Recompense (Proverbs 6:30-35)

It is funny how the human heart works. There is some transgression that is tolerated because the person has want or need, like stealing. What happens if you are caught stealing though. You must replace what was stolen up to seven times the value. But there are some things that are just not stolen, like a woman from her husband. A man may steal to satisfy actual hunger, but there is not justification for stealing to satisfy a sexual hunger.

"Men do not despise a thief, if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry; but if he is found out, he must restore seven times [what he stole]; he must give the whole substance of his house [if necessary to meet the fine]..." Proverbs 6:30-31, Amplified

Stealing to satisfy hunger is a tolerable transgression. A man must survive. But if he is found to be a thief then recompense must be made. This verse seems to be a little paradoxical. It seems as though it is condoning the sin of stealing up until the thief is caught. This is not the case. Solomon is stetting the stage for a bigger picture.

"But whoever commits adultery lacks heart and understanding - moral principles and prudence; he who does it is destroying his own life." Proverbs 6:32, Amplified

The one who commits adultery is a man who lacks understanding. It is justifiable when a thief steals to fill his belly. But there is no justification for stealing to satisfy sexual hunger. Any man who commits adultery is inevitably destroying himself. This destruction is not just spiritual but physical as well.

"Wounds and disgrace will he get, and his reproach will not be wiped away." Proverbs 6:33, Amplified

The adulterer will be branded for the remainder of his life. There is no way to pay restitution for adultery. A thief must pay back seven times the value of what he stole. But how does one place value on the sanctity of marriage? There can be no price placed on monogamy.

"For jealousy makes [the wronged] man furious; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance [upon the detected ones]. He will not consider any ransom [offered to buy him off from demanding full punishment], neither will he be satisfied though you offer him many gifts and bribes." Proverbs 6:34-35, Amplified

As I asked before in the previous verse, how can one place a price on the sanctity of marriage? Jealousy and redemption are the tools at the disposal of the wronged husband. No gifts can satisfy his thirst for payment, just like no other woman seemed to satisfy sexual craving except for this married one.

The Word is a Light to a Darkened Path (Proverbs 6:20-29)

Commandments, instructions and directions are placed in our lives to give us a path to follow. Parents do this by means of experience, the Lord does this by means of wisdom. It is the job of those above us to ensure the safety of our walk. The Lord wants to see us walk without stumbling, however, if we do happen to stumble that we have a reference to correct whatever made us stumble.

"My son, keep your father's [God-given] commandment, an forsake not the law of [God] your mother [taught you]." Proverbs 6:20, Amplified

Again, Solomon urges his son to listen to what it is he has to say. I remember there was a time when my parents did the same thing to me. I was convinced that I knew more than hey did, or that it would be a different outcome than before. To be honest, most every situation ends in a similar fashion whether it be your father, grandfather or great grandfather. Sin is sin and it will destroy every time. Paul encourages the Ephesians in this concept, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother,' which is the first commandment with promise: 'that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.'" (Ephesians 6:1-3, NKJV)

"Bind them continually on your heart, and tie them about your neck." Proverbs 6:21, Amplified

This was covered in chapter three in verse three a few devotions ago. The interpretation is still the same. If the Word is bound to the heart, it becomes a filter for what enters the heart as well as what leaves the heart. Binding the commandments around the neck is like placing a weight around the neck. It is a constant reminder, hanging, pulling. We begin to garner strength because of its existence in our lives. We must begin to force ourselves to look up, to look forward.

"When you go, [the Word of your parents' God] it shall lead you; when you sleep, it shall keep you and when you waken, it shall talk with you." Proverbs 6:22, Amplified

There are three states of being for the average human. Going, sleeping and waking. As we read the Word and continually commune with the Lord , that same Word will begin to be with us always. It is like the instruction to putting a piece of furniture together with the instruction. Step by step, as we follow, the piece of furniture becomes more and more defined. It will be the same outcome for us. As we go about our lives the Word of God will lead us where we need to go as the Holy Spirit brings to remembrance different Scriptures to guide us. Even in sleep, the Word of God will keep us. But to waken to the Word of God, this is a wonderful thing. It is important to have a morning devotion. To have the Word of God talk to us in the morning begin to mold and shape our hearts and get us ready for the day ahead of us.

"For the commandments is a lamp, and the whole teaching of the law is light, and reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of the evil woman." Proverbs 6:23-24, Amplified

This is a dark world that we live in today. The only light that we can depend on is the Word of God. It is ever unchanging. The light of the Word will never go out, we will never have to change the bulb, or replace the existing bulb with a brighter one. From the moment of its inception, the Truth has shone brightly exposing all lies.

Solomon also revisits a subject that is near and dear to all men, the flattery of the opposite sex. It is a difficult thing at times to keep one straight on the path of righteousness if he has not immersed himself into the Word of God. It is impossible to remain enlightened if we first do not turn that light on in our hearts. The only way to do this is to read the Word, bind it on our hearts and around our necks, and allow the Word to guide us by it's light.

"Lust not after her beauty in your heart, neither let her capture you with her eyelids. For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread, and the adulteress will stalk and snare [as with a hook] the precious life of a man." Proverbs 6:25-26, Amplified

The language of this verse is a little cryptic. What can it mean that a man will be brought to a piece of bread? The man will be easily devoured by the adulterous woman. Jesus spoke of this during His sermon on the mount, "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart." (Matthew 5:28, NKJV) It all starts in the heart, hence the need to bind the word to the heart. No man wishes to be devoured, however, if we are involved in sin then once that realization comes about it may just be too late. Adultery will destroy a man, take his life and his everything. Lord keep my eyes straight and narrow focused on You and my wife alone.

