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Ephesians 5:3, 4ff Exposition
Proverbs 4:23 Exposition
2Corinthians
7:1 Exposition
Jehovah Nissi: Exposition
of Exodus 17:8-16
1Thessalonians 4:3ff Exposition
Galatians 5:16ff Exposition
1Timothy 4:7ff Exposition
2Corinthians 10:3-5 - Exposition
James 1:13;
James 1:14;
James 1:15 - Expositions
Proverbs
5:15 Drink
water
from your own
cistern
and
fresh
water
from your own
well.
(Pr 5:18,19; Hebrews
13:4)
You have your own spring and your
own well which flow with clear water. So drink from these sources!
(German Common Language Version)
Do not go to the well of
another man. Stay with your own wife and sleep only with her, just as
a man drinks water from his own well. (UBS)
In Proverbs 5:15, 16, 17, 18, 19,
20, 21 Solomon offers his "remedy" calculated to counter the
temptation to commit sexual immorality with a strange woman. His
remedy - delight yourself in fidelity to your own wife, your covenant
partner, your one flesh. The world ridicules faithfulness, but God
honors and blesses it. One wife for one life and one partner to enjoy
sex with for all of your days. That is God's "old fashioned" plan!
In context Solomon is speaking in
highly metaphorical language, using cistern, well and fountain as
pictures of one's wife. Notice that that possessive pronoun precedes
each description and that is Solomon's emphasis -- sexual relations
with your OWN wife, and no one else's! That is his main point in this
section and to heed such sage advice will keep one far from the paths
of the adulteress woman.
The best way for a man to avoid
sexual misconduct (including indulging in pornography and the
fantasizing and self-gratification that naturally accompany this sin)
is to (1) have a loving relationship with your Creator and (2)
secondly a loving relationship with the wife of your youth.
Explorer the Bible notes
adds that...
the institution of holy matrimony
has been designed by God as the only place for the expression of
sexual love. It is also quite clear that a satisfying and intimate
marriage is a powerful safeguard against sexual temptation. Again,
from the perspective of the male, the text calls upon the young man to
find his fulfillment in his wife alone. With plain, yet appropriate,
language the man is exhorted to be thoroughly satisfied with his
wife’s sexual intimacy and to ever be exhilarated or, more
literally, “intoxicated” with “her love” (Pr 5:19). This command
places a holy responsibility upon both partners in the marriage. Each
should be sensitive and attentive to the needs of the other so that
any temptation to violate the marriage bond is effectively repelled
(cf. 1Cor 7:5). (Be
Wise About Sexual Purity)
The UBS Handbook on Proverbs
observes that...
Pr 5:15-20 use a number of images
such as water, cistern, well, springs, fountain, hind, and doe to
appeal to the learner to be satisfied with his own wife rather than
going after another person’s wife.
A cistern is an underground chamber
used to catch rainwater for storing. Cisterns, like wells in the next
line, were often dug in the ground and lined with limestone plaster to
keep them from leaking. They were also sometimes hollowed out of rock.
The scarcity of water made it essential to guard cisterns and wells
closely. The emphasis in this verse is on the private use of water
from a cistern. The thought expressed here is “Just as you drink water
from your own cistern, so you should have sex only with your own
wife.” (Reyburn, W. D., & Fry, E. M. New York: United Bible Societies)
W A Criswell comments
that...
These verses use frankly erotic
language as is found in the Song of Solomon in expressing that sexual
delight in marriage is by divine design (Pr 5:15), as is the joy of
procreation, in which husband and wife join hands with the Creator God
to produce the next generation (Pr. 5:16, 17, 18; Ge 1:28). The wife
is compared to a "cistern" and "well" (Pr 5:15; Song 4:12). This
figure enhances her value in the eastern world, in which water was
scarce and valuable. The terms "fountains" and "streams of water" are
references to children who are victims of marital discord. They suffer
from lack of a proper home, either abandoned or raised by "strangers"
(Pr 5:17).
(Criswell,
W A. Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas
Nelson)
Drink water - Drinking is a
normal God given desire but even it is to be gratified in an
appropriate way. Solomon here uses this normal physical need to
picture a man's sexual need which is also God given and is only to be
fulfilled by one's spouse. In other words the idea is be faithful to
your own wife, just as you drink water from your own cistern and well.
Let her be your "cistern" and "well" with her companionship alone will
a husband find total satisfaction and the quenching of all his sexual
thirst.
Constable agrees writing
that...
The figures of a cistern and well
refer to one’s wife (cf. Song 4:15) who satisfies desire.
