“Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful fawn–let her breasts always satisfy you, be lost in her love forever” (Prov 5:18-19).
Proverbs 5 is a whole chapter on sexual discretion. A whole chapter as a whole chapter is needed. Solomon warns his son (probably from experience) the danger of drifting into the arms of other women. He warns them don’t even go near the sexy woman who would entice you, otherwise you may be enticed. “Keep your way far from her” (Prov 5:8).
“Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others and your years to someone cruel; strangers will drain your resources, and your earnings will end up in a foreigner’s house…” (Prov 5:9-10).
“Drink water from your own cistern, water flowing from your own well. Should your springs flow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares? They should be for you alone and not for you to share with strangers. Let your fountain be blessed…” (Prov 5:16-18),
“Why, my son, would you be infatuated with a forbidden woman or embrace the breast of a stranger? For a man’s ways are before the LORD’s eyes and He considers all his paths” (Prov 5:20-21).
And then reality check:
“He will die because there is no discipline, and be lost because of his great stupidity” (Prov 5:22).
Oh, so much could be said here.
I can think of talking about the things that feed all of our sexual thoughts and lusts–anger, unforgiveness, loneliness.
I think of the question of “How far is too far?” and I think of sexual union is too far (1 Cor 6:18), the principle of touching between the legs meant a hand cut off (Deut 25:11-12), and now the principle of neither touching another’s breasts (Prov 5:20-21). It’s the principle of what shouldn’t be seen shouldn’t be touched outside of marriage.
I think of the reality that there is barely any difference between sexual immorality inside the church vs outside the church. Fornication is normalized. Gone is sexual purity or even a desire for it. “Outdated” is the new word. Gone is the truth that all other sins a man commits are outside a body, but he who sins sexually sins against his body (1 Cor 6:18).
I think of after reading through the time of the kings and judges and seeing two things that really angered the LORD and brought judgment–sexual immorality and the harming of babies. Two things that are also normalized culturally.
So much. We are sexual beings and deal with sexually immoral thoughts and the lusts of the flesh. It’s a battle.
Discipline yourself, Solomon says.
Don’t even go near someone that may cause you to stumble.
Don’t let stupidity entangle you.
Never stop fighting for purity.
