Proverbs (Part 057) - Pro 5:20-22

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20. Pro 5:20 - "And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?" A. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, i. This is a rhetorical question. a. Having directly commanded his son to stay far away from the strange woman (Pro 5:8), Solomon now appeals to his son's reason by way of a question. b. Asking a question and leaving the hearer to ponder it and come up with the answer on his own can be a powerful way to influence a man to make the right decision. c. Forming the warning as a question allows his son to come up with reasons that it would be foolish for him to get involved with a strange woman. d. When we come to conclusions about dangerous acts ourselves, we are much more likely to avoid them. ii. It is good to be ravished with one's wife (Pro 5:19), but it is evil to be ravished with a strange woman. iii. It is not what is done in the bedroom that is sinful: it is who is doing it which makes it sinful (Heb 13:4). iv. To be ravished is to be "carried away by force" (v. 19). a. The force that carries a man away by the strange woman is lust (2Ti 3:6; Jam 1:14). b. Lust n. - 1. Pleasure, delight. Obs. (last used in 1607) 2. Desire, appetite, relish or inclination for something. 3. spec. in Biblical and Theological use: Sensuous appetite or desire, considered as sinful or leading to sin. Often pl. esp. in the lusts of the flesh, fleshly lusts. 4. Sexual appetite or desire. Chiefly and now exclusively implying intense moral reprobation: Libidinous desire, degrading animal passion. (The chief current use.) c. The strange woman, like false teachers, allure men through lust (2Pe 2:18). d. Allure v. - 1. To attract by the offer of some advantage or pleasure; to tempt by something flattering or acceptable; to entice; to win over. e. A foolish man goes after her voluntarily like an ox goes to the slaughter, not realizing that it will be his demise (Pro 7:22-23). f. Why would a man do that? That is Solomon's question. B. and embrace the bosom of a stranger? i. When God gives a man a wife he should cleave to her and forsake all others (Gen 2:24). a. Cleave v. - 1. To stick fast or adhere, as by a glutinous surface, to (†on, upon, in). 3. In wider sense: To cling or hold fast to; to attach oneself (by grasping, etc.) to (†on, upon, in). (i) To cleave is a synonym of embrace (see definition below). (ii) A man should therefore embrace his wife. b. A man's wife is the wife of his bosom (Deut 13:6), and a woman's husband is the husband of her bosom (Deut 28:56). ii. Embracing the bosom of a woman is a description of sexual intimacy (Gen 16:5; Son 2:6). a. Embrace v. - 1. trans. To clasp in the arms, usually as a sign of fondness or friendship. b. Bosom n. - 1. a. The breast of a human being; also poet. of a bird, etc. b. The enclosure formed by the breast and the arms. in one's bosom: clasped to one's breast. c. wife of one's bosom: orig. a Hebraism adopted in the Bible of 1611; but its Eng. use is influenced by senses 6a and b. (The similar phrase husband of one's bosom, Deut. xxviii. 56, never became current.) Hence, to take to one's bosom: to marry. iii. Why when you have a wife whom God has given you for your enjoyment would you look to another for your sexual fulfillment? a. It is not only a sin against her, but it is also a sin against God. b. It will also bring judgment upon you from God and men (Pro 5:9-11). c. "Let him then scorn the offer of forbidden pleasures when he is always ravished with the love of a faithful virtuous wife; let him consider what an absurdity it will be for him to be ravished with a strange woman (Pro 5:20), to be in love with a filthy harlot, and embrace the bosom of a stranger, which, if he had any sense of honour or virtue, he would loathe the thoughts of. “Why wilt thou be so sottish, such an enemy to thyself, as to prefer puddle-water, and that poisoned too and stolen, before pure living waters out of thy own well?” Note, If the dictates of reason may be heard, the laws of virtue will be obeyed." (Matthew Henry's Commentary, commenting on Pro 5:15-23) 21. Pro 5:21 - "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings." A. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, i. The eyes of the LORD are in every place beholding the evil and the good (Pro 15:3). a. They go to and fro throughout the whole earth (2Ch 16:9). b. All things are naked and open before God (Heb 4:13). c. We cannot therefore hide ourselves from God (Psa 139:7; Jer 23:24). d. Nor can we hide our ways from God (Job 34:21-22). ii. The word "for" connects this verse to the previous warnings against going a whoring with a strange woman. a. Remember this the next time you are tempted to flirt, date, or otherwise interact with a strange woman. b. You may not be seen by men, but you will be seen by Almighty God. c. Be sure your sin will find you out (Num 32:23). B. and he pondereth all his goings. i. God not only sees all that we do, He also ponders our goings. a. Ponder v. - 1. trans. To ascertain the weight of; to weigh. In quot. c1470 absol. Also fig. Obs. 4. To weigh (a matter, words, etc.) mentally; to give due weight to and consider carefully; to think over, meditate upon. b. God sees all our ways and then thinks on them and considers them carefully. c. We are commanded to ponder the path of our feet (Pro 4:26). (i) The fact that we are commanded to do it means that we have a penchant for not doing it. (ii) While we may not ponder our goings, God does. ii. God not only ponders our goings (what we do), but He also ponders our hearts (our intents and desires) (Pro 24:12). a. Our hearts are ever before God's scrutinizing sight (Pro 15:11). b. We may be able to fool ourselves, but we will never fool God (Pro 21:2). iii. Never forget that there is a God in heaven watching and considering everything we do and judging us accordingly. 22. Pro 5:22 - "His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. " A. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, i. The wicked shall be taken by his own iniquities. ii. God will return his wickedness upon his own head (1Ki 2:44). iii. His own wickedness will God use to correct him (Jer 2:19). a. The pit that he dug will be used as his dungeon (Pro 26:27). b. His adultery will be his destruction (Pro 6:32). B. and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. i. Sinners try to break God's bands and cast away His cords only to be kept in bondage by the cords of their sins (Psa 2:3 c/w Pro 5:22). ii. Cord n. - 1. a. A string composed of several strands twisted or woven together; in ordinary popular use, now restricted to small ropes, and thick or stout strings; but formerly applied more widely, e.g. to the ropes of a ship, the string of a bow, etc. iii. Men are bound in fetters and holden in cords of affliction because of their sin (Job 36:8-9). iv. God uses the very cords that sinners use to sin (Isa 5:18) to bind them with. a. The adulterous relationship with the whore will be the means that God uses to punish the whoremonger through dishonour (Pro 5:9), poverty (Pro 5:10), disease (Pro 5:11), and death (Pro 5:23). b. He will be made to eat of the fruit of his own way and be filled with his own devices (Pro 1:31). c. Just as Jesus made a scourge of small cords to punish the wicked (Joh 2:15), so God uses the cords of our sins to punish us.