Proverbs 5: Warning Against Adultery
Live Life Well: Warning Against Adultery | Proverbs 5 | Mercy Church - Newmarket NH Pastor Tim continues a series called "Live Life Well" on the book of Proverbs, highlighting the wisdom of God as a guide for living. He stresses that even difficult topics like adultery are relevant to all because they are repeatedly addressed in Scripture and offer lessons not only for personal choices but also for how we can support others.
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Proverbs Chapter 5: Wisdom and Warning Against Adultery
Study Guide
This study guide focuses on the key themes, warnings, and instructions found in Proverbs Chapter 5, as discussed in the provided transcript. The main topic is the danger and consequences of adultery, presented within the broader context of seeking and applying God's wisdom for living a well-ordered life.
Key Themes and Concepts:
Proverbial Wisdom: God has established an ordered world, and aligning our lives with His wisdom generally leads to flourishing. Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of this wisdom.
The Importance of Listening and Attentiveness: Wisdom is not passively absorbed. It requires active engagement, paying attention, and turning one's ear to instruction. This is likened to Dallas Willard's idea that grace is opposed to earning, not effort.
Discretion and Knowledge: The goal of receiving wisdom is to maintain discretion (the ability to discern right from wrong, especially in difficult situations) and to speak wise words (lips that preserve knowledge).
Contrast Between Wisdom and Adultery: The text creates a strong contrast between the "good lips" filled with knowledge and the "dangerous lips" of the adulterous woman, which are initially alluring but ultimately destructive.
The Deceptive Nature of Adultery: Adultery is presented as initially appearing sweet ("lips... drip honey," "speech is smoother than oil") but ultimately leading to bitterness, pain, and death ("bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword," "feet go down to death," "steps lead straight to the grave").
The Danger of the Path: The text warns against starting down a path that seems appealing but leads to danger. It's easier to avoid the path entirely than to turn back once you've gone too far. This applies broadly to life choices, including relationships and associations.
Avoiding Temptation: The instruction is not to see how close you can get to the "edge of the cliff," but to "keep to a path that is far from her" and "not go near the door of her house." This emphasizes proactive avoidance.
Consequences of Adultery: The negative impacts are multifaceted:
Loss of honor and dignity.
Financial loss (strangers feast on your wealth, toil enriches another). This can occur through attempts to cover up lies with money.
Physical and spiritual decay ("flesh and body are spent").
Regret at the end of life ("hated discipline," "spurned correction").
Community impact ("serious trouble in the assembly of God's people"). Sin is never isolated.
The God-Ordained Outlet: Instead of pursuing adultery, the son is instructed to find satisfaction and intimacy within the covenant of marriage, with his wife ("drink water from your own cistern," "rejoice in the wife of your youth," "may her breasts satisfy you always," "may you ever be intoxicated with her love"). This is presented as the blessed and proper channel for sexual desire.
God's Omniscience and Accountability: God sees and examines all our paths ("your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths"). We cannot hide our actions from Him.
Human Capability and Responsibility: While God provides a way out of temptation, humans are capable beings who have a responsibility to train their appetites and grow in righteousness.
The Inescapable Cords of Sin: Evil deeds and sins can hold people fast, leading to death and folly due to a lack of discipline.
Expanding the Scope to Lust (New Testament Connection): Jesus raises the standard of adultery from the physical act to include lust in the heart, making it clear that the struggle is internal as well as external.
The Call to Repentance and Grace: For those involved in adultery, the call is to immediate repentance and confession. The Gospel offers hope and restoration through a forgiving Savior, even though consequences for behavior still exist.
The Importance of Community and Accountability: Pushing instruction away and trying to handle these challenges alone is dangerous. Connecting with others (men with men, women with women) for accountability and support is crucial for walking away from temptation and toward righteousness.
Flow of Proverbs Chapter 5 (as presented):
Introduction: Call to pay attention and receive wisdom.
Contrast: Description of the deceptive appeal of the adulterous woman's speech vs. lips that preserve knowledge.
Consequences: The bitter end, death, and the danger of the path.
Warning and Instruction: Keep far from her path, avoid her house.
Further Consequences: Loss of honor, dignity, wealth, regret, and community impact.
The Alternative (God-Ordained Outlet): Find intimacy and satisfaction with your spouse within marriage.
Accountability: God sees everything.
Conclusion: The cords of sin, lack of discipline leading to folly and death.
New Testament Expansion: Jesus' teaching on lust.
Gospel Call: Repentance, grace, and accountability in community.
