Proverbs 5:1-14 - The Trap of Adultery

Proverbs 5:1-14
¹ My son, give attention to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding;
² That you may observe discretion and your lips may reserve knowledge.
³ For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech;
⁴ But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
⁵ Her feet go down to death,  her steps take hold of Sheol.
⁶ She does not ponder the path of life; her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

⁷ Now then, my sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
⁸ Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house,
⁹ Or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the cruel one;
¹⁰ And strangers will be filled with your strength and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; 

 ¹¹ And you groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed;
¹² And you say, “How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof!
¹³ “I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors!
¹⁴ “I was almost in utter the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

Message: The Trap of Adultery

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

The focus of today's passage is on adultery. This is long because it is meant to be clear. This is not fire to play with.

One thing that I looked at and noticed in my study yesterday of Proverbs 1, was that people are enticed and taken away by something often in their life. I often call this a temptation or that I have wandered off path and are engaging in sin. In actuality, in the Bible, this is referred to as having an idol in our lives. Idolatry is anything in our lives that we do to bring us joy and we do it in order to give us peace about life. We do it to give us joy. Our joy is not found in Christ, but it is found in this other thing that isn't just a part of our life but it becomes often what keeps us going. It becomes what we spend our money on or what we spend most of our time on. It becomes what we think about. And over time, God and His word are replaced more and more. No longer am I surrendering to God and His word and thinking that God's word is the highest source of good in my life. Now, I see this idol as that which can give me joy.

Their is idolatry in: video games, TV watching, Movie watching, eating, shopping, music, smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs, friends. There are many different idols in our lives, some not even so sin apparent.

This is rampant in our lives. The idol could be anything and often with people, it is anything. And yet what most people find, when they are honest with themselves is this idol does not necessarily bring them lasting joy. There isn't a peace in life like there is when Christ is on the throne. Testimonies from people resonate this when they say, "I tried ........ and it never brought complete satisfaction, but then I turned my life over to Christ and let Him take the reins and life became fulfilled."

In Proverbs 1:10-19 the enticement was friends that lured the pupil away to do things that were impure. The passage spoke of evil things but that evil could be anything. The key was it was with the wrong people, doing bad stuff, and that bad stuff ended up having a consequence. The last phrase of verse 19 says, "It takes away the life of its possessors." It's end is death. And today in this passage is immediately an equal warning as Solomon says in verse 5, "her feet go down to death; her steps take hold of Sheol."

What is it that I have done in my life to try and replace God in order to give me the peace and enjoyment that only He can bring? For me, money comes to mind. It's not that I have a lot, necessarily, but I often think that if I just had enough then life would be simpler. I say this because our wants are abundant and so I think that by having those things that I desire, and my family desires, that then I will be satisfied. Yet, I know it will be momentary because our desires never cease.

Very Important Subject Matter
First of all, I like how Solomon begins. Son, (1) Give your attention to me. Not an easy task sometimes in life to get someone to concentrate on what the other person is saying. Solomon clearly is saying that "I have something important to say. (2) Incline your ear to my understanding. Bend your ear not just to listen, but understand. We hear a lot of things each day, but how much do we really internalize or then practice? Solomon is saying to his pupils, what I have to say is meant to be followed. (3) That you may observe discretion. Retain these words in your heart. These words are my counsel to you. (4) Your lips may reserve knowledge. Literally, this is "Thy lips shall keep." This is life long understanding. This is life long "watch out." This is not momentary or just for a season. This is long-term. You need to be able to speak these words back to me. This is how important these words are. You need to be able to state this in your own words.

Warning
Verse 3 is interesting for the translation I have used has translated the word zur to mean adulteress. Zur is translated in the KJV as strange. The meaning is this is an apostate Israelite woman gone over to the idolatrous impurities of heathen religion. The idea of adultery here is someone that has traded in something they have been called to be for something else. It is not necessarily speaking of a woman that has started out with a husband and decided that her husband did not satisfy her desires, for whatever reason, and so is seeking out something else, not God-given, but what man has provided. God has been traded in for what people think is something better.

James 4:4 is a verse I have tried to memorize. It says, "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James is speaking to people that have chosen to trade or replace God with the things of the world and for this he speaks to the people as adulterers.

This is significant because what is being spoken of here is not simply reserved for married people that are seeking after other people in their life and are practicing sex with someone else in their life. It is true that is adultery. God has given you a gift of a mate and you are saying to God, "The gift that you gave me is not what I think I need; I choose someone else and I think that person will fulfill my needs."

The application then for Proverbs 5 is far reaching. Adultery here is actually treason or any idol that we might have in our life.

And the idol or whatever we are being tempted to have in our life drips with honey. It is sweet. It is appealing. It suits my tastes. It drips honey and smoother than oil is her speech.  I can see why the word adulteress was chosen because this woman is using flattering speech, smooth talk, offering something which man desires, alluring speech. This is not, "Come over and clean the toilet" no this is come experience your wildest dreams. 

Not as it appears
Verses 4-6 then basically say, "things are not as they appear." Though this strange woman has spoken with flattery and allured you in her direction, in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a 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. 

Wormwood is an herb and an eastern medicine this was looked upon as being poisonous. Wormwood is the complete opposite of wormwood. It reminds me of the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the man that lured people by showing them sweet candy on his truck and then when they crawled in the truck it turned into a cell block. It went from sweetness to being a prisoner. 

Solomon says it affects the body (feet go down to death) and affects the soul (steps take hold of Sheol/grave/hell). Idols in our life don't just want a part of our life, but they want your entire life. She does not ponder the path of life. In her is not a big picture. If we could see our entire life in a moment, upon making a decision, it would affect our decision making. There are ramifications for our choices, but if we train ourselves into not looking at those consequences then over time we no longer have any long-term perspective thinking.

Heinrich Albert Schultens (1749-1793) stated that the design of the wise man seems to be, to point out the inconstancy, irregularity, and wickedness, of the strange woman's life. Her ways are inconstant; she is not attached to her husband, or to any one man, but abandons herself to the first comer; has neither knowledge, wisdom, nor discernment; she has no other rule than her passion, no other end than her pleasure. She is profligate, and wholly lost; affected neither by the fear of God, nor the care of her own salvation.

Second Warning
As if one warning was not enough, Solomon gives a second warning. This is a very significant event. In verse 7 and 8 he states further to: (1) Listen to me; He said previously that he wanted the pupil's attention and wanted his ear bent to understand. He says again, "listen to me." Listen to what I am going to tell you. The pupil will now hear of the consequence. (2) Do not depart from the words of my mouth; Don't choose the path; do not depart from my words. (3) Keep your way far from her; The last warning I saw in Proverbs 1:10-19 was Keep your feet from their path. With this issue the feet are to be far from the path. (4) Do not go near the door of her house. To clarify further, do not even go near the door of the house. We all know that going inside is a disaster, but do not even go near the door. 

A Hard Life
In a way this final part is similar to "God gave them over" found in Romans 1 (one of my favorite passages). The warnings have occurred. The danger sign is in place. "Keep Out" has been posted. But, if that isn't enough, he will now detail the results of going down that wrong path.

Or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the cruel one - Your strength; your person; your life and your future, will be handed over to the cruel one. The idea of vigor is what your life has meant thus far. Other translations use the word honor. Who you are is being given away. 

And strangers will be filled with your strength and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien. Everything you have worked for is gone.  

And you groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed; And you say, “How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors! I was almost in utter the midst of the assembly and congregation.” Pride has taken over. Recovery in this moment is practically hopeless. 

Promise: Beware. Beware. Beware. Adultery always has destructive consequences.