#912 Proverbs 8 Part 1 Twist and Shout

Does not wisdom call?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

2 On the heights beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

3 beside the gates in front of the town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

4 “To you, O men, I call,

and my cry is to the children of man.

5 O simple ones, learn prudence;

O fools, learn sense.

6 Hear, for I will speak noble things,

and from my lips will come what is right,

7 for my mouth will utter truth;

wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;

there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

9 They are all straight to him who understands,

and right to those who find knowledge.

10 Take my instruction instead of silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold,

11 for wisdom is better than jewels,

and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

and I find knowledge and discretion.

13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.

Pride and arrogance and the way of evil

and perverted speech I hate.

14 I have counsel and sound wisdom;

I have insight; I have strength.

15 By me kings reign,

and rulers decree what is just;

16 by me princes rule,

and nobles, all who govern justly.

17 I love those who love me,

and those who seek me diligently find me.

18 Riches and honor are with me,

enduring wealth and righteousness.

19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,

and my yield than choice silver.

20 I walk in the way of righteousness,

in the paths of justice,

21 granting an inheritance to those who love me,

and filling their treasuries.

22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work,

the first of his acts of old.

23 Ages ago I was set up,

at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

25 Before the mountains had been shaped,

before the hills, I was brought forth,

26 before he had made the earth with its fields,

or the first of the dust of the world.

27 When he established the heavens, I was there;

when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

28 when he made firm the skies above,

when he established the fountains of the deep,

29 when he assigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

30 then I was beside him, like a master workman,

and I was daily his delight,

rejoicing before him always,

31 rejoicing in his inhabited world

and delighting in the children of man.

32 “And now, O sons, listen to me:

blessed are those who keep my ways.

33 Hear instruction and be wise,

and do not neglect it.

34 Blessed is the one who listens to me,

watching daily at my gates,

waiting beside my doors.

35 For whoever finds me finds life

and obtains favor from the Lord,

36 but he who fails to find me injures himself;

all who hate me love death.” Proverbs 8 ESV

Proverbs 8 

Does not wisdom call - She is not silent or hidden, does not, like the woman in Proverbs 7, need the cloak of night or secrets. 

Beside the gates in front of the town - On the heights, at the crossroads, she is everywhere that mankind walks. You do not need to go on a long journey or to a place of pilgrimage. She is not for any particular group, rich or poor, only to those that listen and heed her instruction. It would seem that she has gone out to the streets, has put herself where people can find her easily, and raised her voice.

O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools learn sense - You do not need a degree or a high IQ. I have met many a genius, many people with titles that have no common sense. Prudence is caution with good judgement, and she is offering it to those the world would not consider smart, and even to those whose track record is not that of good judgement. It is an invitation to come out of a destructive pattern, to know wisdom. It is still difficult to receive her, for some think themselves already wise, just as Christ did not come to save the righteous but to call sinners, many will say, "O, that is for someone else, I am not sick, I am not a sinner, I am not ignorant of anything, I am already humble enough."

…5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The LORD preserves the simple; I was helpless, and He saved me. 7 Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.… Psalms 116: 5-7

For my mouth will utter truth - This is her noble nature; she will not lie because she hates lying lips, they are an abomination. This is her simplicity; she will only deal in truth. 

31 So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33“We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?”…

…34 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.… John 8: 31-36

…43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!… John 8: 43-45

There is nothing twisted or crooked in them - The woman in Proverbs 7 twisted religion and "love" into her ploy of adultery. She chose her words carefully, luring in the simple, answering his questions and possible apprehensions before he even asked. 

…33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame. 1 Corinthians 15: 33-34

…2 that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.… Colossians 2: 2-4

…19 I know your deeds—your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance—and your latter deeds are greater than your first. 20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.… Revelation 2: 19-21

Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate - Pride is the root. We aim at so many of it's leaves and branches, paint over so many walls, clean the outside of the cup, but Oh what a much more grievous and horrible thing to behold. This is why men hate the truth; it reveals they think far too highly of themselves, and it smashes the image to the floor. 

