Proverbs 6:20
Proverbs chapter six, beginning
at verse 20. It says, my son, keep your father’s
commandment and forsake not your mother’s teaching and forsake,
bind them on your heart always, tie them around your neck. When
you walk, they will lead you. When you lie down, they will
watch over you. When you awake, they will talk with you. For
the commandment is a lamp and a teaching, a light. And the
reproofs of discipline are the way of life to preserve you from
the evil woman and from the smooth tongue of the adulterous. Do
not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture
you with her eyelashes. For the price of a prostitute
is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a
precious life. Can a man carry fire next to
his chest, and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on
hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in
to his neighbor’s wife, none who touches her will go unpunished. People do not despise a thief
if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry. But if he
is caught, he will pay sevenfold. He will give all the goods of
his house. He who commits adultery lacks sense. He who does it destroys
himself. He will get wounds and dishonor
and his disgrace will not be wiped away. For jealousy makes
a man furious and he will not spare. When he takes revenge,
he will accept no compensation. He will refuse though you multiply
gifts. My son, keep my words and treasure
up my commandments with you. Keep my commandments and live.
Keep my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your
fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom,
you are my sister and call insight your intimate friend to keep
you from the forbidden woman and from the adulterous with
her smooth words. For at the window of my house,
I have looked out through my lattice. I have seen among the
simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking
sense. Passing along the street near
her corner, taking the road to her house, in the twilight, in
the evening, and at the time of night in darkness. And behold,
the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
She is loud and wayward, her feet do not stay home. Now in
the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies
in wait. She seizes him and kisses him,
and with bold face she says to him, I had to offer sacrifices,
and today I have paid my vows. So now I have come to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you. I’ve spread my couch
with coverings, colored linens from the Egyptian linen. I’ve
perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take
our fill of love till morning. Let us delight ourselves with
love. For my husband is gone. He is not at home. He is gone
on a long journey. He took a bag of money with him
and at full moon, he will come home again. With much seductive
speech, she persuades him. With her smooth talk, she compels
him. All at once he follows her, as
an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast,
till an arrow pierces its liver. As a bird rushes into a snare,
he does not know that it will cost him his life. Now, O sons,
listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let
not your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her
paths. For many a victim she has laid low, and all her slain
are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of her death. Amen. This is the word of the living
God. One of the pieces of advice that
I often give to young fellas is this. You need to work. You
need to worship and you need to be in a family. And I think
you get the point why I say those things. Work is good, right? It keeps you busy. You go to
sleep at night because you’re tired. Worship is good because that’s
what we’re called to do in this life. But to be in a family is
to, I think, be in a protected spot. And it also echoes back
to, you know, God’s first negative statement in the scripture. What
was that first negative statement that God made about Adam in the
garden? It is not good for man to be alone. And so that advice
I think is helpful for many reasons, but one of the reasons it’s good
to be in a family, and that’s either married, or unmarried. It’s good to be married and be
in a family, but it’s also good to be unmarried and live in the
context of a household. We have some friends who just
sent their son away to school, and instead of putting him in
a dorm room or an apartment, they found a family for him to
live with. And I think that’s a godly way
to do it. We have age 18 as a rite of passage
now, and we go off to a dorm room. They’re very often co-ed
now, aren’t they, on most campuses. And so we are putting our young
people, our young men in great danger, I think. But it’s good
for a young man to be in the context of work, worship, and
a family. But while in the family, while
in the home growing up, it’s good to ingrain into, particularly,
I think this passage really speaks to boys, doesn’t it? It really
speaks to young men in a mighty way. But it’s good to have repetition. It’s good to have repetition.
And so, first thing we want to take a peek at tonight is the
commandment of the father to the son to remember everything
that has been told him. And you find this in the first
couple verses, 20 to 26, but also in verses 1 through 5 of
chapter 7. Starting at verse 20, he says, My son, keep your
father’s commandment. Forsake not your mother’s teaching.
Bind them on your heart always. Tie them around your neck. When
you walk, they will lead you. When you lie down, they will
watch over you. And when you wake, they will talk with you.
For the commandment is a lamp, the teaching a light. The reproofs
of discipline are a way of life to preserve you from the evil
woman, from the smooth talk of the adulterous. Don’t desire
her beauty in your heart. Don’t let her capture you with
her eyelashes. The price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but
a married woman hunts down a precious life. And then skip down to verse
one of chapter seven. You hear the same words echoed. My son, keep my words, treasure
up my commandments with you. One of the things that we have
to remember when you’re helping the next
generation get on their feet, or as we say, get out on their
own, is we have to say the same things over and over. and over. Repetition is good. Being in
a context where commandments or teaching or wisdom are constantly
on display, constantly on the lips of parents is a good thing.
