proverbs 2:18-19, for her house sinks down to
death and her paths to the departed; none who go

3 Hebrew lay hold of
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