"Can a man take fire into his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk upon hot coals and his feet not be burned?" Proverbs 6:27-28, Amplified

This is a rhetorical question. The answer to both question is of course, "No." This is a spiritual truism, you play with fire and you will be burned. The interesting thing about fire is that it is a scar that will remain with you for the remainder of your life. Fire can be disfiguring. Fire can severely main and still not destroy.

"So he who cohabits with his neighbor's wife [will be tortured with evil consequences and just retribution]; he who touches her shall not be innocent or go unpunished." Proverbs 6:29, Amplified

The man who sleeps with his neighbor's wife is the man who has taken fire into his bosom. She will be his undoing. You may ask, "Who is my neighbor?" A certain lawyer asked Jesus the same question in Luke 10. Jesus went on to teach His parable of the Good Samaritan. In truth, everyone in our neighbor. Every man's wife is off limits. Fire will always be fire and it will always burn.

Walk, Run, Get Away! (Proverbs 5:7-14)

The lesson in adultery continues. First Solomon spoke about the effects of adultery on the individual. Now Solomon couples that idea with how it effects the relationships we have with the world around us. Adultery is not one of those sins that solely effects the adulterer and adulteress. The Lord will not allow either to be blessed in any facet.

"Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, an depart from the words of her mouth." Proverbs 5:7, Amplified

Even before we fall, we have the choice to walk away. "No temptation has overtaken you except such is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (I Corinthians 10:13, NKJV) Every temptation is lines with the opportunity of escape. The biggest things that am man can do is walk away. Depart from the words of her mouth.

"Let your way in life be far from her; and come not near the door of her house - avoid the very scenes of temptation..." Proverbs 5:8, Amplified

One specific action that we can take in dealing with temptation is to stay as far away from it as possible. If drugs are a weakness then stay away from those friends who use them, stay away from the parts of town that you used to score. If alcohol is an issue, then do not go into the liquor store. If pornography is the problem then stay away from those liquor stores that you know sell magazines; and even more subtly, stay away from those movies that contain nudity. It has been said that if you hang around a barber shop long enough you will eventually get a hair cut. This is the truest saying that I have heard in a long time. "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil." (I Thessalonians 5:19-22, NKJV)

"Lest you give your honor to others, and your years to those without mercy; lest strangers [and false teachings] take their fill of your strength and wealth, and your labors go tho the house of an alien [from God]; and you groan and mourn when your end comes, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, How I have hated instruction and discipline and my heart despised reproof!" Proverbs 5:9-12, Amplified

If we give ourselves to sin, we will reap the consequences. It seems as though that when one gives himself over to adultery, however, that the danger is more imminent. Your honor, or grandeur, will be given over to others who have not worked for it as long and as hard. Think of it like working from the ground up at a company. You have worked hard through many different promotions and gotten to the place you are now simply because of sweat and tears. If you were to commit adultery and got fired, another would be set in you place, one who has not worked as hard as you. You honor will be given to one who is not deserving of it, but somethings has to be done. All your years of hard work are going to be taken away from you with one bad decision. Strangers, or those not familiar with your God, will benefit more from your life than you ever did.

But there will come a day when you will come to realize the errors of your way. That day will be too late. Hindsight is always 20/20. Clearer vision comes with time and experience, however, wouldn't you like to be on this side of blessing.

"I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor submitted and consented to those who instructed me. [The extent and boldness of] my sin involved almost all evil in the estimation of the congregation and the community." Proverbs 5:13-14, Amplified

As the sinner slips down and down the never ending spiral, realization comes to his mind. Again this realization comes too late, long after the sin is committed. Even those around the sinner can see his sin and understand his folly. It is never too late to stop however. The window of opportunity of escape is always open, always ready to receive. Life does not have to end like this.

Adulterous Heart

They say that the window to the soul is through the eyes. What would a man's soul consist of if all he saw was lust? Jesus dealt with this very issue next:

"You have heard it said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'" Matthew 5:27, NKJV

Jesus quotes the Ten Commandments again. He always seems to go to a place that is familiar to man (or at least the men of this time). Jesus goes to the Ten Commandments not to redefine, but to rather help us better understand the heart of God. The commandment is pretty cut and dry, there is no question that the Jew, or the born again believer, should not commit adultery.

Jesus gives us a closer look at the heart of God:

"But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28, NKJV

The things that the Lord tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, challenge our walk with the Lord. Do not even look at a woman with lust. The mind and heart has a tendency to absorb all that they eyes view. Just think of it like a television. It's about six in the evening and a commercial for McDonald's comes on. Your stomach starts to growl and you get something to eat. The commercial is specifically designed to trigger hunger. Lust and sex are the same way. You lust after a woman, your mind begins to play out scenarios of you and her together. Tell me that I am wrong.

There is a solution, however.

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell." Matthew 5:29-30, NKJV

The perfect solution is to pluck and cut. These are very interesting words that the Lord uses. Pluck has the idea to "be plucked" as well as to "deliver or rescue". And the word cut can of course mean "to cut" but it can also be used in metaphor "to cut off occasion". Jesus did not literally mean to pluck out the eyes or to cut off the hands. The idea is to remove oneself from that situation. If lust is a problem for yourself, do not go to the beach where girls wear small bikinis or walk into a liquor store that sells pornographic material.

It is great to be accountable, but what happens if you do not have that accountability? Who is going to rescue you? You! You must be the one to pluck your own eye out. You must be the one to cut your own hand off.

There are ways to avoid these situations. Do not go where you know that sin will be. Also, read your Bible and pray everyday. The mind and heart tend to absorb whatever the eyes look at. If you read everyday, you will become more Christ minded.