Some of The Consequences of Adultery
December 14, 2022
Commentary
This chapter is filled with strong warning against sexual sin. If any fall prey to a strange woman and her wicked seduction it is not because of lack of warning but because of willful neglect of instruction. Temptation in these matters has always been in the forefront of man’s problems. The life of many a young man has been ruined by a wicked woman. Her approach is flattering and her words are like honey and oil (v. 3). Some of the deadly consequences of adultery are as follows:
Disgrace – (vv. 9, 14)Poverty – (v. 10)Disease – (v. 11)Death and hell – (v. 5)We are told “stay away from her – come not near her house” (v. 8). It is such a heart ache to hear of young men and some of them not so young who have fallen because they went “to see what it was like." Stay away! is the best advice. Dating standards based on Bible principles are so important!
Application
There are certain sins that will mark a man for life. Sex sins certainly fall into this category. It is true that God will forgive but the scars will remain. That is why it is so important that I like Daniel of old “purpose in my heart not to defile myself.”
Proverbs 5:1– 14 (NET)
1 My child, be attentive to my wisdom, pay close attention to my understanding,
2 in order to safeguard discretion, and that your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil,
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 Lest she should make level the path leading to life, her paths have wandered, but she is not able to discern it.
7 So now, children, listen to me; do not turn aside from the words I speak.
8 Keep yourself far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your vigor to others and your years to a cruel person,
10 lest strangers devour your strength, and your labor benefit another man’s house.
11 And at the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are wasted away.
12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline! My heart spurned reproof!
13 For I did not obey my teachers and I did not heed my instructors.
14 I almost came to complete ruin in the midst of the whole congregation!”
Illustration: Swindoll The Decline of Family Life
In Charles Swindoll’s book, The Quest for Character (Multnomah), he refers to “sociologist and historian Carl Zimmerman, in his 1947 book Family and Civilization. He records keen observations as he compared the disintegration of various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures. Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral of each culture Zimmerman studied: Marriage loses its sacredness…is frequently broken by divorce; traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost; feminist movements abound; there is increased public disrespect for parents and authority as juvenile delinquency, promiscuity and rebellion occurs; there is refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities; a growing desire for, and acceptance of, adultery is evident; there is increasing interest in, and spread of, sexual perversions and sex-related crimes.” (Confident Living, November 1987, p. 34)