Search Bible Outlines and commentaries

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.”