Proverbs 5:7-23

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 96:7-9
• Prayer of Invocation
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Proverbs 5:7-23
• Sermon
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: The Consequences, Joys, and Divine Oversight of Sexual Faithfulness

Scripture: Proverbs 5:7-23

I. The Consequences of Adultery (Proverbs 5:7-14)

A. The warning to keep far from the forbidden woman (Proverbs 5:8)

1. "My son" (singular) in v. 2 becomes "my sons" (plural) in v. 7 — addressing future generations of the family line
2. The family name and economic well-being are bound up in the son's conduct
3. Do not even go near her house; do not flirt with destruction or rationalize nearness to temptation

B. Economic ruin from adultery (Proverbs 5:9-10)

1. "Honor" (splendor, dignity) is forfeited to others; a man's reputation is destroyed
2. In ancient Near Eastern context, an offended husband had legal rights over the adulterer, who could become his slave — the "merciless" strangers who take his labors
3. Today: ruined reputations, alimony, legal fees, broken homes, lost years of vitality

C. Social ruin from adultery (Proverbs 5:11-14)

1. The man is overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow at the end of his life
2. He spurned the voice of teachers, parents, and wise sages at the city gates (v. 13)
3. Public shame before the assembled congregation — judges, elders, family, neighbors (v. 14)
4. Adultery is a social offense, not merely a personal one; it dishonors families and communities

II. The Joy of Fidelity (Proverbs 5:15-20)

A. The wife's body belongs to the husband and the husband's body to the wife

1. The wife's body is depicted as a cistern, well, spring, and fountain — described as your own
2. 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 — Paul explicitly states that the wife has authority over the husband's body and vice versa; they are not to deprive one another
3. Genesis 2:23-24 — Adam's "bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh" establishes ownership language at the first institution of marriage
4. Ephesians 5:28-33 — the one-flesh union reflects the union of Christ and his church; this is serious business, not mere poetry

B. Mutual ownership weakens and kills temptation outside marriage (Proverbs 5:16-17)

1. Verses 16–17 are difficult to interpret; the writer may deliberately leave ambiguous whether it is the husband or wife seeking satisfaction elsewhere — mutual ownership protects both
2. 1 Corinthians 7:5 — "come together, so that Satan may not tempt you"
3. Adultery often results from married couples not owning the reality of one-flesh union — acknowledging it in theory but not seizing it in practice
4. Shame and embarrassment about physical union within marriage are results of the fall, not of Christ's work
5. Genesis 2:25 — before the fall, "the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed"; Genesis 3:11 — after the fall, shame enters
6. Christ, the second and last Adam, reverses the shame of the fall; the gospel impacts the physical union — Christian marriages should have the freest, most joyful physical union because shame has been removed in Christ

C. The physical union within marriage is to be a delight and an intoxication (Proverbs 5:19)

1. The Hebrew word for "intoxicated" (v. 19) is the same word used for "led astray" (v. 23) — a deliberate wordplay
2. Two intoxications: one within marriage leading to joy, life, and delight; one outside marriage leading to guilt, death, and destruction
3. Physical satisfaction exists in both, but only one ends in peace and contentment

III. The Eyes of God (Proverbs 5:21-23)

A. The omnipresence of God — nothing is done in secret (Proverbs 5:21)

1. Whatever a man thinks he does discreetly is seen by the Lord
2. Every human being instinctively knows adultery and sexual immorality are wrong; shame accompanies sin whether one is caught or not — because God sees all

B. The judgment of God upon the unrepentant (Proverbs 5:22-23)

1. The wicked man is ensnared and held fast in the cords of his own sin
2. He dies for lack of discipline and is led astray by his great folly

C. Joy in marriage flows from obedience to God, not primarily from feeling

1. Paul's directives in 1 Corinthians 7 are imperatives — commands to be obeyed
2. God owns us individually and owns our marriages; he sees all and will judge all
3. God is so serious about the joy of marriage that he does not leave it to feelings — he gives commandments; obedience to those commands is where marital joy is found