Posted by Jeff Short on November 1, 2016 · 1 Comment
Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
– Proverbs 7:3
Solomon alludes to the exhortation to keep the law (Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18; Proverbs 3:3). The point of the admonition is not the phylacteries of the Pharisees, but rather that the law may be always at hand and always on the mind. Here the commands of wisdom need to be ready to put to use, i.e. bound to the fingers, and continually meditated on to deepen understanding and application to life, i.e. written upon the heart or mind.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 31, 2016 · 1 Comment
Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
– Proverbs 7:2
Wisdom is life and leads us into life. The many admonitions to keep, or guard, the commandments indicate how easily we can let them slip. We must stir up ourselves to actively keep them. We are to guard as “the apple of thine eye.” This refers to the pupil, but the figure is probably used because the commandments of wisdom give us spiritual sight and must be guarded.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 30, 2016 · 1 Comment
Chapter 7 brings the capstone warning against adultery. The warning here comes in dramatic fashion as a tale of a young simpleton ensnared in this sin. Considering the weight of the warnings given, it is plain that such sin is only avoided through wisdom. It takes forethought, planning, and deliberate actions and habits to keep away from such sins. Verses 1-5 begin the fatherly address calling the son to attentiveness. Verses 6-23 illustrate the cunning of the evil woman and how she takes her prey. Verses 24-27 press the lesson home. Solomon’s primary method is to teach us wisdom by learning through experience and observation. Life furnishes an endless supply of lessons of folly. Wisdom learns from the foolishness of others and avoids it.
My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
– Proverbs 7:1
Verses 1-5 are familiar, particularly throughout the first chapters of Proverbs. Keeping and laying up give the idea of guarding a hidden object. The words and commandments of the father are words and commandments of wisdom. Learning by paying heed to instruction and keeping the words so that you avoid the consequences of folly is far better than learning through bitter experience. Learning through instruction is an essential mark of wisdom (Proverbs 9:9).
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 29, 2016 · 1 Comment
He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
– Proverbs 6:35
The section and chapter closes with a completing thought. The thief may make restitution and thereby reconciliation but such is not the case with the adulterer. The rightly jealous husband’s rage will not be placated by any ransom or gift. History has proven that jealous rage to often be murderous and not to be reasoned with. This isn’t a treatise on what the defrauded spouse may or may not do in such a case, but rather a sober warning to the young man to have wisdom and keep away from such a woman at all costs.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 28, 2016 · 1 Comment
For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
– Proverbs 6:34
Whereas the starving thief may find sympathy from the man he has robbed and make restitution to him, the adulterer will not find any sympathy from the man whose wife he has taken. He will find rage, or furious anger fueled by his jealousy for his wife. He will show no leniency in vengeance. Vengeance could refer to seeking judicial punishment or exacting personal vengeance. Either way, the defrauded husband will not spare to press for all he can when the opportunity is given.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 27, 2016 · 1 Comment
A wound and dishonor shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
– Proverbs 6:33
The thief can make restitution and escape ignominy because of his hunger. The adulterer gets to himself a blot that cannot be wiped away. Wound, dishonor, and reproach could speak to social consequences and judicial ones. By the law, such a one should be put to death (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22), though it doesn’t seem that law was ever faithfully upheld. Should he live, he will have to live with the consequent shame and reproach of his acts. Consider King David and how he is not spoken of except his adultery with Bathsheba is thought of.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 26, 2016 · 1 Comment
But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
– Proverbs 6:32
Understanding is from the word often translated “heart.” It can refer to the emotions, will, or intellect, and sometimes can take in all these meanings. Here a lack of understanding is the intention. A man who commits adultery demonstrates that he lacks wisdom. He demonstrates that he doesn’t fully grasp the consequences or depths of sin against others and the damage he does to himself. The consequences both immediate and in the future of this life are many, but if one goes on in this sin unrepentant, they inherit eternal damnation.
We also must never lose sight of the fact that Jesus taught adultery is also a sin within the heart, even if it never finds physical expression (Matthew 5:27-30). The lust he condemns is not merely a start of sin, but is sin itself. The warning accords with Solomon’s warnings to even stay away from the house of a strange woman (Proverbs 5:8).
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 25, 2016 · 1 Comment
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
– Proverbs 6:31
Restoring sevenfold is an expression that refers to the law of restitution (Exodus 22:1-4). Sevenfold expresses a severe penalty paid. Theft was a breach between neighbors and restitution was a means of reconciling them. Jesus taught the law was summed up in love for God first and love for neighbor second (Matthew 22:37-40). Coveting and stealing from your neighbor violates that love and restitution is designed to restore it. So a thief who steals because he is hungry, does not incur the utmost condemnation from society and restitution provides a means for him to be reconciled to his neighbor.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 24, 2016 · 1 Comment
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
– Proverbs 6:30
Verses 30-35 end this section with a comparison between an adulterer and a thief. Solomon qualifies the theft that it is in order to satisfy the soul of the hungry man. A destitute and hungry man is not despised and cast out of society when he has stolen something in order to eat. Solomon is certainly not excusing the theft, but rather observing the consequences. The thief may be looked upon as a poor man, but he is not condemned by society the way the adulterer is (Proverbs 6:33). Even in our day of marriage confusion and the advocacy of same-sex marriage, adultery, or cheating, is still looked down upon as wrong and despicable.
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Proverbs 7:3
Posted by Jeff Short on November 1, 2016 · 1 Comment
Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
Solomon alludes to the exhortation to keep the law (Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18; Proverbs 3:3). The point of the admonition is not the phylacteries of the Pharisees, but rather that the law may be always at hand and always on the mind. Here the commands of wisdom need to be ready to put to use, i.e. bound to the fingers, and continually meditated on to deepen understanding and application to life, i.e. written upon the heart or mind.– Proverbs 7:3
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
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