Series in Proverbs - Watch Out for Immorality

                                         

Watch out for Immorality

Proverbs 5:1-6

Again, Solomon or the writer of this Proverb warns of the deadly trap of immorality, this time adultery. My dad told me when it comes to immorality, it takes two to tango, and in a sense he was right. Adultery takes two, one to initiate it and one to participate. The warning sirens and bells are blaring today about this sin, for immorality is a published sin, a promoted and highly touted sin, and is probably one of the most committed sins in the world today behind lying and deception. Let’s read the first portion of the text.

“My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion,  and your lips may preserve knowledge.” (vv1-2 NIV)

Again, Solomon is addressing his children to again be good disciples, children who not only hear the word but do it obediently as well. He said paying attention to the dangers in the world is as important as knowing about them, for it is the use of wisdom (knowledge and obedience) that will lead them with insight and discretion. And the child who controls the mouth and the tongue, as well as the ears and the eyes will preserve their life from the adulterous world and the forked-tongue of the evil one and those who are in his grasp, possession, and control.

Solomon would have learned about the adulterous acts of his parents, and those of his own experience from not obeying the Lord. “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites.” (1 Kings 11:1-5 NLT) 

It seems that instead of having an adulterous affair, Solomon married the immoral women. It was possible that from Solomon’s immoral failing that he drew the insight of wisdom to warn his children. Solomon also drew from the words of a Psalms of David on the guarding of the mouth and tongue. “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.” (Ps. 141:3-4 NLT) It was the controlling of the lips that helped preserve and guard his heart, eyes, and soul.

Application - Again, I can’t scream loud enough to pay attention to the Word of God, especially the acts of immorality, of which adultery is one. Adultery is the lusting and the coming together for immorality in the flesh. Seeking God and His wisdom is just the beginning of the journey as a believer, for it is the fear of the Lord that keeps us near to Him and far away from the immoral world. “ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality. (1 Thes. 4:3 NIV) The Hebrew word for fear is ‘Yirah’ it means to awe, reverence, and respect, but it is also near to trembling, for God is not to be taken lightly or flippantly. God has given us our eyes, ears, and mouth to worship and honor Him for who He is and the wisdom that He gives generously to walk in the way righteousness, not to ignore His wisdom, and supplant it with the use of self-reason. “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” (Prov. 3:7 NIV)

Second, maintaining discretion is not an option but a mandate for a believer. “M'zimmah” is the Hebrew word for discretion, it is not a passive word but an actively choosing to act carefully and with caution and sensitivity to the fear of God in our life walk with Him. This leads us to Solomon’s analysis of the act of adultery. 

Last, Solomon describes in vivid language the vile deception and deadly allure of an adulterous person, in this case a woman. So let’s read the last portion of the text. “For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.” (vv.3-6 NIV)

It was Job, the righteous man who said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman. For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?” “There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths. When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth like a thief. The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed. In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light. For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness. (Job. 31:1-3; 24:13-17 NIV)

Solomon would have had access to the early scriptural writings and the psalms. For it is through the holy scriptures that God spoke to the masses. And it was in the Psalms of Asaph that he would have gained wisdom and insight about the adulterer, “But to the wicked person, God says: “What right do you have to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you. When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.” Psalms 50:18 NIV)

All of these Words from God would have instructed Solomon and his children in the dangers of the adulterous person, whether male or female. In this case Solomon spoke of a woman, because the warning was to the males of his progeny. 

First, Solomon decries the lips and sultry and promiscuous words of the adultress. She alures the simple and ignorant fools with her seductive and smooth words. For they are sweet and enticing to the ears as honey is to the mouth and stomach. The words of the adulteress are like kisses of flattery. They are as slippery as oil and soothing as they go down. But in the later realization, it has the effect of gall, a bitter realization of sin and its eternal consequences. For shame and guilt are its companions, as it leads them towards the blackness of death, Hell, and the grave. The adultress’ grip on the gullible are as razor sharp talons or a deadly double-edged sword that can easily shred the body and the soul.

Second, the path she leads them on is unmarked, without warnings, it is an aimless path of wandering from one sin to the next, a path that seems endless but truly ends in complete separation from God and His peace and security. Though she gives no thought to death but lives for the moment and for the ecstasy of pleasure, her life is given to self indulgence and lack of wisdom. She doesn’t use forethought but immoderacy and striving for excitement through the flesh.

Application -  

The effect of words on the mind and the psyche of a person are powerful. The enemy of God knows the power of the spoken word and uses it lavishly on those who fall into the act of adultery. He relishes the control of the mind and the heart in drawing the impudent, naive, simple and ignorant. The act of adultery is not just an act of the flesh but also of the heart and mind. Jesus corrected the believers in their understanding of adultery. “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt. 5:27-28 NLT)

Solomon wrote in earnest to his children, for he knew the effect of adultery, and possibly some of these children were the result of adultery. It is a parent’s desire to warn and divert their children from their own mistakes and sins, and to focus on the way of God and His righteous path. This is the lead of the fear of God, understanding, and discernment. 

AS for the acts of the adulterer or adulteress, their way is easily spotted in almost every place in the world especially in the media and technology venues of today. Even the ads drip of the malicious talk and vileness which are the byproducts of a sin-perforated world. The internet is now the playground of adults and the children today, and they have been exposed and possibly entered into the adulteress' techno boudoir. 

The adulterous voice is alluring the vulnerable as well as the saint, and it is as slick and sweet as it has ever been. But the consequences of the bewitching words are death spiritually and possibly physically. They seduce and entice with charm, but the result is bitter captivity to the wandering aimless path of agony and heartbreak. 

Last, the apostle Paul told every believer through the letter to the Corinthians, that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. And that giving ourselves, whether spiritually, mentally, or physically to sexual immorality is like joining God in the act of immorality. “The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body…Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Cor. 6:13,15-20 NIV)

The end result of immorality is death and Hell, just as Solomon stated,  “Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.”

I’m certain that we have all been tempted by the adultress or adulterer of today. But it is the one who flees from her or him like Joseph from Potiphar’s wife that will be free of immorality in the eyes of God. 

The Wisdom of God is our guiding Word, and for those who have succumbed to the captivating voice of the tempter, flee back to God. For Jesus is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and to give us strength and protect our hearts and minds. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” (1 John 1:8-10; 2 Thes. 3:3 NIV)

As always, I want to end with presenting the gospel in the form of the ABC’s of salvation for all those who have not yet received Jesus Christ for salvation. For Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I have revised my webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. Thank you. 

http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com