Proverbs 5 - Avoid Seduction Series

Pearls From Proverbs – Chapter Five

We now turn to chapter five of Proverbs.

AVOID SEDUCTION

1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, 2 That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. Proverbs 5:1-2 (NKJV)

Again we have the instruction of a Father to his son. Every child of God should listen to the Father – if they listen and heed – that is what makes them a disciple of Christ. We are to carefully and diligently listen and obey our Father.

All parents have a responsibility to impart wisdom to their children. In this case when a parent imparts wisdom it is to have two outcomes:

1. That you may preserve discretion

2. That your lips may keep knowledge

I have heard that it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and confirm it. This seems to be the case here. We are to have good sense and to speak it. What comes out of our lips should be Godly wisdom not worldly foolishness.

3 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth 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 lay hold of hell. 6 Lest you ponder her path of life-- Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. Proverbs 5:3-6 (NKJV)

Here is a description of the immoral woman:

1. She speaks words that seem sweet

2. What comes out of her mouth seems smooth to the ears

But:

3. What she says is bitterness

4. Her words will slice you and dice you

5. She will lead you on the paths of death

6. Her destination is hell

We are instructed not to ponder her path because her ways are unstable. A godly person is to stay clear – do not seek the understanding of these ways. Do not try to know them. Be very careful where you are being led – look at the map and see what the destination is. If the person you are with is leading you to Hell – stay clear. Godly ways lead to Heaven. Seek the path of righteousness. God’s way – although it may pass through the valley of death at times – always leads to His heavenly kingdom.

7 Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove 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 cruel one; 10 Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; 11 And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, 12 And say: "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! 14 I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation."

Verse seven starts with the word “therefore”. This means that what has gone before these next verses has led up to this point. What has been said in the first six verses has brought us to this point.

Therefore:

1. Listen to My words of wisdom

2. Do not depart from My counsel

3. Stay away from the immoral woman

4. Do not even venture near her house

If you go the path of wickedness:

1. Foreigners will be filled with you wealth

2. All that you have acquired will go to the house of strangers

3. You will mourn

4. Your flesh will be consumed

5. You will say to yourself:

a. I hated the words of my father

b. My heart did not like his correction

c. I did not obey or listen to those who had my best interest in mind

d. I ignored those who would have instructed me

e. My path led me to a cliff of ruin

d. All my godly friends knew my plight

There is no right time to do wrong. Wickedness will always lead to destruction. Be therefore to keep one’s heart clean and pure. Do not seek the path of sin. Do not just listen to the words of wisdom – but heed the warnings. Walk in the path that leads to life – stay away from the highway of death. Stay away from the honey of the immoral woman.

ENJOY MARRIAGE

15 Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. Proverbs 5:15 (NKJV)

"Drink water from your own cistern" is a picture of faithfulness in marriage. It means to enjoy the spouse God has given you. In desert lands, water is precious, and a well is a family's most important possession. In Old Testament times, it was considered a crime to steal water from someone else's well, just as it was a crime to have intercourse with another person's spouse. In both cases, the offender endangers the health and security of family.