In fact, verse 23 really summarizes this well. The commandment is
a lamp, the teaching a light, the reproofs of discipline are
the way of life. What is that other verse in Proverbs
we like to speak of? Train up a child in the way they
should go, and when they are old, they won’t depart from it. So this is a good reminder, not
just the father to the son. Remember everything I’ve told
you. It’s going to pay off and it’s going to keep you from doing
stupid, right? But this is also a good reminder
that while the kids are at home, keep teaching them. Keep showing
them what’s good, right, and true. Keep showing them the foolishness
of this life and the blessing of a life that follows Almighty
God. A home life ought to be blessed,
right? It puts guardrails around young
folks who don’t yet have everything wise and good etched into their
minds and their hearts. And so the home is a good place
to teach these things. But as we send our kids out to
remind them, remember everything I told you, it is on the test,
right? It is on the test of life. And
so the first thing I want us to see from this passage is there
is great benefit in growing up in a home. There’s great benefit
in pursuing, teaching godliness to our children, in this particular
case to boys, But there’s great benefit in the pursuit of those
things. And then there’s great benefit
as you’re getting launched into the world to remember all of
these things. Then there’s a warning. So there’s
the value of home life, if you will. But then there’s a warning
in verse 25 and 26. Do not desire her beauty in your
heart. Do not let her capture you with
her eyelashes for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of
bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life.” There’s
a very strong warning here. I wonder sometimes if mothers
are better off warning their children about girls. Women sometimes are better readers
of character and all than men or dads are. But how many people
do you know, the eyelashes got them? Right? It was just the
looks. Didn’t bother about the character,
didn’t bother about past history, didn’t bother about other things.
It was just the looks. And there’s a quick reminder
here. Do not desire, or literally, do not covet her beauty in your
heart, and don’t let her capture you with her eyelashes. Don’t
let your heart go after the things that don’t last. Then he gives
a little comparing contrast here. You can visit a prostitute, she
has a price, but you can visit a married woman and it is a different
rate, so to speak. One costs a loaf of bread, the
other will cost you your life. And so there’s a great warning
there. But the warning continues in
verses 27 on, it says, And then there’s a little description
here. It’s one thing to steal bread,
right? You steal bread because you’re
hungry? You steal bread because your family needs food? People
will overlook that. If you get caught, you’ll pay
it back. But he who steals another man’s wife, he destroys himself,
verse 32 says. And the husband, who is jealous,
will not let him pay him or compensate him, even though he multiplies
his gifts. I walk the dog every morning
the neighborhood and, you know, I lived in that neighborhood
growing up and now I’ve lived there five going on six years. And so you kind of see and you
know and you hear a lot of what goes on. And I think back to
growing up years, you know, the moms knew the scuttlebutt of
the neighborhood, whose children were doing well, who’s going
to go to school, you know, who’s behaving themselves, who’s not.
But you also remember the stories of why the so-and-sos had to
move, because the father gambled the house away, or whose marriage
broke up for this reason or that reason. And these sorts of things,
though for a moment seem right, they can change the trajectory
of life, at least not forever necessarily, but they can change
the trajectory of life in this world significantly. But who
goes through their neighborhood and identifying what went on
at this house, what went on at that house, says, boy, we have
fond memories of the neighborhood adulteress. Or we have, you know,
fond memories of the man who busted up his family because
he was a moron, because he was an idiot, he was a fool. That
generally crosses all lines of decency, doesn’t it? It’s not
liberal or conservative or Christian or unchristian. They generally
perceive that to be a bad thing. And so we have a warning. Remember
everything you’ve been taught. We have a challenge. Remember everything you’ve taught.
We have a warning. It just doesn’t go well to be in cahoots with
an adulteress or even a prostitute. But notice, pick up at verse
six. There’s a little vignette here. There’s a picture of somebody
watching out the window of their house, and they see a young man
who didn’t listen to his parents, a young man who didn’t listen
to godly wisdom. And it says in verse six, at
the window of my house, I’ve looked out through my lattice.
I’ve seen among the simple, I’ve perceived among the youths a
young man lacking sense. So here’s the one who either
he didn’t get taught or the teaching didn’t, settle into his brain
and into his life. He passes along the street near
her corner. He takes the road to her house.
In the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night of darkness,
behold, the woman meets him dressed as a prostitute and wily of heart. There’s a good word picture,
isn’t it? Wily, wily of heart. What does it say of her? She’s
loud. She’s wayward. Her feet don’t
stay home. She’s now in the street, now
in the market. She’s at every corner. She lies in wait. She
seizes him and kisses him. And with bold face, she says
to him, I had to offer sacrifices and today I’ve paid my vows.
