Proverbs 2:16-19
(Wisdom) will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.
Remember that this section of the proverbs is directed to Solomon’s young sons. This wisdom applies universally to both men and women. There are certain sins that the bible gives the warning of death. I recall the first sin that mankind committed. Eating a piece of fruit on a certain tree. The penalty for this sin was death. There are some other attitudes and actions that lead to death that are mentioned in the proverbs.
In ancient times, a person would be risking their life to seek out an adulteress. Today, they can be found quite easily, even by children, with a few clicks of a mouse. I read about a survey done after a recent Promise Keepers conference that showed that over half of all pastors surveyed had viewed pornography on the internet in the past year. Is viewing pornography the same as adultery? If you’re married, I’d say “yes.” If your not, then the bible calls it “fornication”, (illicit sexual sin or perversion.) God isn’t trying to place unreasonable restrictions on you. That’s what Satan tried to convince Adam and Eve of. He’s just trying to save your life.
Continue to the next post in my Proverbs study...
(Wisdom) will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.
Remember that this section of the proverbs is directed to Solomon’s young sons. This wisdom applies universally to both men and women. There are certain sins that the bible gives the warning of death. I recall the first sin that mankind committed. Eating a piece of fruit on a certain tree. The penalty for this sin was death. There are some other attitudes and actions that lead to death that are mentioned in the proverbs.
These are:The wisdom presented in this proverb is specific. Acquiring and internalizing Godly wisdom will give you the foundational truths to help you to understand the evil that is adultery. As this proverb states, we should fear the adulterer as much as we would fear someone with a deadly contagious illness. An adulterer is someone who, for whatever reason, decides to break his or her covenant promise to God to remain faithful to the one person whom he or she has been joined to in marriage. The “path of death” mentioned in the passage is the unforeseen trail of destruction and misery that comes when people break their vows and disregard the warnings and wisdom given in scripture.
- hating correction (Proverbs 18:10)
- pursuing evil (Prov. 11:19)
- doing what is right in your own eyes
(Prov. 16:25; 14:12)
- careless conduct (Prov. 19:16)
- laziness (Prov. 21:25)
In ancient times, a person would be risking their life to seek out an adulteress. Today, they can be found quite easily, even by children, with a few clicks of a mouse. I read about a survey done after a recent Promise Keepers conference that showed that over half of all pastors surveyed had viewed pornography on the internet in the past year. Is viewing pornography the same as adultery? If you’re married, I’d say “yes.” If your not, then the bible calls it “fornication”, (illicit sexual sin or perversion.) God isn’t trying to place unreasonable restrictions on you. That’s what Satan tried to convince Adam and Eve of. He’s just trying to save your life.
Continue to the next post in my Proverbs study...
That's a good encouragement.
ReplyDeleteI recall the first sin that mankind committed. Touching a piece of fruit on a certain tree. The penalty for this sin was death.
"Touching" the fruit was something that Eve added. God's command was only to not eat the fruit. Not touching it would certainly help in obeying the command, though!