Pro 5:9-10 | KingComments | STEP | Beginning in , the father (Solomon) continues the teaching on the danger of the strange woman that he received from his father (David). That teaching continues to the end of Proverbs 7, with a break in Proverbs 6:1-19. The father speaks at length about this danger to his children, which, as mentioned, is a danger to every generation. The one addressed may be a married son ( ), but it is not necessary for the teaching. The dangers apply to both the married and unmarried son and remain present as long as he lives. The father introduces his teaching about the danger of the strange woman by calling on his children to listen to him and not to depart from the words of his mouth ( ). He has done the same in . That he does it again is because he wants them to keep their attention on his teaching and for as long as they live. To turn away to a strange woman is to turn away from the teaching of the father. He begins with the simple reasoning that the son stays as far away as possible from the place of temptation and does not come near the door of her house ( ). If he comes near her, he will come under the hearing of her flattering voice. He must detour so that he does not hear her or see her. We can and should pray “and lead us not into temptation” ( ), but we can only do so in sincerity if we do not seek the temptation ourselves. From follows the motivation to stay as far away from her as possible. This is indicated by the words “or” and “and” in . For if he comes under her influence and engages with her, he will lose his vigor, his good name and honor ( ). He has thrown away the bloom of his life and given it “to others”, such as the strange woman, to “enjoy” it. He himself has lost all enjoyment of it. He will never again be able to enjoy his own wife, his own children, his own family. He has plunged himself into the greatest misery. He will also hand himself over to “the cruel one” for the best years of his life and beyond. The cruel one is the woman. She controls him and makes harsh demands of him. Here we can also think of blackmail, a not uncommon phenomenon in marital infidelity. What is related to this is that others will take possession of his power and that he will hand over everything he earns by works to the “a stranger” ( ). In the “stranger” we can also best see the cruel woman of the previous verse, the temptress, the adulteress. We see here that connection with the stranger brings into financial trouble. A person in the power of such a “stranger” often has to go into debt to meet her demands. This is explained in detail in Proverbs 6:1-19. The end result is groaning and being a physical wreck due to exhaustion ( ). This can happen, for example, through venereal disease and AIDS, diseases that demolish the body. The body is prematurely decayed and used up. Clearly, the price of unfaithfulness because of “a passing pleasure in sin” ( ) is enormous. One who commits this unfaithfulness charges a priceless debt. The path of death leads to loss of honor, time, money, strength and health and to pain, regret and everlasting torment at the end of life. Then comes the forced acknowledgment, expressed in desperate remorse and hopeless self-reproach ( ). ‘How could I have done such a thing? How could I have hated instruction and could my heart have rejected punishment?’ He was clearly and sternly told to stay far away from the adulteress, but he did not listen and went down that path willy-nilly. “To hate” means to have an aversion to it. He responded to the instruction with aversion. Inwardly, in his “heart”, he has rejected “discipline”. He resisted it instead of bowing to it and accepting it. He heard the instruction and discipline, but would not obey it. Now his conscience condemns him, realizing too late that he ignored the teaching and instruction. Hell will be full of people who say again and again full of remorse: ‘If only I had ...’ He must then acknowledge that it is his own fault because he did not listen to “my teachers” and “my instructors” ( ). These people, by whom mainly his father and his mother will be meant – the son speaks twice of “my” – have been teaching him privately. They worked intensively with him to teach him how to make the right choices. In this they trained him and accustomed him to it. And yet he rejected their teaching and disobeyed the commandments they set before him. He thought himself wiser than they; he was wise in his own eyes ( ). This makes his sin extra great. The father says all this to his son as an insistent appeal to listen to his warnings. Then he will be spared the utter ruin and endless remorse resulting from a wrong choice. The sin of adultery leads to a multitude of other sins. The young man must confess to his shame that he has been “almost in utter ruin” ( ). Also, he will become aware that his fornication is not only a personal sin, but that the whole congregation has also been defiled by him (cf. ). In the Old Testament there is no vicarious sacrifice for this sin, but the death penalty follows ( ; ). In the New Testament, committing this sin follows the discipline of the church, which means that such a person is removed from the church as an evil one ( ).

