Scripture:
Proverbs 7:1-5 ESV
[1] My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; [2] keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; [3] bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. [4] Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend, [5] to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.
Observation:
For 3 chapters, Solomon has spoken about the lure of adultery. He has given some pretty strong warnings and, with reason, obviously. He saw the effects firsthand. His family had been in turmoil due to choices his dad made before he was born that lasted well into his teenage years. Knowing the man that King David was through scripture. I could see him sitting Solomon down and explaining to him the dangers of life. If we take ourselves into that moment, you can hear this conversation with David and Solomon… now listen, my son… I know it will be tempting and may even be hard to resist, but you have to. You can see all the struggles it has caused me. It’s just not worth it. It was a moment of pleasure for a lifetime of regret. Solomon, I am asking you to stay on guard against this. It destroys everything it touches. What I have noticed is that the enticement of sin seems to always appeal to your flesh. Go back and read chapters 5, 6, and 7 and see how the act of adultery starts and the end result. The way Solomon explains it makes it sound like a fish looking at a worm in the water, not knowing that under that tasty looking worm is the hook of death, and the first bite is the last one.
Application:
There is a reason marriage is between a man and a woman for life. When your trust is damaged, it tends to be very hard to rebuild adultery sounds good in the moment, but the effects are lifelong. This is something I know honestly all too well. Once trust is broken, it’s not easy to rebuild, and the decision of adultery will destroy everything it touches. If you are the one thinking about it, I am pleading with you, don’t. Whatever your marriage is going through, it will pass, and if you are the enticing person, stop. You may think it’s the right thing for you, but you are not just going to destroy your own self-worth, but the self-worth of the person who you are enticing. Marriage is a commitment to love through disappointment, to be patient in suffering, to forgive when you don’t want to, and to hold no record of the wrong. adultery only sounds good to those who can’t do one of these 3 things. GOD has been very clear about it in HIS word, and I beg you from experience… run from it, it will kill everything it touches.
Prayer:
Father, we just want to thank you for how you guide us in your word. We know the enemy will always tempt us to give into the desires of our flesh. That’s why you have given us strong warnings in your word. There are scriptures we just can’t get around, and honestly, we shouldn’t even want to. Father, we ask you to heal our broken hearts. If this sin has been a part of our lives, we confess it right now and ask that you throw it into the sea of forgetfulness that your word talks about. Help us to forgive those who hurt us and ask for forgiveness from those we hurt. We know that your grace will get us through anything. But that grace should come with a changed life. Change our hearts, let us see your face, and be the guiding source of our lives. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen