Proverbs 5:1-23 Looking at women with wise-eyed views

4/15/10

Time Spent: 25 min

Main Idea: The dreary consequences of sexual immorality is contrasted to the glory found in a wise, God-honoring marriage.

What I learned about God: God is the omniscient, knowing the ways and paths of a man even in the innermost regions of his soul.

Summary: This Proverb is broken up into three sections: the allure of the adulteress (vv. 1-6), the price of infidelity (vv. 7-14), and comparison between faithful marriage against an ungodly one (vv. 15-23). The idea of marriage is a huge issue back in these times: it was in a way the power of the family. People married namely for the financial and social support of a family instead of our western idea of love. Although the idealisms in marriage may differ, the catch of sexual immorality was still the same. People were not satisfied in their relationship, both men and women, which caused them to go beyond the confines God placed on marriage in seeking other partners. The father in this chapter is warning the pitfalls of following into the immoral woman's speech which is "dripping with honey". He states even to go as far as to say to keep clear of people like her (v. 8). The practice of sharing the Good News to all people was far from the father's mind; he's saying get the heck out of there! Another thing to note is that the cause of sexual sin seems to be none other then a "lack of discipline" (vv. 12, 23). It was not blaming the passion of the moment, but was a series of failed hedges a person failed to practice in one's life. Godly marriage is a delight in emotionally (v. 18) and physically (v. 19). The adulteress cannot offer those same blessings.

Application: The battle we have in falling into sexual temptation can be summed up through these words: lack of discipline. This Proverb conveys this specific truth, that we fall in our ways because we do not place proper hedges or control in our lives when dealing with the opposite sex. This can be drawn as far as images from TV, internet, or movies; or can even be seen in having an unguarded attitude at church. One of my biggest areas when temptation comes up is in the Monday morning. I'm exhausted after a full-day of ministry, which sometimes loses my restraint upon what I think or dwell on. I blamed it on my tiredness, but the true issue is discipline. How I spent that day or think about even after church on Sunday will have immediate impact upon what I think about the next day. I want to resolve on Sunday to finish homework after church after Teacher's Appreciation and finishing the day off with QT and prayer.