Proverbs 5 MORAL TEMPTATION In this section of the book of Proverbs, the emphasis is on preparing young people for living full and effective lives by giving principles for living that come from God and have been tried and proven by those who have lived before us. Unfortunately, many young people will hear the words from their parents but think they have to go and find out for themselves what they have been warned against. Consequently, the moral standards of modern life in this country have gone down the drain already for the majority of young people, and personal life, family life and national life suffers the consequences of unrestrained immoral living.
In the preceding chapters the principles relating to the man – God relationship, and father – son relationship has been written about. In this chapter it is the husband – wife relationship, even though it is a father giving warning to his son. To know how to deal with a problem doesn’t deal with the problem. Solutions have to be applied, not just defined. The subject of how interpersonal relationships are maintained in the way they should be, is addressed in this chapter. A person who will listen to this advice will benefit greatly by the wisdom given if they will act upon it. How can the relationship between a man and a woman develop into what God intended to be like “heaven on earth?”
The basic social structure of humanity is a family. That is where it began in Genesis with Adam and Eve, and that is where it will end for those who are in the kingdom of God. He is our gracious Father and we are made children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. But we have a problem as Christians in this day. Morality is being legislated by governments and law-makers who change laws to suit the desires of the people rather than changing people to meet the demands of the law. By a vote and a stroke of a pen people seem to think moral laws are changed. It may change the degree of correction and punishment meted out by the judicial system, but it does not change the evil heart of mankind nor the moral standards and unchanging laws of God.
We may be told by humanists and atheists that gender is in the mind of a person rather than a physiological fact, but that doesn’t change a person from being a male to a female or vice versa. The differences are physical, emotional and psychological. Marriage is between a man and a woman who have been formed by God in body, soul and spirit to adapt to the differences in each and find fulfillment in each other. Because someone’s “thinking has evolved” on that subject doesn’t change the life-principle of mutual happiness, social safety and recreation associated with marriage. Strangely, educators seem to think that human relationships have to be taught to our children by those who don’t even know them, rather than by parents who brought them into the world, love them, are responsible for them, and know the uniqueness of each personality.
From the husband-wife relationship comes the parent-child relationship from one generation to the next in the cycle of listening and learning and then passing on what has been learned. Unfortunately, there are holes in the road ahead of daily living for those who do not look carefully at the consequences of bad choices, and there are “rocks in the run” that lead to a safe place in the harbor at the end of life. Those rocks can shipwreck a life in a moment of time for the young who will have to live with the consequences for a lifetime, or even for an old person who is almost home.
Wisdom in the book of Proverbs can represent our Lord Jesus Christ who is the embodiment of wisdom in a human. He is the perfect Man. So, the teaching and warnings of the father to his son in this chapter can apply to everyone, and comes from the highest possible legal source – the throne of God. The ungodly woman the father warned his son about is like the world and its immoral, subtle, smooth talking and changeable ways that accommodate to the sinful nature of man. By nature, humans know that sex outside of the verbal, moral and legal commitment of a man and woman to each other, is wrong. The consequences of sexual immorality are guilt, greed, unsatisfied lust that changes normal behavior into a hunter looking for a prey to dominate and surrender to his or her evil will.
God does not cover sin, nor does sin go unpunished. What is written in this chapter is to warn young men and women ahead of time as to what can happen to them, and what to expect when they choose to surrender their minds, common sense and their bodies to a “momentary gratification of the flesh.” The outward attractions of a sexy woman, may draw the passing attention of a young man for a brief time, but if and when that woman stops and talks to him, looking at him with languid eyes and speaking through tempting lips, He stops everything. It is impossible to not focus one’s attention on a person who makes you their target. The only way to escape the resulting temptation is to flee. Sweet words spoken in a suggestive way, from tempting lips with dulcet tones, sounds like honey would taste – not poison to reject.
