Today’s devotional will go over Proverbs 5:7-14. Last time we saw that pursuing and applying wisdom is God’s way of providing all that we need to avoid the lure of the adulterous woman (or anything that we sinfully desire). Our passage continues this theme, but focuses on (1) prevention and (2) the deep regret of those who give in to the temptation.
Verses 7-8 go over how we are to prevent ourselves from falling for the adulterous woman:
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.
In verse 7, we see the theme of being careful to “listen” or “hear” the wisdom of God. The same underlying word is used in the Shema, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,” and in both places it is also a command. The imperative (command) “hear,” coupled with “O Israel” or “O sons,” also carries with it a very strong emphasis, as to say, “make sure not to miss this!” Likewise, “hear” means not only hearing with our ears, but also doing with our hearts. In this sense, the command to “hear” is a command to fully embody obedience to what is being commanded. This fits with the command given afterwards in verse 7 to “not depart from the words of my mouth,” showing that this command is for the whole duration of our lives. This command never expires as long as we live.
Verse 8 gives us what we were commanded to hear. Like the word “hear,” the word for “keep far” is also very strong in the underlying text. It literally refers to keeping every part of ourselves away from her actively and sharply, with all severity and diligence. Our “way” refers to everything in our whole manner of life. The sense is that we are to strongly orientate our lives in such a way that there is no crossover between the adulterous woman’s way or manner of life and our own. Remember that the adulterous woman is on the way leading to death, and those with the gift of wisdom are to pursue the way of life. The two are polar opposite ways of living. Practically, this means not even compromising one inch towards entertaining, planning, or going to the adulterous woman. Paul also teaches this in the New Testament:
put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:22-24).
Notice the contrast between the two ways, and that the solution is to be “renewed in the spirit of our minds.” The latter is an appeal to embody godly wisdom (true righteousness and holiness), which is what Solomon is teaching in Proverbs. Furthermore, for us to “not go near the door of her house” does not only mean geographically, but also for us to not even approach or contemplate her ways for ourselves. We are to remain as innocent as possible of the alures of evil and its inner workings (i.e., we need to guard our hearts from this evil).
The rest of the passage shows the consequences of giving in to the adulterous woman, adding strength to God’s strong command to keep away from her:
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.
In this passage, we can see a number of consequences for those who give in to her. The first one is that (1) we will be dishonoured. In the culture that this was written, one’s honour referred to the value and reputation of the whole person. So, when someone was dishonoured, it was regarded as a direct attack on their person. (2) Our years on earth will go to help evil doers. (3) The best of ourselves will be consumed by strangers (given over to illicit partners instead of to our spouse). (4) Our labours and earnings will go to strangers. (5) And our lives will be full of regret, never to be done over again. Notice in verse 11 that those who follow this evil path often only come to their senses after they have already wasted their lives on worthless evil. Once a person goes into this evil path, then it will become quite difficult to get out of it (God may even give them over to this evil way as an act of judgement, as in Romans 1:24-32). The result, unless God does the miraculous, is utter ruin. All of this works to reinforce the strong command given in verse 7 to carefully heed and live out God’s wisdom, and in verse 8 to keep our way wholly apart from her evil way. All of this shows sharp distinction between the way of life and the way of evil. The sharp commands are not to simply avoid doing the deed itself, but to avoid even the slightest hair of compromise to the adulterous woman’s way of life. In other words, this is the pursuit of utter, singular loyalty to God. God takes even what may appear to us as small compromises very seriously, since He knows the proper end to gratifying those desires. So, dear Christians, guard your hearts and keep far from her ways. Yes, even from every wicked desire, regardless of how innocent or harmless it may appear to you at the start.
Next time we will be looking at the rest of Proverbs 5.