Proverbs 5:7-14
7 And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, 9 lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11 and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, 12 and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation."
This passage continues the warnings about "a forbidden woman" (verse 3), and repeats some of the ideas we encountered earlier in Proverbs. It starts with a warning to keep far away from temptation. Don't go near it, rationalizing that it is okay as long as you don't enter the house (verse 8). Instead, play it safe, be extra cautious, and be proactive. Healing won't come if you wander aimlessly by the temptation; you need a plan for handling temptations.
The second warning is to not waste your life away in meaningless pursuit of unattainable pleasure (verses 9-11). At the end of your life, what will you have to show for it? Think about all the time you have spent fantasizing, scheming, and engaging in immorality. Many of us have wasted large chunks of our lives on these activities.
The third warning is to heed discipline (verses 12-13). We tend to avoid discipline and correction, but the truth is that we need instruction. Left to our own desires, we have failed (verse 14). We need God and other people to show us the way of life and purity.
Lord, I confess that I have indeed "hated discipline" (verse 12). Help me to humbly accept Your instruction.
7 And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, 9 lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11 and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, 12 and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation."
This passage continues the warnings about "a forbidden woman" (verse 3), and repeats some of the ideas we encountered earlier in Proverbs. It starts with a warning to keep far away from temptation. Don't go near it, rationalizing that it is okay as long as you don't enter the house (verse 8). Instead, play it safe, be extra cautious, and be proactive. Healing won't come if you wander aimlessly by the temptation; you need a plan for handling temptations.
The second warning is to not waste your life away in meaningless pursuit of unattainable pleasure (verses 9-11). At the end of your life, what will you have to show for it? Think about all the time you have spent fantasizing, scheming, and engaging in immorality. Many of us have wasted large chunks of our lives on these activities.
The third warning is to heed discipline (verses 12-13). We tend to avoid discipline and correction, but the truth is that we need instruction. Left to our own desires, we have failed (verse 14). We need God and other people to show us the way of life and purity.
Lord, I confess that I have indeed "hated discipline" (verse 12). Help me to humbly accept Your instruction.