‏ Proverbs 5:9-10

The Price of Unfaithfulness

Beginning in Pro 5:7, the father (Solomon) continues the teaching on the danger of the strange woman that he received from his father (David). That teaching continues to the end of Proverbs 7, with a break in Proverbs 6:1-19. The father speaks at length about this danger to his children, which, as mentioned, is a danger to every generation. The one addressed may be a married son (Pro 5:15-19), but it is not necessary for the teaching. The dangers apply to both the married and unmarried son and remain present as long as he lives.

The father introduces his teaching about the danger of the strange woman by calling on his children to listen to him and not to depart from the words of his mouth (Pro 5:7). He has done the same in Pro 5:1-2. That he does it again is because he wants them to keep their attention on his teaching and for as long as they live. To turn away to a strange woman is to turn away from the teaching of the father.

He begins with the simple reasoning that the son stays as far away as possible from the place of temptation and does not come near the door of her house (Pro 5:8). If he comes near her, he will come under the hearing of her flattering voice. He must detour so that he does not hear her or see her. We can and should pray “and lead us not into temptation” (Mt 6:13), but we can only do so in sincerity if we do not seek the temptation ourselves.

From Pro 5:9 follows the motivation to stay as far away from her as possible. This is indicated by the words “or” and “and” in Pro 5:9-10. For if he comes under her influence and engages with her, he will lose his vigor, his good name and honor (Pro 5:9). He has thrown away the bloom of his life and given it “to others”, such as the strange woman, to “enjoy” it. He himself has lost all enjoyment of it. He will never again be able to enjoy his own wife, his own children, his own family. He has plunged himself into the greatest misery.

He will also hand himself over to “the cruel one” for the best years of his life and beyond. The cruel one is the woman. She controls him and makes harsh demands of him. Here we can also think of blackmail, a not uncommon phenomenon in marital infidelity.

What is related to this is that others will take possession of his power and that he will hand over everything he earns by works to the “a stranger” (Pro 5:10). In the “stranger” we can also best see the cruel woman of the previous verse, the temptress, the adulteress. We see here that connection with the stranger brings into financial trouble. A person in the power of such a “stranger” often has to go into debt to meet her demands. This is explained in detail in Proverbs 6:1-19.

The end result is groaning and being a physical wreck due to exhaustion (Pro 5:11). This can happen, for example, through venereal disease and AIDS, diseases that demolish the body. The body is prematurely decayed and used up. Clearly, the price of unfaithfulness because of “a passing pleasure in sin” (Heb 11:25) is enormous. One who commits this unfaithfulness charges a priceless debt. The path of death leads to loss of honor, time, money, strength and health and to pain, regret and everlasting torment at the end of life.

Then comes the forced acknowledgment, expressed in desperate remorse and hopeless self-reproach (Pro 5:12). ‘How could I have done such a thing? How could I have hated instruction and could my heart have rejected punishment?’ He was clearly and sternly told to stay far away from the adulteress, but he did not listen and went down that path willy-nilly. “To hate” means to have an aversion to it. He responded to the instruction with aversion.

Inwardly, in his “heart”, he has rejected “discipline”. He resisted it instead of bowing to it and accepting it. He heard the instruction and discipline, but would not obey it. Now his conscience condemns him, realizing too late that he ignored the teaching and instruction. Hell will be full of people who say again and again full of remorse: ‘If only I had ...’

He must then acknowledge that it is his own fault because he did not listen to “my teachers” and “my instructors” (Pro 5:13). These people, by whom mainly his father and his mother will be meant – the son speaks twice of “my” – have been teaching him privately. They worked intensively with him to teach him how to make the right choices. In this they trained him and accustomed him to it. And yet he rejected their teaching and disobeyed the commandments they set before him. He thought himself wiser than they; he was wise in his own eyes (Pro 3:7). This makes his sin extra great.

The father says all this to his son as an insistent appeal to listen to his warnings. Then he will be spared the utter ruin and endless remorse resulting from a wrong choice.

The sin of adultery leads to a multitude of other sins. The young man must confess to his shame that he has been “almost in utter ruin” (Pro 5:14). Also, he will become aware that his fornication is not only a personal sin, but that the whole congregation has also been defiled by him (cf. 1Cor 5:1-13). In the Old Testament there is no vicarious sacrifice for this sin, but the death penalty follows (Lev 20:10; Deu 22:22). In the New Testament, committing this sin follows the discipline of the church, which means that such a person is removed from the church as an evil one (1Cor 5:13).