Proverbs 4 20-27

v.20 Solomon continues his concentration on keeping the word of God. We are to listen to God’s words and keep them as well. The young person has many things competing for his/her attention. It is important that we recognize that God’s words are more important than anything else we may hear.

v.21 We are to fix our eyes on God’s word. I can think of no better way to do this than by reading the Bible. We can keep ourselves from much sin by reading the Bible on a consistent basis. There is an old saying “The Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible.” There is much truth in that saying. The word of God is our sword in the spiritual battle. Without the sword we are any easy target for the enemy.

We are also to keep the word in our hearts. It is to be a part of us. It does us no good to simply read the Bible. We must consume its contents. We do this by memorizing its contents. We are commanded to “Hide the word in our hearts so we will not sin against God.” Memorizing the principles of Scripture as well as verses is necessary to live a victorious life.

v.22 Those who understand God’s word experience the abundant life that He offers. It is true that keeping God’s word may enable you to live a long life. More importantly though is the abundant life we receive by practicing the principles of scripture. It is possible to be physically healthy but spiritually sick. God’s word may lead us to physical health, but it always leads us to spiritual heath. Spiritually healthy people are strong against the battle of the world, the flesh and the devil.

v.23 The heart is the inmost part of a person. It defines who a person is. Jesus said that out of the heart flows all evil things (Luke 6:45). The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked before salvation (Jeremiah 17:9). At salvation a new heart is given to believers (Ezekiel 36:26). Because the state of a person’s heart determines whether or not that person is saved, we are to be concerned above all things that our heart is right.

To “keep” your heart means to guard it. How you act (the springs of life) is determined by your heart. We must guard our hearts from sinful things because they will influence our behavior. This includes what we look at, listen to, think about, read, etc. We should watch our actions to determine the state of our heart and obey God’s word to keep it safe from the pollution of sin.

v.24 Crooked speech is corrupt communication. It is saying things that are not appropriate to say. Our speech is very important in revealing our heart. If our speech is corrupt our heart is corrupt (Matt. 12:36-37). Those who cuss, talk dirty, lie, degrade, etc. reveal they have a corrupt heart. This type of heart is hard to disguise. If you are around someone long enough you will hear what type of speech they have. Then you will know what type of heart they have.

v.25 Solomon turns from the mouth to the eyes. The direction of the eyes is what he emphasizes. We are to look straight ahead. The believer is on a journey. He travels a straight and narrow path. We are to keep our eyes on the finish line where Christ is (Heb. 12:1-2). A good runner never looks behind him. He keeps his eyes straight ahead to keep from stumbling. As we walk the narrow path there will be many who try and get our attention off our task. We must resist them and keep our eyes on the prize.

v.26 “Ponder” in this context means “to make level or flat”. We need a level path to walk on. We can do this by thinking diligently about the path we are traveling. As believers we are to meditate on living our lives for the Lord. We should be consumed with thoughts and desires to please God in this life. If we do this our path will be much easier to travel.

We will stand firm (be established) for the Lord.

v.27 We are surrounded by evil. It is on our right hand and on our left. We walk in the paths of evil if we detour on either side. Therefore, we are to walk straight. We do this by obeying God’s word. God is concerned that we stay completely out of the path of sin. He wants a holy people. Holiness not only pleases God, but it also protects us. The truly wise person recognizes this and keeps on course for the Lord.

Thoughts to Consider

1. Those that practice wickedness do not have good hearts and we shouldn’t pretend they do.

2. Often times our words say more about us than our actions do.

3. If we keep our eyes on the prize we will keep our feet on the path.

4. The narrow road is surrounded by the broad road!

Proverbs 5 1-14

v.1 Solomon devotes this chapter to warning the young man against sexual sin. He appeals to the student to listen closely to what he is about to say. “Attentive” means to pay attention to and “incline your ear” means to listen closely. Solomon has an understanding on this issue. “Understanding” means insight or intelligence. Solomon certainly had experience with the temptation of women. His father had fallen to sexual temptation as well with Bathsheba.

We do not help our young people by ignoring the subject of sexuality and temptation. Many times, the church and parents fail to address the subject. It is our responsibility to warn the coming generation about the effects of sexual sin. Solomon will do that in this chapter.

v.2 If the student pays attention to Solomon’s words he will benefit greatly.

*He will have discretion. The word means to think or plan. We sin because we stop thinking rationally. Solomon’s teachings will help the young man maintain a proper thought process in the moment of temptation. The young man should be driven by wisdom not by his passion.

