Proverbs 6.30-31
“People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.”
Everyone knows that stealing is wrong, including the thief. We may pity him, but he still has to pay. So it is with the price of sexual sin. People don’t hate a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. However, this is not an excuse for a thief to go unpunished. The thief must pay full restitution, and it could cost him everything he owns.
Proverbs 6.32-35
“He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts.”
Solomon closes this chapter with a statement about the self-destructive nature of adultery. He is warning individuals about adultery toward one’s spouse, but he is also warning the nation of Israel about spiritual adultery against God.
At Mt Sinai, God established a covenant relationship with the people of Israel. It was a spiritual “marriage” where Israel pledged their faithfulness to God. The Lord warned the Israelites that he was “a jealous God,” and he told them to remain faithful to him and to the covenant relationship. He explicitly told them not to pursue any other gods.
God warned Israel that this might happen. Deuteronomy 31.16: “This people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.”
Despite the commitment they had made, and despite the warnings the Lord gave them, Israel disobeyed God, broke the covenant, pursued idolatry, and committed spiritual adultery with other gods. With explicit language through the prophets, the Lord rebuked Israel for their spiritual unfaithfulness.
“The Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2)
“Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel” (Jer. 3:20).
“How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings.” (Ezekiel 16:30-33)
As you continue you reflect on what we read in chapters 6 and 7 of Proverbs, keep in mind the Lord is warning us not just against physical adultery, but also against spiritual unfaithfulness.
Trust God and do the work.
