Daily Devotions – Another warning against adultery

Daily Devotions – Another warning against adultery

 

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:  

Proverbs 6:20-35 (ESV)

Warnings Against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. 22 When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. 23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 24 to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? 28 Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched? 29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. 30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. 32 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. 35 He will accept no compensation;he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

The comments from Wednesday’s devotion about adultery also apply here. What is different is that this section leads with specific advice in verses 20 – 24 about how we can protect our hearts. It teaches us to “bind on our heart” God’s instructions. (Similar to 3:3). We do this by memorizing scripture. Memorizing God’s word is important, because it allows us to obey God in all circumstances, including when we do not have our Bibles or other believers nearby. In a good marriage, both parties know their partner’s wishes by heart. Even when their partner isn’t with them, their beloved’s words are influencing their actions. That way, even when they are apart, they are doing things that are in harmony with their values and priorities as a couple. God wants to have the same kind of relationship, knowing his will by heart, so we can live in a god-pleasing way as much as possible.