Thoughts on Proverbs 5
…..For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly…..*
Proverbs 5:23 NIV
The chapter today warns about the temptation to succumb to adultery. In our society today, fidelity in marriage is gradually becoming an exception as a new order of strings of indiscriminate extra- marital affairs make headlines every now and then. Sadly, eminent sons of the kingdom have also fallen victims of adulterous relationships. As 2 Tim 3:16 says, Every Scripture passage is inspired by God. All of them are useful for teaching, pointing out errors, correcting people, and training them for a life that has God’s approval.
Solomon’s warning is therefore apt as the temptation to commit adultery can be resisted through the strength of Wisdom, which dictates that a man not even go near the house of the strange woman.
He points out the calamities of yielding to sexual sin and of violating one’s marriage. Once adultery has been commited, it cannot be undone. Even when God forgives the repentant, that forgiveness does not change the past or remove the scars that are left behind.
The damage to relationships, reputations, and bodily health are real, and those who ignore godly advice are liable to find this out the hard way. The story of David and Bathsheba provides a case study on how adultery can destroy a dynasty that was destined for greatness. Though God forgave David, his lineage was not spared the consequences of his adultery. The devil found a legal ground to wreck havoc to David’s once perfect reputation with God on account of his sin in sending Uriah to an early grave.
There is nothing an adulterous relationship can offer which God has not provided for in a legitimate way through marriage and as such the married will do well to pay careful attention to these words of Wisdom from the mouth a man, who sadly, after all said and done, also became a victim of his many affairs with strange women( Solomon himself)
Let he that thinks he stands take heed lest he falls.The moment we do not take heed, or pay attention to these warnings, and chose frolicking in the company of someone you are not married to, you just may be setting yourself up for a fall.
The moral decadence in today’s society not withstanding, anyone that commits adultery is still stigmatised and labelled a “cheater” Which means that though extra-marital affairs may be the order of the day, the society frowns at it and may be unforgiving once it becomes public knowledge.
So what’s the point in adding to the count? In any case, no matter how shrouded in secrecy adultery is, God sees and knows. Till date, under the legal system, adultery remains a strong ground for divorce. This is unlikely to change too.
There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. If adultery is unacceptable in the court of man, much more it is in God’s eyes.
Though it may start off as a harmless flattery that boosts your ego, pls be careful and take the way of escape wisdom provides. As we ponder on Verses 15-20, may God establish and strengthen us to resist every temptation in this regard. Amen 🙏