…5 No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected. 6 For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink. 7 The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.… Isaiah 32: 5-7

ii. “It was a smart answer which M. Durant, a witty and learned minister of the Reformed Church of Paris, gave to a lady of suspected chastity, and now revolted: when she pretended the hardness of the Scripture, Why, said he, madam, what can be more plain than ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery?’ Had she not been failing in the practice of what she could not but know, she had found no cause to complain of the difficulty of that which she could not know.” (Trapp)

And nobles, all who govern justly - Those who rule justly rule with wisdom. 

#911 Proverbs 7 Is That Real Egyptian Linen

My son, keep my words

and treasure up my commandments with you;

2 keep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;

3 bind them on your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

and call insight your intimate friend,

5 to keep you from the forbidden woman,

from the adulteress with her smooth words.

6 For at the window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

7 and I have seen among the simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man lacking sense,

8 passing along the street near her corner,

taking the road to her house

9 in the twilight, in the evening,

at the time of night and darkness.

10 And behold, the woman meets him,

dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.

11 She is loud and wayward;

her feet do not stay at home;

12 now in the street, now in the market,

and at every corner she lies in wait.

13 She seizes him and kisses him,

and with bold face she says to him,

14 “I had to offer sacrifices,

and today I have paid my vows;

15 so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

16 I have spread my couch with coverings,

colored linens from Egyptian linen;

17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,

aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love.

19 For my husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

20 he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.”

21 With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with her smooth talk she compels him.

22 All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast

23 till an arrow pierces its liver;

as a bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24 And now, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

26 for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are a mighty throng.

27 Her house is the way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death. Proverbs 7 ESV

Proverbs 7

Keep my teaching as the apple of your eye, bind them on your fingers - To be so cherished as the prize, and held so high that one would write a reminder like a piece of string around your finger. If we lose sight of the finish line then we are no longer running in the race.

14 Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading its listeners to ruin. 15 Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,… 2 Timothy 2: 14-16

10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 10-17

To keep you from the forbidden woman - So this theme is not going away, and when God repeats Himself, gives exposition of a concept, then we must pay careful attention to heed. When he gives clear instruction and teaches through the examples, word pictures of the lives of men and women in Scripture, how can we put it aside for preference of cultural norms?

…3 For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.” 4 For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. 5 Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another in Christ Jesus,… Romans 15: 3-5

…1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.… Psalms 1: 1-3

A young man lacking sense - He is not smart enough to not go down her street. If he is like me in my youth, he is hoping for an encounter, his heart is already enticed by the idea. Why did he lack wisdom? Did no one teach him?

At the time of night and darkness - He recognizes an element of wrong, but not so wrong as to dissuade him. He has no godly fear, for the cover of night does nothing to hide us from God. It is, if anything, the rule of the hypocrite, that what happens in secret, what is consensual, that is not hurting anyone and therefore not a sin. 

…18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.… John 3: 18-20

Dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart - She is advertising, cunning, knows the weakness of her prey, and he is an easy kill. It is like a Venus fly trap or an eyelash viper, the prey comes for something that looks like food or refreshment. The fly becomes the meal, and the humming bird finds the flower to be a snake, but too late. The Bible lays out many a word picture; here are a few:

Moab

Solomon

…7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.… 1 Peter 5: 7-9

And with a bold face, she says to him - In complete confidence, without hesitation, with a straight face, she claims that this is okay by the articles of her faith. She anticipates his possible objections, and reassures him that she has got it covered.

I have peace offerings with me: The sexually immoral woman Solomon described was not against religion, just against the moral code of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. She favored a god who would receive her peace offerings while she lived as she pleased when it came to her sexual desires. - Enduring Word

i. “She pretends religion to her filthy practices… So did King Edward IV’s holy whore, as he used to call her, that came to him out of a nunnery when he used to call for her.” (Trapp)

To seek you eagerly and I have found you - He's special, and who could argue, "Egyptian linens, myrrh, aloe, cinnamon", it is quite a spread. I use to go to church, thinking there was this middle ground, if I really liked the girl, was nice to the girl, then what did it matter? The culture said, "boys will be boys, they're going to do it anyway, consent removes sin, it's part of dating", but God kept calling it fornication, and where one of the consenting individuals was married to someone else, He called it adultery. If God is Holy, eternal, perfect, like the Bible says, then He is not going to change. If I am trying to change God, lessen the meaning of the cross, then I am not worshiping the God of the Bible. If I say something that God has called sin is not a sin, then I am deceiving myself, and the person I am trying to draw into it with me. 

