Proverbs 5 is loaded with great Biblical teaching. It was written for the man who struggles with lust. For those of us who battle against the temptation of pornography and other sexual addictions, it is truly God sent.
Solomon opens Proverbs 5 (v. 1 – 2) with a call to be wise in the battle against the flesh. We need to seek good counsel and realize we must be vigilant.
Proverbs 5:1-2 … My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
Solomon then turns his attention (v. 3 – 6) and ours to the dangers of being ignorant to the lure and charms of women. Obviously, he was speaking about “real” women, which we must be mindful of, but certainly this can be applied to images on the internet, and on television/movie screens.
Proverbs 5:3-6 … For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
Notice at the end of these verses above, he writes that the woman doesn’t even know what she is doing. She is a tool of the enemy, the Devil, and is exploited to draw us away from the Lord. Solomon warns to stay far from her (do not go near her door) in the next verses (7 & 8). We can take this as meaning avoid those places where we have the opportunity to sin. Such as we encounter when we surf the internet.
Proverbs 5:7-8 … Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house.
So, what are the consequences of our sinful acts? The warnings of God through the pen of Solomon are clear that we risk every earthly thing when we give into temptation. Verse 9 talks about our reputation (honor and dignity). In verse 10, we see that our finances and the material things we own are in jeopardy. Then in verses 11 through 14, we are warned that our lives will ultimately be wasted when we seek to fulfill our sinful desires and by ignoring wise instruction we may lose fellowship with our Christian brothers.
Proverbs 5:9-12 … lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel, lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another. At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors. And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”
Solomon proceeds to give us guidance in how the Lord has ordained the use of our bodies for sexual expression. Starting verse 15 and through verse 19, he tells us to take a wife and with her and her alone satisfy our desires.
Proverbs 5:15-19 … Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
In the closing verses of Proverbs 5, Solomon repeats his earlier warnings. He then sums up this great writing by instructing men to focus ONLY on their wives for fulfilling sexual desires. Stay away from ALL other women, and for our modern day that includes digital images.
Proverbs 5:20-23 … Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman? For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths. The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast. For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.
Our choice to disregard the Lord’s counsel will eventually lead to pain and suffering.
An original BeFreeinChrist writing