* His lips will guard knowledge. In other words, he will say wise things. Things like, “No!” It is important to be able to answer our tempter with God’s wisdom. This is what Jesus did when He was tempted in the wilderness. Each time He quoted scripture. It’s important not only to do the right thing but to be able to explain why you are doing the right thing as well.

v.3 Solomon now begins to describe the sinful woman. She is called the “forbidden (strange) woman”. The word often refers to an adulterous woman. She is forbidden because she is another man’s wife or that she is not his wife. Her temptation does not come primarily from her appearance. It comes from her words.

Her lips drip honey. This describes the sweetness of the things she says.

Her words are smoother than oil. Oil was known for its ability to soften and smoothen. The immoral woman softens the man with her words.

We may see two ways that an immoral woman’s words tempt a young man.

First it sends the signal that the woman is open to having a relationship with the man. Men are by nature the pursuer. They look for signs from the woman that say they can proceed in pursuing her. The smooth and sweet words of the temptress let the young man know that it is okay to approach her. Much temptation is strengthened because of flirtatious talk. The opposite sex should be very careful how they speak to one another.

Secondly, it inflates the ego of the man. Compliments are not in themselves wrong. We should be careful, however, when we compliment the opposite sex. The immoral woman will tell the man things others do not say to him, possibly even things his wife does not say to him. These words can have an intoxicating effect on both men and women.

v.4 While the temptation and the actual experience of the immoral woman may be smooth and sweet, the result is bitter. “Wormwood” was a bitter and poisonous plant in Solomon’s culture. The sin may feel pleasant, but the end will feel like a two-edged sword piercing the body. The point is obvious, the price one pays for immorality is greater than the pleasure one feels from immorality.

v.5 The engaging in immorality may even lead to death. It certainly leads to spiritual death (hell), but it could also lead a person to an early physical death. Death by stoning was the penalty for adultery. Those who were engaged in sexual immorality were not welcome in Israel or in heaven. It is a terrible sin that has both physical and spiritual consequences. The young man should think about the results of his sin before he gives in to temptation.

v.6 The immoral woman is leading the young man off the path of life and into the pains of hell. If he chooses to follow her ways, he will find himself under the judgment of God. The immoral woman does not want the young man to remain on the path of life. She wants him to follow her own crooked ways. Her way of life “wanders”. In other words it is slippery and unstable. This means it is a dangerous place to be.

“she does not know it” Sin is so deceptive that both the tempter and the tempted can be ignorant to its influence. There are many who truly believe they are not sinning when they are.

The immoral woman is seen here as one who seeks to convince others to leave morality for immorality. We should beware of people who do this to us.

v.7-8 Words of wisdom are offered. We are not to depart from wisdom we are to depart from the strange woman. We are not to go anywhere near her house. The closer we are to her house the more likely we are to be tempted by her. It is wise to stay far away from those who tempt you to do evil. We all have our own weaknesses and for the most part we recognize them. We do well to identify them and keep ourselves from their grasp.

v.9-10 Here we see repercussions of giving in to temptation. Solomon outlines sacrifices that are made at the expense of our sinful pleasure. Notice the terms “others”, “merciless”, and “strangers”. The “stranger” in verse 10 is literally “another man”. Could these words describe an agent for a prostitute, a jealous husband, the mistress herself? We are not sure exactly who is identified here. What we are sure of is the price paid by the young man.

He sacrifices his honor. This word is tied closely to the idea of respect. The young man loses the respect of others as he engages in sexual immorality (family, wife, kids).

He sacrifices his years. Life may be cut short because of sinful living. It could be at the hands of a jealous husband, through a terrible disease, a judicial ruling (stoning) or simply the judgment of God.

He sacrifices his wealth. His mistress could squander his money, he could be blackmailed by his mistress or his husband. He could be divorced and pay alimony and child support to two different women, etc. It is obviously not worth it!

v.11-14 At the end of the sinner’s life he will regret his sinful choices. As his body consumes (deteriorates) because of old age he will recognize his folly. He will recognize how foolish it was to hate wisdom.

He hated discipline. He didn’t want to learn.

He despised reproof. He didn’t want to be corrected.

He did not obey the voice of his teachers. He didn’t want to be righteous.

“brink of utter ruin” describes a person at the end of themselves. It seems as if the sinner is placed in a judicial setting in verse 14. The “assembled congregation”could refer to a legal group about to render a judgment. The point is obvious. His sin is known and seen by all. He will now pay for the immorality he chose to live in. So is the fate of all humanity who refuse to repent and place their faith in Christ. They will find themselves in utter ruin.

Thoughts To consider

1. It is foolish for us to think that our children will not be confronted with the temptation of sexual sin.

2. Be careful of who you give compliments to and receive compliments from.

3. Stay far away from anything that draws you away from the path of righteousness.

4. Those who choose to indulge in sin will one day regret it.