
Proverbs 5:1-23
Morality and marital faithfulness can never be thrust aside without paying the price. An illicit life robs its purveyors of honor and years. Family fidelity satisfies best.
5:3 | In Israel, the term immoral woman referred to one of three things: (1) idolaters who were outside the covenant, (2) Israelites who had once walked with God but turned aside to worship other gods, (3) those in Israel who were unfaithful to thier husbands. Each of htese contexts speaks of betrayal and forsaking a covenant.
5:11 | This could be speaking of the person’s fate in Sheol, or it could refer to sexually transmitted diseases and other physical ailments that can affect people who commit adultery.
5:12-14 | To hate instruction, despise correction, and ignore the voice of teaching makes a person susceptible to choices full of remorse. Falling prey to lust leads inevitably to the ruin (disgrace) of a person’s reputation within their community (the assembly and congregation).
5:15-20 | This passage illustrates boundaries. Pictured here is the foolishness of sexual promiscuity: one should neither seek sex from, nor offer it to, anyone other than his or her spouse.
5:18-20 | These verses describe intimacy between a husband and wife. Sexual expression is given by God for the delight of married couples. When marriage is viewed chiefly as a business arrangement, human passion seeks other outlets.