Proverbs 5:15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
As the scripture goes on here we see it turns from the harlot to the life lived in unity between a husband and wife. Cistern and well refer to the wife from whom the husband is to draw all his satisfying refreshment, sexually and affectionately. The teaching here continues in the continuity of the family, instead of illegitimate children in the streets, it should be children of husband and wife in a home. In short, stay at home and enjoy the things that God has provided for you and your family. Don’t go looking for greener grass.
Proverbs 5:7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
As this continues the writer says to listen to the right teaching and not to depart from it. To stay away from the temptation that comes before you so it does not take away your salvation and continue bringing you down. If you stay in that direction it will wind up costing you not only your salvation but also makes it harder to ever come back. Even though you know better and have listened to instruction in the right ways to go you still refuse to listen till you are totally consumed. This is even to the point where you where you totally turn from your teaching and say you hate and despise it. Because you have allowed sin to start in your life it continues to grow unless you put a stop to it before it takes hold. If not you will not listen or obey the teachings of righteousness. This will cause one to to lose all their ability to stop sinning and eventually get to the the point where they have no conscience This scripture helps us to see that we need to stay in God’s every day so we do not lose what we have learned form the wisdom God has given us.
Proverbs 5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Seduction begins with deceptive flattery. Lips of honey should be part of true love in marriage. Possibly a word we might understand a little better than “strange” woman would be a loose, sinful woman. This woman is forbidden fruit making her more mysterious and inviting to the young man. Prostitutes are out to allure the young men and sometimes the older, as well. They are trained to allure the weak men of the world. A woman like this has no future. Bitterness, sickness, early death, and then hell is what she has to look forward to. The two edged sword is the Bible she should have heeded. The future of tasting her lips is like “wormwood”, a symbol of suffering, and a “sword,” the symbol of death and hell. This woman is unstable in all her ways., her steps willfully and predictably stagger here and there as she has no concern for the future ahead.
Proiverbs 5:1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
Again we see wisdom at the start of this chapter asking us to stay focused on what God has entrusted us with. Also to apply the understanding of God to all the opportunities that come our way. To many times we find ourselves where we want to take control and do what we think is best. We need to use discretion and remember what we have learned so that when we speak it is with the knowledge gained from the wisdom God gave us. I believe we are reminded of this at the start of this chapter because we are going to see some things that help us to understand why we need wisdom and how we need to do all we can to maintain it.
Proverbs 4:25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
A persons eyes says a lot about them. If someone has shifty eyes they usually have something to cover up, wandering eyes can be misleading and cause one doubt what some one is doing. Eyes that that look straight are usually telling the truth. We should always try to focused on looking straight so that we walk in path that our feet will not lead us astray. We need to establish our paths where we turn not to the right or the left so that we stay away from evil. Through chapter 4 we have seen that if we hide the wisdom we have obtained in our hearts we can walk in righteousness with the knowledge and understanding that if our eyes are focused straight on God then He will direct our paths.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee
We see now that the heart is the center of all that we do. The wisdom that we learn is stored in the heart not the mind. The heart is the very center of our being. The mind is the center of thinking, emotions, reason, and our will. The heart is the depository of all wisdom and the source of whatever affects speech, sight, and conduct. We will have either a pure heart or a wicked heart and we know that God judges the heart. A froward mouth and perverse words come from an evil heart. Out of the abundance of our heart our mouth speaketh. It speaks life or death.
Proverbs 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
How often have we told our children “listen to what I say”, and “did you hear me” and get no response. Well God wants us to listen to what His word says and really pay attention to what it says. We are to never quit reading and studying God’s word and let in sink deep into our hearts. Again we see that by living what God’s word says we can have a good life and by faith know we will live a healthy life if we claim it. Not only do you gain the word of God by reading the Bible but also by attending a Bible teaching church and engaging in study with other believers. It helps us to get recharged when we attend church on a regular basis for in reality we need all we can get in the world we live in today. So please attend the church of your choice today and if you do not have one we would welcome you at the Luverne First Assembly of God on
Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
Verse 18 looks on the opposite of what we just seen but it helps us to see that as we stay true to the wisdom of God we can be a shinning light to lost world until the time when we are in a perfect world. That world would be eternity in heaven with our Lord and Savior. Verse 19 goes back to the wicked and shows us that evil works in darkness. When there is darkness we know we stumble over things we cannot see and it is the same with people who are wicked. They can not find the right paths to walk in because of the darkness they operate in. We read in John, the Light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. Nothing good ever comes from living in darkness we always need to let our light be shinning.
Proverbs 4:14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
Now we get to put our wisdom to work. To keep from sinning the first thing we need to do is not put ourselves in a position to sin and that basically means to stay away from sinful places and people. We know that all have sinned come short of the glory of God but we need to look at this in the election coming up and apply the wisdom we have to making the right decision in who we vote for.I will not call names but with one candidate sin is going to multiply in this country if they get elected and with the other candidate we have a chance to change the way America is going, Now you use your wisdom to decide which one is which. Verse 15 says with sin we are to avoid it, pas not by it, turn from it, and escape it. In other words do everything you can to keep focused on God. We see in these next two verses a person who has chosen a sinful way of life are not satisfied to ruin just their own lives but are trying to drag others into their sin. Misery loves company. They have to sin before they can sleep, and they view their sin as food for their hungry, wicked souls. These people are usually hardened criminals and their lives usually wind up totally lost to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I know this Scripture says to stay away from stuff like this but these are the people who need Jesus the most and that is where our wisdom comes in and allows us to be able to reach at least some of these people.
Proverbs 4:11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
As we continue we see that when we learn the wisdom of God we walk in the paths that God leads us, only the right paths. Pray for wisdom of God and walk in that wisdom, and you shall not stumble and fall. You can run the race well and not stumble along the way as long as the wisdom of God directs you. Again we see that we need to hold on to the wisdom we obtain but also to never quit learning more for this is what keeps us going. It tells us we can have life more abundantly if we hold on to what we have gained and continue to obtain more wisdom.
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." I John 5:7
