Proverbs 5–6: Honey & Wormwood

Read the Bible in 2011 ◊ Week 25: Thursday

“For the lips of an adulteress drip honey
And smoother than oil is her speech;
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways are unstable, she does not know it. ”
Proverbs 5:3–6

Thursday’s Bible reading is Proverbs 5–6. The destructive consequences of sexual immorality is a major theme hit square on in Proverbs. The book cuts through the fog of enticement and glamour and presents the truth of sexual sin.

Today there is continual media propaganda that blurs and denies right and wrong. One effective means that’s used is the lies told about what sin does to a person and to other people. Books, movies or television depict people in all kinds of situations, but without the attendant acrimony, scarring or desolation that are the results of sin. Proverbs is an antidote to this poison, and it’s one reason why it’s such an excellent book to work through with your children.

There are other topics covered in these two chapters, and not only the stark results of evil but promises of the benefits of wisdom. One of my pastors, Mike Braun, said that God has morally underwritten His universe. You may decide that gravity is no longer true for you, but you cannot jump off a cliff without consequences. In the same way, we cannot live against God’s laws without wrecking lives.

Proverbs gives us teachings to heed and understand so that we can learn wisdom without having to eat any bitter fruit of experience. I used to talk to my kids about temptation being like a worm on a hook. We see something that looks good, but there’s a hook in the bait. To use the example in Proverbs 5:3–4, it may seem like honey, but in reality it’s wormwood.