Proverbs 5

Proverbs 5 is one of many warnings about the dangers of adultery that are found in the book of Proverbs. This chapter also tells married couples how to live so that we can avoid the path of adultery –that only leads to destruction. 

This chapter reminds us to be attentive to Wisdom “that you may exercise proper discrimination and discretion and your lips may guard and keep knowledge and the wise answer [to temptation]” (v2)

Whether you are married or plan to be married one day it is hard in society today to use discrimination and discretion when it comes to relating to the opposite sex. 

On a personal note, when my relationship ended I felt I needed to be with a man, and I would have sex with just about anyone so that I could feel wanted. Over 4 ½ years ago I made the conscious decision to follow God’s rules on this and I quit being promiscuous and I decided to go on a “sex strike” until I am married. Now, after living the way I had since I was abused for the first time when I was 12 this wasn’t exactly an easy decision to make. I found that men really had no interest in me once I had decided that I was going to wait to be married. I lost what I had thought were my “friends” yet I stuck to my guns and have held firm in my conviction that I will wait until I am married before I have a physically intimate relationship with anyone. It was damaging my soul to be giving pieces of myself to these people who didn’t care about me, who were just using me. On top of that, I have two children who I need to set a positive example for so that they can hopefully learn from my mistakes (not that I regret my children, but life was and is hard because of decisions I made as a kid) and maybe even enter into a courtship type relationship that is God centered. I would love so much for their first kiss to be on their wedding days and intimacy to be with their husband or wife. I know God has forgiven me for my sinful behaviour but it is definitely hard to forgive myself. I pray to the Lord to send me the man who was created to be my other half, who will understand my past and accept it, knowing that I have given my life to Christ Jesus not only to better myself, but to better my family and to be as pure as possible when the one who God sends does come along. This is one of the reasons why I call myself a born again-again Christian. Although I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and saviour years and years ago it wasn’t until Easter 07 that I was truly reborn and decided to not only accept Jesus as my saviour, but to focus on His Wisdom and the Word so that I could live a life that would make Him proud!

Now, back to Proverbs 5; Two sins of the flesh that Satan uses in the world to gain control over people are sexual immorality and adultery. The world has decided to listen to Satan’s ways and pushes adultery through media and literature as if it was no big deal at all. Actually, it is more normal now for a person to marry after having multiple partners than it is for a virgin to marry in North America. Our divorce rates are also nearly 50%! Because we are overly exposed to this on every channel, every news cast, every political scandal it has become normal for infidelity or adultery. 

If you look at your Bible and study the Word and learn Gods Wisdom you will see quite quickly that God’s perspective of these immoral actions is that ‘Sin will kill you—and adultery is one of the biggest killers.’ Adultery steals your happiness. It destroys marriage. It ruins other people’s lives. It kills trust. It is one of the most dangerous temptations a man or a woman can ever yield to! The bible warns us that the feet of the adulteress “go down to death; her steps take hold of Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead)” (v5). The person who commits adultery “loses sight of and walks not in the path of life” (v6)

When you are faced with the beginning of a possible adulterous moment you need to say NO to evil and get yourself out of the situation before you allow the devil to take hold of you. It is often nice when a young woman or man flirts with you, especially if you have a wife and kids at home and she is too busy taking care of the family then to flatter you. Once you allow this young woman to flirt or you flirt back you have committed a moral sin. You are allowing Satan in. If you are telling yourself it is okay because you are only talking or having fellowship you are lying to yourself. Satan is the father of all lies! Do not give in to this attention. Instead, tell the person you are happily married and that you have no intention of jeopardizing your family because of flattery. If they laugh you off or continue with their behaviour cut them out of your life. Do NOT give Satan a foothold over your heart, your soul and your physical body. You cannot afford to even flirt around with the thought of adultery. It’s an extremely strong and dangerous force. Just turn away from the path of evil. Follow wisdom’s counsel: “Avoid the very scenes of temptation” (v8). You don’t have any business enjoying someone else’s company of the opposite sex if your spouse isn’t there with you. You’re p laying a deadly game and the consequences are terrible to consider. “Lest you give honor to others and your years to those without mercy…. And you groan and mourn when your end comes (vv 9,11).

