READ PROVERBS 5–9
A Father’s Exhortation on Wisdom
OVERVIEW
The word wisdom in Hebrew is a feminine noun. Thus, it is natural for Solomon to personify it as a woman—a virtuous woman—in contrast to the foolish and immoral ways of a harlot. Both wisdom and folly beckon with similar invitations. “Come in with me” (9:4, 16). But the invitation you choose to accept will determine whether you find virtue or vice. Solomon warns his son, and all those reading his words, to watch out for sin’s clever disguise and wise up to the importance of following God’s instructions.
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Few people plan to ruin their lives. Yet many a life ends in ruin. Why? Because someone else planned to ruin it for them.
Satan is alive and well . . . and craftily cunning in his attempts to destroy the moral fiber of God’s children. His deviance from God’s ordained pattern for love, sex, marriage, and family is both attractive and inviting (7:10-23). The naive will play with fire—and get burned (6:28-29). The foolish will take the bait—and find that every kick offered by Satan also contains a kickback.
The path leading to adultery is broad and inviting. Tragically, it is a path many find irresistible. But though the trail is well worn, no one need follow its deadly course. Whether young or old, married or single, Solomon’s message is aimed at the heart: Don’t play with matches—especially if the match belongs to someone else. Carry a book of matches with you today to keep that warning fresh in your mind and heart.
“WISDOM OPENS THE EYES TO BOTH THE GLORIES OF HEAVEN AND THE HOLLOWNESS OF EARTH.”
INSIGHT
The Filth of Unfaithfulness | Prov. 5:15
A well, or fountain, offers pure water for personal use. The water that runs through the street is . . . basically sewage. That’s the graphic picture that Proverbs 5:15-17 uses to contrast marital fidelity with adultery.
INSIGHT
Christ in the Proverbs | Prov. 8
Notice the description of wisdom in chapter 8. It is divine (vv. 22-31); it is the source of life (vv. 35-36); it is righteous and moral (vv. 8-9); it is available to all (vv. 1-6, 32-35). This wisdom became incarnate in Christ—“in him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3); “God made him to be wisdom itself” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Do you know that Wisdom firsthand?
