Proverbs 5-7

For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.

Proverbs 5-7 deals almost exclusively with the subject of sexual impurity and how to avoid this powerful and deceptive sin. And while the colorful language in these chapters always points to an adulterous and immoral woman (Prv. 5:3), the seducer and the fool who falls for it could be played by any one of us – man, woman, single, or married.

Additionally, the seducing woman (or man) doesn’t have to be the person next door or the co-worker or someone at the gym where you exercise. He or she doesn’t even have to be a person you have direct contact with. They could be online via a pornographic website or you might encounter them through social media like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Sexual sin has come a long way since Solomon’s day…which makes these chapters even more important today.

Pornography is at epidemic levels, both inside and outside the church, with the average age of first-time exposure now down to nine. Social media has fueled adulterous relationships, whether they are in-person or online. All of this has added gas to the fire of sexual sin that has been burning for all of human history. Its no wonder we repeatedly find Solomon “calling” out to us with words and phrases like:

Give Attention. Incline Your Ear. Listen to Me. Do Not Depart from My Words. Observe the Commandments. Do Not Forsake My Teaching. Bind Them to Your Heart. Tie Them Around Your Neck.

What was relevant over 2,000 years ago is even more so now. All of us would do well to remember the words of one Puritan writer who said, “The seed of every sin exists in every human heart.”