Hebrews 13:4 tells us about the honor of intimacy that should be reserved only for your spouse: “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge”. Notice it doesn’t say MAY judge, it says GOD WILL JUDGE!!! God is not playing when he tells us to keep our marital bed sacred (or any bed you may use, sorry no hotel loophole on this), He is very serious and tells us we WILL be judged if we do not bring honor to our marriage and stay true to ourselves, our spouse and to Him. God expects the covenant of marriage to be honored. 

“Drink waters out of your own cistern [of a pure marriage relationship], and fresh running waters out of your own well” (v15). We are to full enjoy our relationship with our own spouse! This piece of scripture is also Gods answer to sexually transmitted diseases. If we only drink waters out of our own cistern there will be no chance of spreading or catching an STD! Many couples in our society find out that their partner has been unfaithful when they go in for their annual check-up and are diagnosed with a potentially fatal STD. I recall watching a woman on TV talking about her husband being unfaithful to her by having sexual relations with men while he was travelling for work. She found out she was HIV positive during routine blood tests during her annual examination. How devastated she must have been to have not only found out her husband was cheating, but he had also given her a death sentence! 

The bible goes on to say, “Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth” (v18). This scripture tells us that God has set aside treasures for those who drink from their own cistern and one of those treasures is finding joy in the person you married!

God doesn’t want us to be like the adulterer: “His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked man, and he shall be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of discipline and instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray and be lost” (vv22-23)

God created the family – it’s His own design. And for you who have no family, God Himself has placed you in His. “God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell….” (Psalm 68:6). 

God wanted a family around Him, so He created man and woman and told them to be fruitful and multiply – He said He will bless our seed – our family. God has purposed that one man and one woman come together in marriage and produce sons and daughters to surround them all of their days. And “the gift goes on” – grandchildren, great-grandchildren. There is no end to blessing in the families of God. Each generation should be stronger. There is no blessing greater than a family. Faithfulness to the marriage covenant keeps the family intact.

Gloria Copeland’s Wisdom for Today

Don’t feed our mind (through television, movies books, etc.) on the world’s message that “adultery is no big deal”

Don’t even toy around with the thought of adultery.

Make the decision to give honor to the one you married by staying faithful.

Although, today I did reword some things, remove some things and add some things, there are many direct quotes from Gloria Copeland's book Hidden Treasures I once again found today's reading very inspirational especially while I wait for the one who God plans for me to marry!
If you have a daughter who is beginning to show interest in boys there is a very special book called “Before You Meet Prince Charming” by Sarah Mally. I have ordered it for my daughter for Christmas from Chapters. It is about saving yourself for the one God has created for you and keeping your heart pure. It is a fairy tale that is scripture based. I have not yet received my copy but I have heard wonderful things about it. It was even mentioned on an episode of TLC’s show 19 Kids and Counting. My daughter is only 9 and I have heard it is for a slightly older group of girls but I plan to read it with her if she can’t read it herself. I am very excited!!

Proverbs 4

Since I am still not feeling well much of this is going to be written verbatim straight from Gloria Copeland’s book “Hidden Treasures”. I ask that everyone please pray for my body to heal. Thanks. God bless you all!

'Proverbs 4 is a very important chapter, not only in the book of Proverbs but also in the entire Bible. It holds the key to divine health, to divine prosperity and to walking in the spirit at all times.

This key can be summarized in two words – get wisdom: “The beginning of Wisdom is: get Wisdom (skillful and godly Wisdom)! [For skillful and godly Wisdom is the principal thing.] And with all you have gotten, get understanding (discernment, comprehension, and interpretation) (V7 AMP)”

God says that His wisdom is the principal thing. That word “principal” means first in importance. Why is wisdom so important?

Proverbs 4:6 (AMP) gives us one answer: “Forsake not [Wisdom], and she will keep, defend, and protect you; love her, and she will guard you.” Wisdom keeps, defends and protects us from the evil strategies of our enemy –Satan.

But here’s the main reason wisdom is first in importance. When you have God’s wisdom, you have the key to everything else.