You know, some of the stupidest things you hear from a young
man when his mom warns him, but mom, she’s a church girl. I mean,
this is a church girl, right? You’d think so. She has to offer
her sacrifices. She has to pay her vows. I remember
my grandmother one time telling me she was doing the rundown
of all the cousins, her grandkids. Oh, so-and-so’s got him a girlfriend
and she’s a good church girl. Like, I bet she is. She’s, she’s a gold digger. You
know, she’s a grave digger actually. Well, she was, but, but that’s,
that’s fooling ourselves in it. Oh, they’re just a good church
girl. Well, Maybe a couple times till they get you hooked, so
to speak. Notice how the story progresses
on. She’s a church girl. She has
to offer her sacrifices. Now I’ve come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found You. How many times does
she say you there? It’s at least three, four times.
What idiot believes that out of all the choices in the world,
she chose you. You’re just easy pickings, right?
That’s what this is. Out of all the choices, she picked
you. This one’s really duped, isn’t
he? I’ve come out to meet you. She’s
ordered her sheets from the MyPillow guy. I’ve spread my couch with
coverings, colored linens with Egyptian linen, right? She makes
him feel special. I perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of
love till morning. She’s actually, she’s fallen
in love with him right there on the spot. How coincidental,
right? Let’s take our fill of love till
morning. Let’s delight ourselves with love for my husband is gone.
He’s gone on a journey. He took a bag of money at full
moon. He’ll come home. We got plenty of time. We’ll
not get caught.” That’s what she’s saying, isn’t it? With
much seductive speech, she persuades him and with her smooth talk,
she compels him. And that is the result. All at
once, he follows her. as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast. And then verse 23 is really a
great piece of imagery. Till an arrow pierces its liver
as a bird rushes into a snare. He does not know that it will
cost him his life. It’s one thing for an ox to go
to a slaughter or a stag to be caught fast. Their death is imminent. But to be liver shot, that’s
a slow death, isn’t it? And don’t you see the word picture
there? Maybe you know somebody who’s committed adultery. Does
the shame ever leave their life? Not really. It’s a slow death. It’s a slow death being gut shot
with an arrow having pierced the liver. But this young fella
does not know that it will cost him his life. And so here’s the
final warning. Now, sons, listen. Be attentive
to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside
to her ways. Do not stray into her paths. For many a victim she has laid
low, and for all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is
the way to Sheol, and going down to the chambers of death. What
a way to think of a passage like this. Is it black and white,
you get raised right, you make good choices? You can be raised
right and make poor choices, right? You can be King David
and make poor choices. I think one of the great things
we ought to learn from a passage like this is, as we live life
in a fallen world, as we live life among a crooked and depraved
generation, whether you are a Christian or not, there is a strong force
seeking to destroy men. And it’s one thing to destroy
a man who has no integrity, who has no backbone, who has no raising. But for the Christian, this is
a very strong warning, I do believe. We gotta be careful what we see
with our eyes. We gotta be careful what our hearts perceive. But
as you noticed in the beginning of our passage, verse 25, do
not desire her beauty in your heart. Don’t covet. don’t covet
what God doesn’t mean to provide for you. Some things you may
want and some things you may get, and those things you want
and those things you get may just be the death of you. And
so it’s good for us to remember as Christians saved by God’s
grace who rest in Christ alone for our salvation that we still
have remaining flesh in us, we still have sinful desires, and
it’s very possible for a Christian to be caught in the very trap
that is in front of us in this passage today. And so we’ve got
to remember over and over and over, especially in moments of
weakness, the good teaching that we have learned from the scripture.
Think, too, of a great example. of the story of the life of Joseph.
Remember, Joseph was the younger brother. He got the coat of many
colors. His brothers aided him. They tossed him in a pit. They
sold him to the Midianite traders. He goes to Egypt. He’s sold as
a servant in Potiphar’s house. Potiphar’s wife got the hots
for him. And remember, she tried and she tried and she tried.
And what did Joseph say? No, no, no, no, no. He was raised
right. And finally, one day, she seizes
him. He flees and he leaves his coat behind. And he goes to prison
for, what, 10 years? Something like that. But he counted
the cost in that moment. He counted the cost and realized
I must remain faithful. And God in time made all those
wrongs right and used him. And so we have to remember that
in this world, these temptations do come. And they may seem to
be a delight to the eyes, but they will ruin us if we give
in to them. So let’s pause and ask for God’s
help. Lord, we pray that you bless
us with minds that remember the truth. We pray that we would
have hearts that perceive the dangers of living poorly. And we pray that you would bless
us and protect us in this life with your Holy Spirit’s help
to flee the youthful passions and lust and to stay home and
to stay out of the wrong homes. We pray all this in Christ’s
name, amen.