“My son” (August ‘08)
In the
next occurrence of “my son” Solomon
addresses the subject of the“ strange
woman”:
“My son attend unto my wisdom,
and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou may regard discretion, and
that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is
smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged
sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest she does
not ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable [unstable], that thou can
not know them.”(Proverb 5:1-6)
Solomon once again commands his sons to
pay close attention to his wisdom and give attendance to his understanding in
order that his sons may experientially know discretion by keeping the knowledge
that comes from listening and internalizing the instruction of their father who
knew firsthand what “a strange woman”
could accomplish in the life of a young man who submits to her desires.
Then, he continues the intensity of his
instruction by increasing the strength of his appeal:
“Hear me now therefore, O ye
children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from
her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honor unto
others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth;
and thy labors be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when
thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and
my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor
inclined my ear to them that instructed me!
(Proverb 5:7-13)
Solomon’s
strengthened appeal includes four imperative military style commands! First of
all he underlines the importance of what he is going to say by giving somewhat
of an emotional outburst when he puts his foot down emphasizing what they must
do and when to do it…”Hear me now therefore”!!
The simple phrase “O ye children” continues to portray Solomon’s urgency followed by
the last three imperative commands: “depart not…Remove thy way far from
her…come not nigh the door of her house”. He
leaves no doubt as to exactly what must be done to avoid an encounter with the
strange woman.
In the next section of this Proverb
Solomon provides positive instruction to his sons:
“Drink waters out of thine own
cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be
dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine
own, and not strangers with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed and rejoice with
the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her
breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.”
(Proverb 5:15-19)
Using the
familiar imagery of water Solomon repeatedly tells his sons to be satisfied
with their own “wife of thy youth”
finding the necessary fulfillment of marital love to provide their needs. In
the conclusion of the Proverb Solomon questions his sons challenging them to
consider wrong actions in view of the consequences:
“And why wilt thou, my son, be
ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the
ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his goings. His
own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be held in the cords
of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his
folly he shall go astray.” (Proverb 5:20-23)
First of
all the question Solomon puts forth causes his sons to consider these wicked
actions which should bring to the forefront of their minds exactly how the
consequences will effect their life. Then, Solomon underscores the fact of an
all-knowing God who is able to not only see but “ponders” meaning to mentally weigh with a scale alluding to
the penalty which will be paid for committing sin.
The last two verses illustrate exactly how
the wicked person is bound with the very cords of his own iniquity eventually
causing death. The Bible teaches two types of death. First of all there is
physical death when the soul/spirit departs from the body. But, there is also
spiritual death when the soul/spirit is eternally separated from God. This is “the
second death” which is referred to three times
in the book of the Revelation, twice in chapter twenty and once in chapter
twenty-one. This eternal separation from God will be experienced by those who
do not receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior from sin…instead of experiencing
the eternal bliss of heaven the eternal fire of hell will be their penalty for
rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ!
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