Solomon understood this. When he was a young man about to become king, God asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

Solomon replied, “I want wisdom, I want to know how to judge these people wisely. I don’t know how to go out or come in unless the Lord tells me” (1 kings 3:7-9 author’s paraphrase)

Because Solomon was humble and asked only for wisdom, God gave him not only a wise and understanding heart, but riches and honor as well.

But later Solomon didn’t hold fast to wisdom. He went after heathen women, bringing them into his household. 

Solomon, the wisest of all men, had the ability to walk with God and follow His ways. He knew what was right. He could have followed after his father David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). David made mistakes, but he quickly repented and restored his fellowship with God.

But when Solomon went astray, he didn’t return to walking in God’s ways, and the consequences of his sin affected not only himself and his own descendants, but the future generations of an entire nation.
So let that be a lesson to you. You may know the wisdom of God; you may have the ability to walk in the wisdom of God. But even then, you can still choose to go your own way.

It’s no different with us than it was with Solomon. We choose. Do we want to go our own way and be cursed with the world? Or do we want to follow God and be blessed?
Exalt Wisdom

God tells us what we are to do with wisdom once we obtain it: “Prize Wisdom highly and exalt her, and she will exalt and promote you; she will bring you to honor when you embrace her” (Proverbs 4:8, AMP).

If you want to be promoted in life, this verse tells you the way to do it. Prize wisdom highly and exalt her, and she will exalt and promote you. In other words, go after wisdom and do what wisdom says. Make your life and your decisions revolve around the wisdom of God. 

When you do that, wisdom will promote you. She will bring you honor when you embrace her, fulfilling what God has promised: “Those who honor Me I will honor (1 Samuel 2:20, AMP)

Led in Paths of Uprightness
We’ve been talking a lot about wisdom, but here’s a good definition of what wisdom is: “I have taught you in the way of skillful and godly Wisdom [which is comprehensive insight into the ways and purpose of God]; I have led you I paths of uprightness” (Proverbs 4:11, AMP).

When you have comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God, and you are walking in those ways, then you are walking in wisdom. You are in a position for God to lead you in paths of uprightness.
God tells you what kind of help you can expect as you walk His paths; “When you walk, your steps shall not be hampered [your path will be clear and open]; and when you run, you shall not stumble” (v12 AMP).

I read in Maclaren’s Exposition of Holy Scripture and interesting explanation of this verse. Maclaren explained that the phrase “when you walk” refers to our daily walk with God.

You see, most of our lives are not lives in the spectacular. We live in the daily routine of things. But our everyday lives aren’t supposed to be a monotonous drudgery. God is saying that with His wisdom, we can be blessed as we walk through that daily routine. We can be at peace and prosperous no matter what we’re doing.

Then Maclaren makes the point that the phrase “when you run” in verse 12 refers to those times in our lives when something spectacular occurs or a significant milestone takes place. In those special times when extra momentum may be required to achieve something great, wisdom says, “As you run with Me, you won’t stumble.” I like that!

So whether we’re living our everyday lives or getting ready to achieve a milestone in our lives, God’s wisdom will lead us on the paths of uprightness. It will keep us from falling or stumbling. Our path will be clear and open, and our steps will not be hindered.

Learn to Flow With God
We can see why wisdom is so important for us to have in both the big and small events of our lives. That’s why God exhorts us to take firm hold of instruction. That lets you know what a weak, half-hearted hold just isn’t going to work. You’ll never be able to walk in Wisdom and be a “wimpy Christian”!
Why not? Because the whole world is trying to pull you in a direction contrary to God’s direction. The world goes one way, and god goes the other way. God’s way brings blessing and the world’s way brings a curse. And if you don’t take fast hold of God’s instruction, you’ll be swept away by what the world says and believes.

So hold fast to God’s wisdom, knowing that it is your life. Learn to flow with God as a way of life so you aren’t swept away by the deadly currents of the world.