In first Corinthians Paul
writes that...
because of immoralities, each man
is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the
wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own
body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not
have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving
one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote
yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not
tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1Co
7:2, 3, 4, 5)
Bridges writes that...
Conjugal love is chief among the
earthly goods in mercy granted by God to his fallen and rebellious
creature. Enjoy then with thankfulness thine own, and desire not thy
neighbour's well. (Ex 20:17. 2Sa 11:2, 3) (Bridges, C.
Commentary on Proverbs)
Adam Clarke writes that me
are to...
Be satisfied with thy own wife; and
let the wife see that she reverence her husband; and not tempt him by
inattention or unkindness to seek elsewhere what he has a right to
expect, but cannot find, at home.
Proverbs 5:15-21 Reminders for
the Married
THERE IS ONE JOINING -
Marriage is Exclusive Pr 5:15, 16, 17
THERE IS ONE JOY - Marriage is Ecstasy Pr 5:18, 19
THERE IS ONE JUDGE - Marriage is Evaluated (by God) Pr 5:20, 21 (Ref)
Proverbs
5:16 Should your
springs
be
dispersed
abroad,
streams
of
water
in the
streets?
(Deut 33:28; Ps 68:26; Is
48:21) (Ge 24:60; Jdg 12:9; Ps 127:3; 128:3)
Your springs dispersed abroad
- This metaphor is more difficult to understand. Some understand
it as a metaphor for offspring or children (see below). However in
context it is at least possible that your springs...not for
strangers (Pr 5:16, 17) continues the metaphor of sexual activity
and presents a contrast with the water metaphors in Pr 5:15. In
that verse the picture is of the husband experiencing the quenching of
his sexual appetite the good way, God's way, with the wife of his
youth. In Pr 5:16, 17 the word strangers (Hebrew = zur, used in
Pr 5:3, 10, 17, 20, 7:5) could certainly be the strange woman with
whom one's springs are dispersed. I do not mean to be
dogmatic, but offer this as an alternative interpretation of these two
difficult verses (Pr 5:16, 17).
Constable does record that
Another view is that the springs
and streams in view belong to the man being warned who might share
them with a woman of the street.
Ryrie writes that...
The idea is, should you beget
children by an adulteress, a woman of the street? (and that) your
springs (is) a reference to one's children.
Matthew Poole...
Thy fountains; thy children
proceeding from thy wife, called thy fountain, Pr 5:18, and
from thyself, as the Israelites are said to come from the fountain
of Israel, Deut 33:28; Ps 68:26. Compare Is 51:1. And fountains
are here put for rivers flowing from them, as it is explained in the
next clause, and as it is Ps 104:10, by a metonymy of the cause for
the effect. And this title may be the more fitly given to children,
because as they are rivers in respect of their parents, so when they
grow up, they also become fountains to their children.
Be dispersed abroad; they shall be multiplied, and in due time
appear abroad in the world to thy comfort and honour, and for the good
of others; whereas whores are commonly barren, and men are ashamed to
own the children of whoredom.
W A Criswell feel that...
The terms springs and
streams of water are references to children who are victims of
marital discord. They suffer from lack of a proper home, either
abandoned or raised by "strangers" (Pr 5:17).
(Criswell,
W A. Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas
Nelson)
John MacArthur feels that...
The euphemism refers to the male
procreation capacity with the idea of the foolish as a fountain
scattering precious water—a picture of the wastefulness of sexual
promiscuity. The result of such indiscriminate sin is called
streams of waters in the streets, a graphic description of the
illegitimate street children of harlotry. Rather, says Solomon, “let
them be only your own” and not the children of such immoral strangers.
Some commentators like
Expositor's Bible Commentary feel that...
Channels of water in the street
would mean sexual contact with lewd women.
Proverbs
5:17 Let them be yours
alone
and not for
strangers
with you.
John MacArthur feels that
them relates to children and thus Solomon is saying...
“let them be only your own” and not
the children of such immoral strangers.
Adam Clarke agrees writing
let them be "the offspring of a legitimate connection."
Proverbs
5:18 Let your
fountain
be
blessed,
and
rejoice
in the
wife
of your
youth.
(Eccl 9:9; Mal 2:14,15)
Your fountain be blessed - A
metaphor referring to one's wife and continues the idea that sexual
pleasure must be fulfilled at home. In an arid land like the
Palestine, where water was precious, this aqueous metaphor should be
especially powerful to the male readers.
Matthew Poole...
she shall be blessed with children;
for barrenness was esteemed a curse and reproach, especially among the
Israelites. Or rather, she shall be a blessing and a comfort to thee,
as it follows, and not a curse and a snare, as a harlot will be.
