Proverbs 5:20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
God wants the son to stop and think. Of course the father is speaking to his son, but it is under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. The Hebrew word translated as “ravished” means “to stray”. God makes if very clear that seeking after the strange woman is contrary to sound judgment.
The godly woman knows that she will not attract a godly man by painting herself up. The woman who thinks she needs to seduce a man to notice her, is in for trouble before she starts. A godly woman does not want a man like that.
As we have noted, God spends much time addressing the son. The son needs to have his head screwed on straight. He needs to see what is truly important. We know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Natural beauty is far better than painted on beauty. The woman will need to be herself at some point in the marriage. She is going to wash her face and she will be in bed with her husband. If she can never relax and just be who she is, she will grow tired of putting on a front all the time. The godly son sees value in a much different way than the worldly son.
There is no rational reason for the son to embrace the bosom of a stranger. There is a need for a loving, caring and understanding relationship. That type of relationship will last the lifetime. That is why God says a man is to leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. He will want to do that if he has his heart in the right place.
Verse 21 tells us the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD. God “ponders all man’s goings. The Hebrew word translated as “pondereth” means “to weigh out”. God never looks at anything in a superficial manner. He sees the heart. He sees the intent of the person. He knows what each person is thinking and planning.
We cannot fool God and it is foolish to try to fool others. The godly son does not want to deceive the woman he hopes to marry. He wants to build a right relationship that is built on true love and concern. It is a blessing when the marriage is built upon godly principles.
In verse 22 we are reminded that the foolish son will reap the results of his bad choices. He will get caught in his own foolish plans. He may have thought he can get away with it, but it will not work out for good. Notice that he will be bound by the “cords” of his sins.
Samson teased Delilah for a while. He thought he was pretty clever. He was able to break free of all the snares until he had his hair cut short. He played with God’s plan for him and it was a very costly gesture. He did not even need to be bound with any ropes in the end. He was bound in his sin and it cost him more than he ever planned on. He lost his eyes. He was put to shame and forced to join the animals in grinding out the grain. He could not see and the Philistines were going to make sport with him.
God was merciful to him and strengthened him one last time. The Philistines had some pleasure in their captive, but God would not allow them to continue to play with him. He took out over three thousand men in his death. It was a shameful end. It did not need to end that way. He chose a path that God never wanted him to take.
Verse 23 tells us the foolish son will die without instruction. The foolish son does not heed instruction. He rejects it and he is growing in his folly. He may have thought he could play around just a little bit and it would all work out well. God says that is not true. Samson never expected things to end as they did for him. Solomon never expected things would end as they did for him.
The Muslims claim there are seventy virgins waiting for their men that die as martyrs. No sane man would want seventy virgins to have to try to satisfy. Muslim men have an insatiable lust that is destructive. Many women have been destroyed by those wicked men.
The wise son listens to what God is saying here. The wise father takes the time to instruct his son in the right way to think and live. Get into the Word of God, and don’t just read it in a ritualistic manner. Read it with the intent of listening to what God says. There are far too many men who have ruined their lives by following their lusts rather than submitting to God’s will. We do not need to reinvent the wheel. We cannot improve on what God has designed. We need to listen to Him and build our lives on Truth.
Pastor Bartel