I once read a definition of the word “flow” that used a stick flowing down a river as an example. That’s the way we’re supposed to flow with God. You see, because we’re God’s children a river of His blessings and his will surrounds our lives. All we have to do is just act like that stick floating down the river. We just need to lean not on our own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all of our ways and then flow down the current of God’s will and His wisdom until we arrive at the destiny He has planned for us.
You know, you may not think you can do a lot of things, but I know you can be like a stick! You can spend time with God in His Word and in prayer until you get to the place where you can hear Him. And then day by day, one step at a time, you can flow with Him the way a stick flows down a river. Let his momentum take you where He wants you to go. Then when you come to the end of your spiritual race and finish your God-appointed course, you will receive the crown of righteousness that God has laid up for those who love Him (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Avoid the Path of the Wicked
Proverbs 4:14-19 contrasts the clear and open path of the upright with the path of the wicked. For example, “the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble” (v 19 AMP).

Now, the path of the wicked isn’t the path that your heart (your spirit man) wants to take. The Holy Spirit dwells within you to lead and guide you. Therefore, the natural thing for you to do is walk with God.
So Satan tries to figure out a way to pull you off the path you know is right, that’s why he uses various temptations to solicit you to evil, including people around you who are living in sin. People like that often want to pull you into sin because your righteousness is an affront to them (v16). They would feel less convicted if you would join in with them.

So how do you keep from being pulled onto the path of evil? You “avoid it, do not go on it; turn from it and pass on (v15 AMP). In other words, you do what James 4:7 says: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Just keep yourself riveted on the path of the righteous, no matter what Satan throws at you to you off. That’s the path that “is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [reaches its full strength and glorify in] the prefect day [to be prepared]” Proverbs 4:18, AMP). You can live in the light of God’s wisdom in the midst of a very dark world!

Attend to God’s Words
Proverbs 4:20-23 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture in the entire Bible. I teach on these verses quite frequently, because they show us how to walk with God so that His word and His wisdom are continually being made life and health to our flesh. This is divine wisdom for divine health!
The first step is pay attention to God’s words. “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings” (v20). “To attend” means to give attention to. For example, if you were a nurse attending to a patient, you would have to give our full attention to taking care of his needs.

Well, in order to get anywhere in our walk with God, we will have to give Him our full attention. We aren’t going to hear him if our attention is focused on something else. He’s a gentleman. He won’t force Himself on us.

Wisdom will cry aloud, but if you don’t hear her instruction, you’ll suffer the consequences. And you won’t hear God’s wisdom if you don’t give Him your attention.
So how do we attend to God’s words? First, we are to incline our ear to the Word (v 20_. Then we must keep on hearing God’s Word. “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart” (v21).
You are to keep the Word coming in through your ears and your eyes so it stays in your heart. You see, you’ll forget what the Word says if you don’t constantly feed on it. 

But as you hear the Word and keep it in front of your eyes, it becomes integrated into the very center of your being; it becomes an inseparable part of you. And as it becomes the motivator and the decision-maker of your life, you begin to walk “securely and in confident trust… without fear or dread of evil (proverbs 1:33 AMP).
Keep the Word in the Midst of Your Heart
Do you want the Word to become life, and healing, and health to all your flesh (Proverbs 4:22 AMP)? Well, the way you stay healed and whole, not only in your physical body but in every area of your life, is to keep the Word in the midst of your heart. How? By attending to God’s Word. By keeping it in front of your eyes and going into your ears. 

When Ken and I first started “inclining our ears” to God’s Word, we listened to reel-to-reel teaching tapes. We listened to those tapes day and night until the Word was deposited in our hearts in abundance. Then we learned that hearing the Word wasn’t a one-time proposition. We had to keep that Word in the midst of our hearts by giving attention to the Word continually.

You see, you just can’t let your faith take a vacation; you have to keep your faith strong. The only way to do that is to continually cause it to come into your ears and to keep it before your eyes. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing and hearing….

That’s basically what God told Joshua to do. God said to Joshua, “Keep My Word in your mouth, and meditate on it day and night so that you do it! Then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8 authors paraphrase).
Joshua had to keep God’s Word, talk God’s Word, meditate God’s Word and continually act on God’s Word. In other words, he had to keep the Word of god in the midst of his heart where it could talk to him.