…7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.… 1 John 1: 7-9

Let us delight ourselves with love - This is not God's definition of love, leading people to do the things which He hates. We readily call good evil and evil good when it suits our wants and ideals. This is self serving, self worship, there is no dying to the self here. This is pride offering a sacrifice to the ego; it only wants the object for what it can take from it. "Hath God really said?" 

…3 If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.…

…6 Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13: 3-7

He has gone on a long journey - She assures him some more, look, there are no consequences. What my husband doesn't know can't hurt him, and he is not going to know because no one sees us, and he will not be back for a long time. Her religion is vane, God knows, God sees, God has spoken against this, but she has no fear or love for God. Her vows to her husband are empty, and the bar is set as low as a secret.

All at once he follows her - It is in his heart to do this, and so he is an eager student to every justification. I use to use the excuse of alcohol, but I was there looking for someone at the bar anyway. If I woke up with someone I didn't know, it was the alcohol, hit on my "friend's girl friend", the alcohol, but then if drinking was the problem why didn't I just quit. Drunk or sober it didn't matter; I had decided that this was not sin, and it was more important to get laid than to do what God said. If what I thought or what someone said appealed to what my flesh already desired, then that was gospel to me. The culture condoned it, many in the churches I went to practiced it on the sly, so it couldn't be that bad.

…9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.… 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 1: 21-32

He does not know that it will cost him his life - Pretty strong words for something we think doesn't matter. 

Do not stray into her paths - Don't trip yourself up. With the new norm and social distancing, you have to stay six feet apart anyway. This is going to cripple the sex trade, how will prostitutes make a living? But you don't want to die from Covid, right?

Her house is the way to Sheol - It's the way of the dead.

#910 Proverbs 6 Smarter Insects

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

have given your pledge for a stranger,

2 if you are snared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth,

3 then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.

4 Give your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber;

5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise.

7 Without having any chief,

officer, or ruler,

8 she prepares her bread in summer

and gathers her food in harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

12 A worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with crooked speech,

13 winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,

points with his finger,

14 with perverted heart devises evil,

continually sowing discord;

15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.

16 There are six things that the Lord hates,

seven that are an abomination to him:

17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that make haste to run to evil,

19 a false witness who breathes out lies,

and one who sows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

20 My son, keep your father's commandment,

and forsake not your mother's teaching.

21 Bind them on your heart always;

tie them around your neck.

22 When you walk, they will lead you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you.

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,

and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

24 to preserve you from the evil woman,

from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;

26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,

but a married woman hunts down a precious life.

27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest

and his clothes not be burned?

28 Or can one walk on hot coals

and his feet not be scorched?

29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;

none who touches her will go unpunished.

30 People do not despise a thief if he steals

to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,

31 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;

he will give all the goods of his house.

32 He who commits adultery lacks sense;

he who does it destroys himself.

33 He will get wounds and dishonor,

and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

34 For jealousy makes a man furious,

and he will not spare when he takes revenge.

35 He will accept no compensation;

he will refuse though you multiply gifts. Proverbs 6 ESV

Proverbs 6

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor - We should not be quick to give our names  for another just as we should not be quick to lay on hands. It is not wrong to lend to those who would borrow from us, but we must be good stewards of what God has placed in our care. We must take into account their character, their work ethic, integrity. At work, I cannot say, "do what you want, money is no object", there needs to be a budget, a plan, expectations. I need to insure that my employer is getting the most for his dollar. This should greatly apply to those that govern as well.

This wasn’t really like loaning someone money, nor exactly like cosigning a loan. In modern financial terms, it was more like guaranteeing someone’s open line of credit. “The New Testament shows us Paul accepting Onesimus’s past liabilities, but not his future ones (Philemon 18, 19).” (Kidner)

Caught in the words of your mouth - You have pledged yourself. We take words lightly, but God does not, and everything He has said will come to pass, but you do not know for certain what tomorrow may bring. Be careful what you say.

…21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.… Deuteronomy 23: 21-23

…11 See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment. 13 Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.… James 5: 11-13

Go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor - Humble yourself. This reminds me of the covenant of the law, where the people agreed to do all that it said so they could live. 10 steps, it seemed simple enough, but the law really only revealed man's inability. The humble rejoice over the new covenant, Christ becomes their surety. I cannot trust in my own merit for tomorrow, for my righteousness is as filthy rags and another man's the same. Christ is the only way.

