Proverbs 6:20-35

Introduction

Thought Experiment:

How might the course of your life change if you were never again corrected?

How might the course of your life change if you actively sought out correction?

Would it be better or worse than it is right now? Why?

Observation

Who is speaking these things? Who is being addressed? (v 20)

What is the wise father asking of his son? (vv 20-23)

Why is the father asking his son to do these things? (vv 24-25)

What specific folly is being warned against here? (vv 29, 32)

If the reader fails to take heed of the father’s warnings, what will be the end result? (vv 26-35)

Interpretation

Why do you think that correction is essential for life? (v 23)

How might it be surprisingly unloving for a parent to only affirm but never correct their child?

How might it be surprisingly unloving for God to only affirm but never correct His children?

According to this passage, why is sin not only wrong but actually stupid? (vv 30-35)

Why are the consequences of adultery are so much worse than other sins? (vv 29-35)

With these vivid warnings in mind, why do you think that God often refers to Israel’s idolatry as adultery?

How is God’s response to adultery both different and similar to the affronted husband in Proverbs 6:34-35? (cf Jeremiah 3:6-10, 12)

Application

Even if you are not tempted to commit adultery, how might the warnings of 6:27-28 be applied to your own (current or future) relationships?

Are there any areas of your life in which you are attempting to “carry fire” and not get burned?

What structures do you have in place to “preserve” you from sexual sin? (e.g. accountability group, online filtering, etc)

If you don’t have anything in place, where might you start?

Perhaps you have already gone down a path that you now regret; consider the words of Jesus in John 6:37.

Meditate and believe, “...whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”