The Issues of Life

You’ll have to keep God’s Word in the midst of your heart if you’re going to fulfill the next verse: “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life” (proverbs 4:23, AMP).

Let’s find out what these forces or issues of life are that keep your heart full of God. These are the divine forces that make your life worth living; “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

The fruit of the spirit help you walk in victory. If any of these forces of life are not manifested in your life, then in that area you have a weakness. The devil will target that weak area of your life so he can defeat you.

For instance, if you have developed every fruit of the spirit except self-control, then the devil will use your lack of discipline to hinder you. Self-control is a spiritual force that was given to help you keep yourself disciplined and your body under control so you can fulfill your God-given responsibilities.

Patience is a spiritual force that will keep you stead even under severe test and trial. It’s the power that undergirds your faith. Patience doesn’t yield to circumstances and will keep you from giving up. It doesn’t quit, no matter what’s happening in your life.

All the spiritual forces God has given us are powerful. And if you will stay in living contact with God through His Word and in prayer, they will all issue forth from your heart like a fountain.

God gave me a picture once of what these issues or outgoings of the Spirit are like in our lives. I was in the Philippines getting ready to conduct a healing service, thinking about this very subject. I happened to look out of my hotel window, and I saw in the plaza below a beautiful, huge fountain shooting water high in the air.

Then God spoke to y spirit, saying, “You can’t put trash in the opening where the water gushes out of that fountain. The water will wash away the trash.
“And if the volume of water was turned up so high that the fountain spouted in to the air, the force of the water would be so strong, no trash could even get close to the opening.”
The Lord continued, “That’s the way you are to be in the realm of the spirit. The issues of life should overflow from your heart in such a great measure that nothing of the world can enter your spirit, soul or body to contaminate it.”

That illustration helped me see that in order to keep things going well in our lives, we are to maintain a constant overflow of these spiritual forces of issues of God’s life. As we spend time with God and give Him our attention, those issues of life that come from God and His Word will keep our bodies well. Proverbs 4:22 teaches us how to get well and how to stay well. Take God’s Word like medicine! For they (God’s words) will keep our thinking straight. They will also keep us strong and aggressive to walk in the wisdom of God in every area of life.

We read earlier that you find favor with God and man when you bind truth and loving-kindness about your neck and let those qualities become a part of you (proverbs 3:3-4). Well, the same is true with these spiritual forces issuing out of your heart. They produce supernatural favor in your life as well. 

People love to be around someone who is full of love, joy and peace. They love to be around a person who is patient and gentle.

You can see how guarding you heart and allowing these forces of life to flow forth from you gives you favor with others. Besides that, you are so much happier yourself when you are joyful and patient!
Walking in love and joy improves your personality 150 percent. It makes you more personable. It makes people want to be around you.

The fruit of the spirit come forth from your heart. In fact, everything supernatural that you receive from God proceeds out of your heart- everything. That’s where the Holy Spirit lives. That’s where your deposit of the Word is. That’s why you have to keep your heart pure and full of God. 

You can’t play around with the world’s sin and expect to walk in these issues of life. You have to honor God and give Him first place. You must let Him have full reign in your heart and give the Word your full attention. You must talk to Him in prayer, listening for His confidential communion and secret counsel, which is so necessary if you want to walk free on this earth (proverbs 3:32).

So make wisdom the principal thing in your life. Incline your ear to God’s Word, and keep it ever before your eyes. Above all else, guard your heart diligently, for out of it flow all of the divine forces of the life of God to bring you victory and make life worth living!

Wisdom for Today
When the enemy’s solicitation to evil comes, don’t fellowship with it, think about it or even consider it. Turn away from it and move on!

Deposit an abundance of God’s Word in your heart today. Find time to hear the Word, meditate on the Word and talk the Word.
Guard your heart – and let the issues of God’s life overflow out of your spirit!'
-Gloria Copeland

I would like to add that I copied this entire chapter from Gloria Copeland’s book “Hidden Treasure’s”. If you would like to purchase your own copy of this book visit http://kcm.org I re-typed the entire chapter so I apologize if I have made grammar or spelling errors that are not present in the original copy. Thank you all and God bless!