…31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt— a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.…

…34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” 35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and orders the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD of Hosts is His name: 36“Only if this fixed order departed from My presence, declares the LORD, would Israel’s descendants ever cease to be a nation before Me.”… Jeremiah 31: 31-36

Give your eyes no sleep - This is nothing to sleep on, for you cannot guarantee that you will wake on the morrow. It's urgent, procrastination on this is a snare, a trap, death.

…14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first. 15 As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.” 16 For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?… Hebrews 3: 14-16

Go to the ant, O sluggard - Laziness is a joke in our culture, a funny thing to us because we have much of this world's goods. We teach our children that childhood should come with little duty and even less responsibility. Parents worry more about entertaining than teaching, but Solomon is educating his sons, who have more than any in this world, about the importance of work. 

She prepares her bread in summer - No one needs to tell her that there is planting, preparing, storing to do. Life is caloric, everything demands calories, nothing is free, someone has to pay for it. What we put off today makes tomorrow more grievous. Those that expect different defy God's word, nature, reason, and do not love those they take from. Those that would implement a system for you to get paid not to work are only buying your vote, and if you take it you are helping them steal from someone else. 

…9 Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.… 2 Thessalonians 3: 9-11

…10 And indeed, you are showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more 11 and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you. 12 Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.… 1 Thessalonians 4: 10-12

And poverty will come upon you like a robber - You will cry that you have less, but it was within your ability, your grasp to have more. You started your day late, you knew that winter was coming, but now you want; consider the ant. All God owes you is the wages of sin. All a fallen world owes you is weeds, thorns, hunger and thirst. God is gracious in that he gives us hands and feet, a mind, abilities, talent, history, and even the testimony of the ant.

Points with his finger - This is a wicked man, one who bares false witness, who puts people at odds with each other. He will always take the responsibility for what goes well, but he will never own it when the situation goes down hill. 

And forsake not your mother's teaching - This goes back to Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may go well with thee. What are you teaching your children?

Can a man carry fire next to his chest - You will get burned and hurt others in the process. Again, much of this pertains to adultery in this Proverb as the preceding, and much of Solomon's life was affected by this sin. 

 

#909 Proverbs 5 How I Hated Discipline

My son, be attentive to my wisdom;

incline your ear to my understanding,

2 that you may keep discretion,

and your lips may guard knowledge.

3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,

and her speech is smoother than oil,

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 follow the path to Sheol;

6 she does not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

7 And now, O 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 lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

11 and at the end of your life you groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12 and you say, “How I hated discipline,

and my heart despised reproof!

13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14 I am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

15 Drink water from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

16 Should your springs be scattered abroad,

streams of water in the streets?

17 Let them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

18 Let your fountain be blessed,

and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated always in her love.

20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman

and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

21 For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord,

and he ponders all his paths.

22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

23 He dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is led astray. Proverbs 5 ESV

Proverbs 5 the forbidden woman.

That you may keep discretion - He continues to implore his sons to not only hear, but incline to hear, be attentive. Discretion relates to our words and actions, to keep it is freedom from folly. Choose your words carefully, flirting with sin, the adulteress, lacks discretion, and is an offense first to God, Who does not view these things lightly, to you, to her husband and then to her. If you are married it is an offense to your wife and to those looking at the standard, which is attached to your claim as a person of the book, it is a stumbling block. There are some things that are private as well, that should not be laid before hyenas or cast in front of swine. Your words can be like blood in the water, feeding the unthinking frenzy. 

…3 We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no one can discredit our ministry. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities; 5 in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in labor, sleepless nights, and hunger;… 2 Corinthians 6: 3-5

1 But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance. 3 Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good.…

…4 In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited. 6 In the same way, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.…

…7 In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed to have nothing bad to say about us. 9 Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,…

10 not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior. 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men. 12 It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,… Titus 2: 1-12

For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey - The grass is always greener, or in my case the fishing is always better on the other side of the fence, someone else's pasture, another's lake. We all have an image of ourselves that we like to hold, but our wives live with us, see our inconsistencies, but since we want that image to be worshiped we are susceptible to flattery. Evil is in our hearts and so we are able to be enticed. Jesus held nothing in His being for Satan to latch onto. He was able to deal with prostitutes, publicans and all alike; there was no temptation worth the glory of God.