A
Handbook on Proverbs explains that...
A fountain is not an
artificial jet of water, as may be seen in city parks or gardens, but
rather a spring of water flowing out of the ground. Your fountain
refers to the man’s wife, who is here the source of his pleasure. The
sense of blessed is seen in the parallel word in the second
line rejoice. Blessed has the sense of joy or happiness. This
happiness is to come from the man’s wife. (United Bible Societies)
The NET Bible notes...
That it should be blessed
(the passive participle of barak) indicates that sexual delight is
God-given; having it blessed would mean that it would be endowed with
fruitfulness, that it would fulfill all that God intended it to do.
Rejoice
in the wife of your youth
- An excellent command indeed! Do not seek strange women
but rejoice in the same woman (...that you married).
The Apologetics Study Bible
notes that...
Critics sometimes argue that
passages extolling the pleasures of sex are inappropriate and should
not be in the Bible. The book of Proverbs, though, sees sex as a gift
from God that is to be enjoyed in the context of the commitment of
marriage. An intimate relationship with one's spouse and the physical
delight such a relationship can bring is commended by Proverbs and is
seen as a powerful antidote to the temptations that can lead to
unfaithfulness and immorality.
Michael Griffiths wrote that
there is no end to the richness
that springs out of that exclusive relationship, and the warmth of the
welcome that reaches out from his home to bless others. (Take My Life)
As Al Martin says...
God never intended that man could
find the true meaning of his sexuality in any other relationship than
that of the total self-giving involved in marriage.
Proverbs
5:19 As a
loving
hind
and a
graceful
doe,
let her
breasts
satisfy
you at
all
times;
Be
exhilarated
always
with her
love.
(Song 2:9; 4:5; 7:3; 8:14) (Be
exhilarated - 2Sa 12:4)
This verse if treasured in one's
heart ("control center"; cp Ps 119:9, 11) and obeyed under grace (Ro
6:14-note),
gives the husband a powerful "aphrodisiac" and a strong shield
impeding wandering eyes and "wander-lust"!
Loving hind - Hebrew reads
"the hind of loves".
The language in this section is
obviously what we might term quite "erotic", and it serves to show
that God, the "Inventor" of sex, is not ashamed to speak openly about
it, extolling it as a good gift (James 1:17) to be enjoyed with the
wife of one's youth. Paul amplifies the goodness of sexuality within
the bounds of marriage, emphasizing that in fact it is a prophylactic
which serves to protect one (husband and/or wife) against improper
sexual dalliances (in thought [fantasy life], word or deed) explaining
that...
because of immoralities (porneia),
let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own
husband...Stop depriving
(present
imperative
with a negative = stop something already being practiced!) one
another, except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourselves
to prayer, and come together again lest Satan
tempt
(present
tense
= continually tempt) you because of your lack of self-control. (1Cor
7:2, 5)
Bridges writes...
Regard her as the special gift of
thy Father's hand. (Pr 19:14) Cherish her with gentleness and purity
(Ge 24:67), as the loving hind and pleasant roe. Whatsoever interrupts
the strictest harmony in this delicate relationship, opens the door to
imminent temptation. Tender, well-regulated, domestic affection is the
best defence against the vagrant desires of unlawful passion. Yea-it
is consecrated by the Word of God itself to the high purpose of
shadowing out "the great mystery-loving and cherishing our own flesh,
even as the Lord the Church." (Ep 5:25, 29) (Bridges, C.
Commentary on Proverbs)
Sexual desire is natural and
marriage is provided for its fulfilment. - Norman Hillyer
Hind and...doe - Animals
that picture the graceful delicate nature of a man's wife. It is
interesting that women were often named for graceful or attractive
animals - cp Tabitha, Dorcas.
Matthew Poole on hind...doe...
as amiable and delightful as the
hinds are, either, 1. To their males, the harts; Or, 2. To princes and
great men, who used to make them tame and familiar, and to take great
delight in them, as hath been noted by many writers
Exhilarated (07686)
(shagah) primarily meant to stray, go astray or wander. In the
present context the verb signifies a staggering gait expressive of the
husband's ecstatic joy over his wife's love. Some interpret this verb
as indicating that he is "intoxication" by her love.
The Net Bible explains that
The imagery for intimate love in
marriage is now employed to stress the beauty of sexual fulfillment as
it was intended. The doe and deer, both implied comparisons, exhibit
the grace and love of the wife.
Proverbs
5:20 For
why
should you, my
son,
be
exhilarated
with an
adulteress
and
embrace
the
bosom
of a
foreigner?
