Proverbs 6:20-35
Proverbs 6:20-35
New King James Version (NKJV)
Beware of Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
21 Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you roam, they will lead you;
When you sleep, they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
27 Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be seared?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
30 People do not despise a thief
If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
31 Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold;
He may have to give up all the substance of his house.
32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul.
33 Wounds and dishonor he will get,
And his reproach will not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will accept no recompense,
Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.
My Thoughts:
- So let’s start with (v. 23) we read “For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,”
- For the father’s commandments and the mother’s teachings are both equally important and should not be discounted. For when we stray in to the harlots arms there will be a price to pay and you may not be able to afford it.
- Wisdom is the “way of life” and we are advised to lesson (2:12; 3:17-18)
- In (v. 26) we read “For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
- As I was saying before the price of the harlot maybe more than a man can afford, the cost may also cost your life, the Hebrew text is translated various ways but it means just that, there is more at stake than just your money.
- And we will finish today with (v.27) “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?”
- Fire is dangerous but literal and metaphorically when we hold to our sinful nature we are playing with fire. There is no circumstance that can make adultery or fornication right. fire always burns and if we play with it all that are involved will be affected (2 Sam. 11-13).
Thought of the Day
“The most deadly sins do not leap upon us, they creep upon us”.
Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
It was a shocking tragedy. A 15-year-old boy was strangled by the family’s pet. The slender youth had gone to an upstairs bedroom to play with an 11-foot Burmese python. Nobody is sure how it happened, but the supposedly tame snake turned into a killer that took the boy’s life.
Why play with a powerful snake that can turn into a horrifying agent of death? Why even bring such a potentially dangerous creature into the house? This news story changes the old adage “Don’t play with fire!” into a flashing warning signal.
This warning applies even more to the hazard of playing with sin — some “small” thing that seems merely to give pleasure without hurting anyone. At first it seems harmless, but feed it, let it grow, take pride in it, and a trifling sin can become a terrible tragedy that “brings forth death” (Jas. 1:15). The writer of the Proverbs applied this truth to the area of sexual purity. “Do not lust after her beauty,” said Solomon (6:25).
As believers in Jesus Christ, we must check even the smallest evil the moment it springs up in our heart by confessing it to the Lord and asking Him to help us overcome it. Toying with a pet sin is like playing with a deadly pet. Sooner or later it will turn on us.– Vernon C. Grounds
We can’t afford to play with fire
Nor tempt a serpent’s bite;
We can’t afford to think that sin
Brings any true delight
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- What do you think (v. 22) are saying?
- What other things do you see in the text?
Prayer Activities
- Call your Partner and discuss this devotional.
- Continue to have a prayer list and continue to praying for them.
- Pray with them and ask for the following;
- For God to give us the strength to the wisdom of our fathers and mothers.
- For God to give us the understanding of true love.
- For the individuals on your pray list.
- Let’s use (Mark 5:38-41) for today’s prayer verse.
You may ask why this verse for a prayer verse, but I like this one because it is a reminder that if we have a problem that we think is to big all we must do is ask Christ for His help and we can overcome anything.
About bobh6
40 Days of study 
These verses link the fathers teachings with the mothers instructions. They should be always with you if you heed their advice. This advice is from our Creator as well. Verse 22 is saying that we should keep the instruction in our heart that it is with all the time. This advice will lead us where we should or should not go. This advice will be with us when we sleep and keep us from sleeping in the wrong place or at the wrong time. Then when we awaken this advice (our Lord) will be with us to start a new day. How wonderful it would be if we all followed this advice. We wouldn’t wake up one morning and wonder what we did the night before. I was talking to a friend the other day and he was telling me about his wilder days and having black-outs. Not knowing what he did or didn’t do was and still is so very hard. We all live with regret, but at least we learn from our mistakes and we know we are forgiven when we truly ask.
I think your right about how the verse is telling us that God is always there and is always speaking to us if we are willing to lesson.
God’s laws are our guide to what is right and wrong. How would we know what is really right or wrong with out it? People could always justify anything, there’s always a good excuse; and our feelings or jut can’t be trusted. There are absolutes. Few things with us are really in the grey. If we trust and give oursleves time to understand why God’s ways are good, we make life easier. Thank God, he reproofs us. Instructions are the ways of life. We don’t ever get old enough to know it all. It’s never to late to learn and get things right. The Holy Spirit still has to guide us, and correct (convict, and consequence) us as long as we live. Satan tries tirelessly to trip us up, we need to stay humble always to avoid falling or tripping into sin. The light serves to guide our paths and also to teach us where and why we fell and a warning for the next time.
The statement you made “we never get old enough to know it all” is so true. Just because we have been Christians for most of our lives or just a few days we still need the Holy Spirit to guide us.