…29 And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me. 31 But I do exactly what the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Get up! Let us go on from here.”… John 14: 29-31

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword - Since the fall death has entered the world, relationships between men and women have fallen from God's original design. He told the people of Israel, "do this and you shall live", and that was to keep the law, one of which was, "thou shalt not commit adultery." It goes against God's intent, against the institution that He brought together. It calls sweetly, then tastes bitter, and then destroys. The vows are broken, families have been destroyed, and Solomon can easily remember first hand the devastation it brought into his father's house. His mother was Bathsheba, and yet the wisdom that he gives his sons he hasn't seemed to follow himself. 

 

She does not ponder the path of life - She lives in the moment, the heart wants what the heart wants, she could not help herself, and you will say the same, "it just happened, we fell in love. I didn't mean to hurt anyone," and you say it with tears, but those are vain because love would have pondered the path and gone another way.

…7 and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.” 8 But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care. 9 No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”…

…10 Although Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be near her. 11 One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside. 12 She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.… Genesis 39: 7-12

Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house - This is the practical side, do not flirt with temptation, don't give it a hold. He shows them that it is avoidable. 

…12 So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall. 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.… 1 Corinthians 10: 12-14

Lest strangers take their fill of your strength - You give up your good name. Samson gave up his strength to Delilah, and while the Philistines were not on the list of those whom they could not marry, yet being unequally yoked is not a question of town or ethnicity. It is a matter of being set apart to God's way, and Samson had his first anguish from this in his prior marriage. His wife told the secret of his riddle, betrayed the relationship of trust between himself and her. In the end he becomes a laughing stock, blind and betrayed by another woman, but by his own consent and against wisdom. God's redemptive plan is not thwarted by sinful men though, but our actions have consequences. 

And my heart despised reproof - Stop and listen, is there any merit in their correction? If your ego will be your downfall then isn't that too great an expense? A wise man takes correction, he learns from rebuke, he knows that he can be wrong so he loves the one who shows him his error because he hates error more than he loves his ego. 

…20 He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. 21 For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.… Mark 7: 20-22

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever.… 1 John 2: 15-17

Drink water from your own cistern - This is the reservoir you built, the well you dug, and it is the metaphor for your family. Let this be the place where you are refreshed, not with another's wife and do not whore out your own.

…7 Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach. 8 If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 9 A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, the wife of one man,… 1 Timothy 5: 7-9

Be intoxicated always in her love - This is the wife of your youth, marriage was designed by God that the two become one flesh. He tells us to love our wife as our own body. It is this institution that reflects our relationship to God, Christ's relationship to His church, and so must be considered a most holy union. 

…24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her 26 to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,… Ephesians 5: 24-26

He dies for lack of discipline - He was not satisfied with his own wife, but became intoxicated by another. He believed in the excesses of the world, so refused to search his heart, discipline it with the instruction of his teachers. This man did not avoid her door, he thought so highly of himself that he took her words to be true. She flattered and he followed, her form was on a pedestal and he knelt to offer his integrity, the sanctity of his marriage, the godly respect of his children, and sacrificed the words of a holy and just God. So many things die this way. Society will kill it's most innocent on the very same altar of it's lust, yet we revere ourselves as compassionate, "empathetic", but we are really just pathetic.

…5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.… 2 Samuel 12: 5-7

There are consequences, but remember God has already condemned sin, and Jesus didn't come to condemn the world which was already under condemnation. He came to seek and to save the lost, to bring sinners to repentance. Cry for the Lord's mercy, humble yourself and he will lift you up in good time.

21 His officials asked him, “Why are you acting this way? You fasted and cried over the child when he was alive. But as soon as the child died, you got up and ate.”

22 David answered, “As long as the child was alive, I fasted and cried. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But why should I fast now that he’s dead? Can I bring him back? Someday I’ll go to him, but he won’t come back to me.”

24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to bed with her, and she later gave birth to a son. David named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child 25 and sent a message through the prophet Nathan to name the baby Jedidiah [The Lord’s Beloved]. 2 Samuel 12: 21-25