Quiz
According to Pastor Tim, what is the core idea of proverbial wisdom and how does it relate to lining up our lives with God?
What contrast does the author of Proverbs create between lips that preserve knowledge and the lips of the adulterous woman in verses 2 and 3?
Describe the dual nature of the adulterous woman's speech and her end result, using imagery from the text.
What is the warning given about the paths we choose to walk on, and why is it hard to turn back once you've gone too far?
Proverbs 5 instructs the son to "keep to a path that is far from here." What does this suggest about how to handle temptation?
Besides spiritual and physical harm, what financial consequence is mentioned as a potential result of going down the path of adultery?
What does the person who has followed the path of folly regret at the end of their life, according to verses 11-13?
Instead of pursuing the adulterous woman, where does Proverbs 5 say the son should find sexual intimacy and satisfaction?
How does the text emphasize God's awareness of our actions in verse 21?
What is the New Testament connection Jesus makes regarding adultery, according to Pastor Tim?
Quiz Answer Key
The core idea is that God has ordained the world to work in a certain way. When we align our lives with His wisdom, things generally go well, and when we don't, they generally don't go well.
Verse 2 describes "good lips" that preserve knowledge, while verse 3 describes the "dangerous lips" of the adulterous woman, which drip honey and are smoother than oil.
Her speech is initially sweet and smooth, like honey and oil, but in the end, she is bitter as gall and sharp as a double-edged sword, indicating pain and destruction.
The warning is to be cautious of the paths you start on because you may not realize the danger ahead, and it feels hard to turn around once you're far down the path.
This suggests that the best way to handle temptation is proactive avoidance and keeping a safe distance, rather than testing how close you can get to danger.
The text mentions that strangers could feast on your wealth and your effort could enrich the house of another, implying financial ruin or exploitation.
They regret hating discipline, spurning correction, and not obeying their teachers or instructors.
He should drink water from his own cistern, find satisfaction with his own wife, and rejoice in the wife of his youth.
It states that our ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all our paths, meaning God sees and knows everything we do.
Jesus expands the definition of adultery to include lusting after someone in your heart, raising the standard beyond just the physical act.
Essay Questions
Discuss the various forms of consequence mentioned in Proverbs Chapter 5 that result from pursuing adultery, and explain how these consequences extend beyond the individual to impact others.
Analyze the contrasting imagery used in Proverbs Chapter 5 to describe the initial appeal versus the ultimate outcome of adultery. How do these images function to warn the reader?
Explain the concept of "the path" as used in Proverbs Chapter 5 and its significance in the context of making choices and avoiding temptation. What is the recommended approach to navigating such paths?
Compare and contrast the wisdom offered in Proverbs Chapter 5 regarding sexual intimacy within marriage versus the pursuit of an adulterous relationship. How is the prescribed alternative presented as a blessing?
The transcript connects the message of Proverbs Chapter 5 to both the need for personal discipline and the grace of God in the face of sin. Discuss the tension and relationship between these two concepts as presented in the sermon.
Glossary of Key Terms
Proverbial Wisdom: Practical guidance and insight from God for living successfully and rightly in the world He has ordered.
Discretion: The ability to discern what is right and wrong, especially in difficult or tempting situations; good judgment.
Preserve Knowledge: To retain and speak wise words; to use one's speech to share understanding and insight.
Adulterous Woman: In this context, a woman who is sexually involved with someone other than her spouse; often used to represent the temptation and danger of infidelity. The sermon notes this could also represent an adulterous man.
Gall: A bitter substance, often associated with poison or intense bitterness.
Double-edged Sword: A sword with sharpened edges on both sides, capable of cutting in either direction; used metaphorically to describe something that is sharp, piercing, and potentially harmful.
The Path: A metaphor used to represent the course of one's life choices and actions. Walking on a dangerous path leads to negative consequences.
Cistern / Well: In this context, a metaphor for one's spouse and the intimacy found within the marriage covenant.
Assembly of God's People: The community of faith; highlights the fact that individual sin can impact the broader community.
Discipline: Training that corrects, molds, or perfects character and behavior; in this context, the willingness to accept instruction and correction.
Folly: Foolishness; lack of good sense or judgment.
Lust: Intense sexual desire, especially when directed towards someone outside of marriage; in the New Testament context, the internal desire that can be considered a form of adultery.
Repentance: A sincere turning away from sin and toward God.
Grace: The unmerited favor of God; His benevolent kindness and mercy.
Accountability: The obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for one's actions; in a faith context, often involves being open and honest with trusted individuals about one's struggles and choices.
