"Your Own Cistern" - Chase Green

One of my favorite things about the book of Proverbs is that it is not only filled with sage teachings in general, but that its teachings are so practical for everyday Christian living. Think of a topic pertaining to the Christian life, and there is probably a Proverb for it, if not several.

One of the most important relationships in life is marriage, and the sanctity therof should go without saying. But in a society that doesn’t respect the sanctity of marriage (or life, come to think of it), a good study of Matthew 19:3-12 is always in order.

How often do we teach our young people and especially our own children about one of their most important decisions of life being whom they choose to marry, and yet, how many of us are actively engaging in activities that are harmful to our own marriages? If many of us would stop looking for marriage advice from pop culture and even in many cases our own friends or family, and instead read and live out the Proverbs (among other Bible passages), our marriages would be much better off.

In Proverbs chapter 5, Solomon deals with one of the most crucial aspects of the sanctity of marriage — faithfulness to the marriage bed. One should also study Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians 7:1-7 and Romans 7:1-3, along with the aforementioned Matthew 19:3-12, in close parallel to Proverbs chapter 5. These passages clearly teach that 1) sex is for one man and one woman whom God has joined together in marriage, 2) this one flesh union is good and honorable in God’s sight, 3) husbands and wives have duties to one another in these regards, 4) premarital or extramarital encounters are sinful, 5) man is not to separate those whom God has joined together in marriage, 6) to do so without proper justification (i.e. fornication, and only that) is sinful, and 7) marriage is a holy outlet for the biological urges that would otherwise be sinful if acted upon outside of marriage.

Taking a look at Proverbs chapter 5, the chapter is split into two main sections: a list of consequences for sexual sin (verses 1-14), and a section describing marital faithfulness using the metaphor of one’s own cistern (verses 15-23).

A List of Consequences for Sexual Sin:

Three verses in this section (verses 1-2 and verse 7) instruct the reader to take careful heed to the instruction of wisdom in particular regard to sexual purity. The reason is that failure to heed instruction in these matters leads to disastrous consequences, such as:

Being seduced by the lips of one who appears enticing but in actuality is a purveyor of posion (verses 3-4),

Possibly entering an early grave (verse 5),

Being initiated into a very unstable life, not knowing where it will lead (verse 6).

Solomon then warns (in verses 8-14) that failure to completely avoid the seductress will result in giving away precious honor, losing one’s material substance, receiving hurt to one’s body in the form of sexually transmitted diseases, and brought to the verge of total ruin. Truly many a good man (and woman) have fallen because of engaging in sexual infidelity.

One’s Own Cistern — A Metaphor:

Solomon now turns his attention to a metaphor to describe marital faithfulness. In somewhat veiled language that would mostly go unnoticed by a juvenile reader, Solomon paints a picture of sexual fidelity using an item common to ancient times — a cistern.

A cistern is described as a tank for storing water. Thus, Solomon describes sexual faithfulness by instructing the wise not to drink “water” from any other cistern but his own (verses 15-16). In poetic language, Solomon then describes the beauty of the sexual union within its proper God-given context — marriage (verses 17-19).

Again, Solomon warns against being enticed by the immoral seductress (verse 20) before then ensuring that God sees all of man’s ways (verse 21). A sinful man is entrapped by succumbing to his own temptations (verse 22), and lack of heeding the instruction of wisdom is to blame (verse 23).

Conclusion:

Celebrities and the obscure, friends and even our family, famous individuals both in the Bible as well as in history books — we’ve heard of many examples of people who have fallen to the enticements of sexual sin. When it happens, it often shakes people to the core. The consequences are terrible. Families are torn apart. Lives are never the same. And it all starts when one decides to ignore the instruction of wisdom which says to partake of the “waters” of love only from his own cistern.