Proverbs 5.1-2
“My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.”
The father once again challenges his son to listen carefully to the voice of wisdom and understanding. The wisdom message in this chapter is to beware the seductions of “the forbidden woman.”
The primary message is to avoid sexual sin. But there is also symbolism here. The forbidden woman is sometimes referred to as “the seductress,” and she represents any of the deceptive religions, political philosophies, or worldviews that seduce and deceive people into distorted beliefs and behavior.
Today we consider the dangers of sexual seduction. The message is that seduction leads to destruction.
Proverbs 5.3-4
“For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.”
The Hebrew word translated “forbidden woman” indicates that she is a woman that is not the man’s wife; it is a woman with whom he should not be intimate, either emotionally or sexually.
The seductress speaks with sweetness, but what she actually brings is poison, and it will destroy you. Sexual sin works precisely this way. At first it is appealing, attractive, and pleasurable. But eventually, it distorts and destroys.
The Lord designed sex for a man and a woman in the context of marriage. He gave the gift of sex for three purposes: procreation, pleasure, and relational intimacy. He wants husband and wife to enjoy sexual intercourse, but most importantly the Lord wants husbands and wives to enjoy each other.
To pursue the forbidden woman — to deviate from God’s design for sex — is to follow a dark, dangerous, deadly path.
Proverbs 5.5-6
“Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.”
This particular woman — the seductress — has chosen a path of darkness. She herself has been seduced by the lies of the enemy, but she doesn’t realize it. Now she seeks to pull others into her web of lust and lies.
Sex is everywhere today. Our society has rejected God’s standards for sexuality and has embraced an “anything goes” philosophy. Indeed, those who embrace and encourage traditional sexual standards are ridiculed. They are often criticized as people who are driven by some kind of phobia.
To reject God’s standards is foolishness. God’s standards have not changed, and our society has not been made better by the so-called sexual liberation.
The Christian must be very careful in today’s sexually-charged society. Seductions and temptations are everywhere. Movies, TV, music, social media send a constant message of sexual indulgence. Pornography continues to proliferate. There are very few voices of wisdom encouraging people to exercise restraint and discipline in their sexual lives.
In the midst of the sexual and cultural confusion, the Voice of Truth speaks clearly to the followers of Jesus:
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God … for God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 7)
