Posted by Jeff Short on September 17, 2016 · 1 Comment
Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
– Proverbs 5:16
Expositors are divided over whether this verse should be taken negatively as a warning against promiscuity, or positively as extolling the blessing of faithful marriage. I take the latter view because of the immediate context. Verses 15-19 are extolling the blessings of faithful marriage, while verses 20-23 close the chapter with warnings and consequences against the strange woman.
Fountains and rivers in this verse are both the result, or product of a source. A fountain is a spring, or the stream issuing from a spring. The river or channel of water is also the result of flow from a source. The contrast remains between the commonality of the strange woman and her affairs and the privacy and committedness of the faithful wife. A faithful marriage results in the offspring of children and the building of a stable family that is a proper focus of time and energy. Liaison with the strange woman will dissipate and waste a man.
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Posted by Jeff Short on September 16, 2016 · 1 Comment
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
– Proverbs 5:15
Verses 15-19 give a beautiful picture of delight in marriage. The Bible employs some delicacy in euphemism when addressing such matters. Though the physical occupies a prime place in these instructions, it is never dealt with crassly. For example, the Song of Solomon speaks of marital intimacy by painting beautiful and poetic word pictures like a banquet in a garden. We shouldn’t shrink back from anything in the Bible, but we should let the Bible also guide us and give indication as to how certain topics should be publicly discussed and taught.
The first images used are that of a cistern and a well. The picture is of a man finding lasting satisfaction from water in his own well or cistern. The well is continual source and also a private source. God has designed marriage for a man and a woman to find a deepening relationship that exists only between them and satisfies them both mentally, emotionally, and physically (1 Corinthians 7:2-5). It’s not that a husband or wife take ownership of the other, but that each is to give themselves to the other.
Faithful marriage promises and provides lasting satisfaction, which the strange woman, fornication, and adultery do not (Proverbs 5:3-5). Faithful marriage provides a constancy between a husband and a wife and a growing relationship on an intellectual as well as emotional and physical level. The strange woman is unstable and unknowable and whatever momentary thrill she excites is nothing in comparison (Proverbs 5:6). Drinking water from your own well is also a picture of delight at home. The strange woman is not building a home but gadding about (Proverbs 7:10-11) and giving herself to many (Proverbs 6:26).
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Posted by Jeff Short on September 15, 2016 · 1 Comment
I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
– Proverbs 5:14
Verse 14 concludes this section on the consequences of adultery. It is fitting as a last step for congregation and assembly refer to being brought to public judgment. The law condemned such a one to death (Deuteronomy 22:22-24), but historically it seems that was little practiced. Rather the adulterer was reduced to public disgrace (Proverbs 6:33). The opinions of society are fluid on the question of adultery, but regardless of man’s inability to judge this sin faithfully, God will judge all adultery (Hebrews 13:4; Revelation 21:8).
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Posted by Jeff Short on September 14, 2016 · 1 Comment
And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
– Proverbs 5:13
The regret at the end of life shows a man being condemned by his own conscience as well as others. He recognizes that his teachers have been many and a host of instructors have stood to warn him off the way of the strange woman. He has ignored them all. The word for obeyed is the word for hearing intelligently. He did not listen attentively nor consider what he heard. He let it pass on. He did not incline his ear so he did not take time to search out wisdom and consider his way. He comes in the end to ruin, misery, and bitter regret.
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Posted by Jeff Short on September 13, 2016 · 1 Comment
And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
– Proverbs 5:12
Solomon continues the future lament and state of regret that awaits the man taken by the strange woman. He realizes too late he is a fool, because fools hate knowledge (Proverbs 1:22, 29-32; 15:5). He regrets discounting the reproofs of wisdom (Proverbs 1:25). In the end, he becomes a proverb (Proverbs 13:18).
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Posted by Jeff Short on September 12, 2016 · 1 Comment
And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
– Proverbs 5:11
Mourn means to growl or moan. It is the sound of an animal in distress. Last is the end and so the end of life. Solomon warns that refusing to heed such warnings will bring you to howling misery and regret. The flesh and body being consumed is sometimes thought to be indication of disease but I don’t find that compelling. Giving oneself to pursuing the strange woman is a wasted life and wreaks ruin. This verse pictures one at the end life regretting and lamenting his path and the squandering of youth, strength, and the stable support of a good wife. It is a regret of wasting what cannot be recovered.
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Posted by Jeff Short on September 11, 2016 · 1 Comment
Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
– Proverbs 5:10
Loss of wealth and wealth-getting ability are common to adulterous men (Proverbs 6:26). A very few seem to carry on famously in that way, but they will come to destruction eventually. The law counted adultery as a capital crime (Deuteronomy 22:21). It doesn’t seem that was carried out consistently. A lesser sort of punishment could have been slavery. It could also refer to the fact that a disgraced man was more vulnerable to extortion and oppression rather than a legal recourse. Either way, an adulterous man loses dominion of his own life.
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Posted by Jeff Short on September 10, 2016 · 1 Comment
Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
– Proverbs 5:9
This verse provides the alternative to keeping far away from the strange woman and her door. Honor means beauty and majesty. It could mean vigor, but the context seems to point to a loss of integrity and good reputation. The giving of years refers to losing them in some way. The cruel could refer to slave masters that a man is subjected to through loss of wealth and respect. As Solomon continues to count the losses, it is clear a man has much more to lose than could ever be gained this way.
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Posted by Jeff Short on September 9, 2016 · 1 Comment
Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
– Proverbs 5:8
Wisdom discerns the way of evil and folly and does not begin in it. Remove and come not nigh are the heart of this admonition. We could say keep away and don’t even go near. Joseph once made a narrow escape though he was near enough to still come to trouble (Genesis 39:7-12). I suppose we could debate what his level of responsibility was in the matter, but the text tells us she sought him day by day and that he entered the house with no one else present. If nothing else, let his account reinforce the wisdom of Solomon that we keep away and don’t go near.
The New Testament echoes the command of wisdom here (2 Timothy 2:22). Jesus also spoke to this with terms of urgency (Matthew 5:28-30). Each generation has some particular applications of this verse, but the intent is always the same. Stay away. We need wisdom to discern the strange woman, for it was the young man devoid of it that was caught by her (Proverbs 7:7-13). Having discernment, let us practice radical avoidance.
Way is road here as elsewhere. It speaks to the path, or course of life you are on. Solomon instructs to remove your way far from the strange woman. This would include rerouting your life if necessary to avoid “accidentally” bumping into her. That would certainly include the online world today as well. The door of her house is the entrance, the way in. Applications are numerous but the point is clear. If you do not come near the entrance, you will not be inside the house.
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
« Previous Page — Next Page »
Proverbs 5:16
Posted by Jeff Short on September 17, 2016 · 1 Comment
Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
Expositors are divided over whether this verse should be taken negatively as a warning against promiscuity, or positively as extolling the blessing of faithful marriage. I take the latter view because of the immediate context. Verses 15-19 are extolling the blessings of faithful marriage, while verses 20-23 close the chapter with warnings and consequences against the strange woman.– Proverbs 5:16
Fountains and rivers in this verse are both the result, or product of a source. A fountain is a spring, or the stream issuing from a spring. The river or channel of water is also the result of flow from a source. The contrast remains between the commonality of the strange woman and her affairs and the privacy and committedness of the faithful wife. A faithful marriage results in the offspring of children and the building of a stable family that is a proper focus of time and energy. Liaison with the strange woman will dissipate and waste a man.
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
Share this:
Filed under 5, Proverbs, Short Comments · Tagged with Children, Commentary, Family, Marriage, Proverbs