To respond to calculated words and physical beauty is like being pierced through with a sword that claims your life and leaves a bitter taste to your soul. A moment of fleshly pleasure to satisfy the lusts of the flesh, is one of the ways to sell your soul. Herod the king found that out when he took his brother Philip’s wife and ended up being responsible for the murder of John the Baptist, a prophet of God. Sexual sin is an example of any sin that tempts us. It has consequences beyond our control. Sexual immorality is dangerous physically, emotionally, spiritually and personally. It destroys self-respect, respect for others, and destroys family life. It erodes the mind so that it is open to other temptations with other people and things. It degrades personhood in both persons involved. To perverted minds, people become no more than objects for personal pleasure momentarily. With it can come disease, unwanted children, and the murder of unwanted children. That can bring inward personal grief that won’t go away for life.
Sexual immorality is against God’s law, and “be sure your sin will find you out,” and “whatsoever and man soweth, that shall he also reap,” are principles that are inescapable, not empty threats. Excitement is temporary. Contentment and fulfillment as they are intended to be are forever lost. Unfortunately, the changing standards in our present-day society has loosened moral restraints so much, that most people can’t conceive that what they consider liberation is really bondage that will never be healed. Guilt, remorse, bitterness, broken homes, rebellious children and a population without stable guidelines to conduct life by are results of rejecting the law of God and embracing the changing laws of human beings.
When those standards of righteous living and moral conduct are gone, the only way to live is for today. Don’t plan ahead. Don’t think about what might happen if we do this now. Live for the moment and forget about the consequences. There are phrases people who think like that use in relation to the future: “Whatever will be, will be,” is one of them. They don’t consider tomorrow or the future, or how this action I want will affect other people. “This is what I want for me – now.” What a sad way to live.
From verse seven through fourteen, a wise father warns his children again to pay attention to what he says, and stay away from the sight of immorality and avoid all contact with those who engage in such practices. All that a person is by reputation, trust and dignity will be lost in a moment when one throws moral restraint to the wind, and gives their seed to one who has no good intent but to make a gain at your loss. Don’t fall for the advertising of media, magazines, billboards, TV and the internet throw at you to purposely make you discontent. The result will be remorse, guilt, loss of self-respect, money, reputation, integrity and happiness when you take the step of sexual immorality.
When a body is contaminated with STD and the mind cannot forget what one did for a moment of pleasure, the rest of life will be a reminder of the warnings given by a loving, caring parent that was spurned. The consequences of bad choices will inevitably come. The loss of character results in the sad gain of unending remorse. Take the warning that all of those things calculated to make you dissatisfied with what you have and your life as it is, will cost you far more than what you think you will get. The loss of your honor and the blight you cast on all around you are bad enough, and one who engages in immoral activity continually will lose their soul. Even a believer who falls into temptation and sin, has to live with a certain loss that can never be regained.
Starting with verse fifteen, Solomon presents why marriage is so important and the benefits and blessings that are so good when it is a biblical marriage. There is honor in marriage that is established by vows taken by a man or woman to each other, and that is witnessed to publicly. Such a marriage has the purpose to bring personal joy and procreation. There is lasting pleasure, not a temporary release that won’t last, when a man and woman are joined together by God and for the purposes God intended when He brought Eve to Adam. In the framework of marriage there is ample scope for pleasure, intimacy, trust, companionship, fellowship, friendship and maturity that makes life so meaningful and happy that we are deeply grateful to God for designing such a thing.
Family life as it should be, is a source of joy to a husband and wife. Then they can find not only joy in each other, but in their own children – the fruit of their union. Openly giving of each one to the other in a marriage relationship can bring satisfaction that goes beyond description. Without restrictions, one is able to shed their inhibitions and present themselves without reserve to bring joy to their spouse and receive joy from their spouse. Descriptions of that joy are given here as living creatures of beauty and grace, strength and focused consciousness of the other person. In that way two really become one in mind, soul and spirit as well as body.
There is nothing in a passing fling that will satisfy a person. In the whole-hearted commitment of one person to another there is a satisfaction that is illustrated by Christ’s love for the church for which He gave His life. The principles for living that are given by the Lord, work. You will never get away with from the binding cords of immoral sins. Life will never be what it could have been or should have been if you had listened to the warnings given by those who cared for you. The advice given, received and obeyed can make the difference between unrestricted joy in life and relationships, or a secret bondage that refuses to loosen its grip on your conscience.