BIG IDEA:
AVOID THE PATH OF SEXUAL TEMPTATION WHICH CANNOT ESCAPE CERTAIN DESTRUCTION
I. (:1-6) HONEY CAN BE BITTER –
THE HONEY OF SEXUAL TEMPTATION LEADS TO THE BITTERNESS OF A DEFILED CONSCIENCE AND A DESTRUCTIVE END
A. (:1-2) Valuable Lesson
1. (:1) Pay Attention
“My son, give attention to my wisdom,
Incline your ear to my understanding”
2. (:2) Live Wisely
“That you may observe discretion,
And your lips may reserve knowledge.”
B. (:3-4) Deceptive Allure — Sweet as Honey … But Bitter as Wormwood
1. (:3) Sweet as Honey
“For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
And smoother than oil is her speech.”
2. (:4) Bitter as Wormwood
“But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.”
C. (:5-6) Potential for Disaster
1. (:5) Destined for Death and Destruction
“Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of Sheol.”
2. (:6) Opposed to Life and Stability
“She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.”
II. (:7-14) DON’T GAMBLE WITH SEXUAL TEMPTATION –
YOU GOT TO KNOW WHEN TO WALK AWAY … YOU GOT TO KNOW WHEN TO RUN
A. (:7) Pay Attention
“Now then, my sons, listen to me, And do not depart from the words of my mouth.”
B. (:8) Don’t Flirt with Sexual Temptation
“Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house.”
C. (:9-14) Terrible Consequences of Infidelity
1. (:9) Sacrificing Vitality and the Fullness of Life
“Lest you give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one.”
2. (:10) Financial Hardship
“Lest strangers be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned goods go to the house of an alien.”
3. (:11) Physical Dissipation
“And you groan at your latter end, When your flesh and your body are consumed.”
4. (:12-13) Emotional Regret
“And you say, ‘How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers. Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!’”
5. (:14) Complete Disaster and Embarrassment
“I was almost in utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
III. (:15-20) DRINK FROM YOUR OWN WELL –
FINDING SEXUAL ENJOYMENT IN YOUR OWN WIFE PROTECTS THE BLESSING OF YOUR FAMILY
A. (:15) Find Sexual Satisfaction With Your Own Wife
“Drink water from your own cistern, And fresh water from your own well.”
B. (:16-17) Jealously Guard Your Own Wife
“Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you.”
C. (:18-19) Potential for Erotic Love With Your Own Wife
“Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.”
D. (:20) No Need to Look Elsewhere
“For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?”
IV. (:21-23) NO ESCAPING GOD’S ACCOUNTABILTY –
YOU CANNOT FLY UNDER THE RADAR OF GOD’S ACCOUNTABILITY
A. (:21) God is Watching
“For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He watches all his paths.”
B. (:22) Sin is a Snare
“His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin.”
C. (:23) Foolishness is Fatal
“He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.”