Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Proverbs 6:20-35

20 My son, keep your father's command
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

21 Bind them always on your heart; 

fasten them around your neck.

22 When you walk, they will guide you; 

when you sleep, they will watch over you; 

when you awake, they will speak to you.

23 For this command is a lamp, 

this teaching is a light, 

and correction and instruction 

are the way to life,

24 keeping you from your neighbor's wife, 

from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty 

or let her captivate you with her eyes.

26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread, 

but another man's wife preys on your very life.

27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap 

without his clothes being burned?

28 Can a man walk on hot coals 

without his feet being scorched?

29 So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; 

no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 People do not despise a thief if he steals 

to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, 

though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

32 But a man who commits adultery has no sense; 

whoever does so destroys himself.

33 Blows and disgrace are his lot, 

and his shame will never be wiped away.

34 For jealousy arouses a husband's fury, 

and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

35 He will not accept any compensation; 

he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.

Questions to consider:
  • Relate God’s commandments to (a) wisdom, (b) light and (c) life.
  • What are the consequences for the man who commits adultery?
  • What progression can you see in verses 25 to 35?
  • How is a man who commits adultery like a thief? Unlike a thief (relate to the wronged)?
  • Describe the relationship you are to have with wisdom?

Possibilities for prayer:


The message of verse 23 is a message that we can all stand to hear regularly. It is important for us to take to heart the things that God says to us--even when those include correction and instruction, because, as Solomon writes, correction and instruction are the way to life. Today let’s ask God for the ability accept instruction and correction gracefully and with appreciation--since it is, after all, the way to life!