(Pr 2:16, 17, 18, 19; 6:24;
7:5; 22:14; 23:27,28,33; 1Ki 11:1)
For - This conjunction
introduces Solomon's explanation of why exhilaration with one's own
wife is such an important protective mindset to maintain. As men, we
must be continually on high alert, for our sexual desire which is God
given to be gratified in a God pleasing way in the marriage covenant,
will potentially seek gratification outside of this covenantal
relationship if we become lax and allow our mind to wander from the
path of God's transforming Word of truth.
One wonders what went through
Solomon's mind as he penned these words in light of facts
documenting his wandering mind in
1Kings 11...
Now King Solomon loved many foreign
women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite,
Sidonian, and Hittite women,
2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of
Israel, "You shall not associate with them, neither shall they
associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after
their gods." Solomon held fast to these in love.
3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred
concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.
4 For it came about when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart
away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the
LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and
after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.
6 And Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not
follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.
Foreigner (05237)
(nokri) describes that which foreign or alien and so a stranger
or foreigner. The idea is not related to. In context it describes a
woman who is not related to the man by the covenant of marriage and
with whom any sexual liaison is sinful. The "strange" woman may seem
exotic and exciting at the beginning but the end is deadly.
Wiersbe writes that...
When a husband and wife are
faithful to the Lord and to each other, and when they obey Scriptures
like 1Cor 7:1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Ep 5:22, 23, 24, 25, 26,
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, neither of them will look for satisfaction
anywhere else. If they love each other and seek to please each other
and the Lord, their relationship will be one of deepening joy and
satisfaction; they won't look around for "the greener grass."
Proverbs
5:21 For the
ways
of a
man
are
before
the
eyes
of the
LORD,
and He
watches
all
his
paths.
(See passages on the Eyes of
the LORD - Pr 15:3; 2Chr 16:9; Job 31:4; 34:21; Ps 11:4; 17:3;
139:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; Je 16:17; 17:10; 23:24;
32:19; Ho 7:2; Heb 4:13-note;
Rev 2:18,23)
GOD'S
OMNIPRESENCE
-
COMFORTING
&
CONVICTING
As believers we should love the
comforting attribute of God's omnipresence, for as Isaac Watts
said so poetically...
Within thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find Thy hand;
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.
But this comforting
doctrine of divine omnipresence is also a convicting
doctrine, as Spurgeon explains...
Where we cannot enjoy God’s
company, we will not go. Our motto is, “With God, anywhere. Without
God, nowhere...There is no place so well-adapted for the discovery of
sin and recovery from its power and guilt as the immediate presence of
God. Get into God’s arms, and you will see how to hit at sin. You will
gather strength to give the final blow which shall lay the monster in
the dust. Job never knew how to get rid of sin half so well as he did
when his eye of faith rested on God, and he abhorred himself, and
repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:5, 6) (See study of
God's omniscience)
Solomon writes in Proverbs
15 that...
The eyes of the LORD are in
every place, watching the evil and the good. (Pr 15:3)
Matthew Poole...
God sees all thy filthy actions,
though done with all possible cunning and secrecy. He taketh an exact
account of all their doings, that he may recompense them according to
the kinds, degrees, numbers, and aggravations of all their unchaste
actions.
He watches all his paths -
As men we delude ourselves into thinking, that if we are just looking
and not touching, it is a "small sin", but that is a lie when we
understand the meaning of holiness (see 1Thes 4:3 [note]
where continually abstaining from sexual immorality equates with
holiness). So clearly God's will for every Christian man is
holiness, which is manifest by our continual practice of
abstaining from sexual immorality in thought, word or deed. There is
no such thing as a "small sin" in the area of sexual impurity,
for just as a small crack in the damn can eventually lead to its
rupture, so too can "small sins" which are nursed and cultivated like
"weeds" in the garden our mind. We deceive ourselves into believing
that since the fantasy is only in our mind, no one knows. This verse
is a wake up call which should extinguish that sort of empty delusion.
God sees it all beloved believer. As such the truth of this verse
should serve to motivate all of us to diligently desire to obey the
charge to enjoy the wife of one's youth and not to fantasize, flirt or
fall prey to strange women.
J C Ryle in his booklet
Thoughts For Young Men
has this to say about the
eyes of God...
RESOLVE NEVER TO FORGET THE EYE OF
GOD. - The eye of God! Think of that. Everywhere, in every house, in
every field, in every room, in every company, alone or in a crowd, the
eye of God is always on you. "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,
keeping watch on the wicked and the good" (Pr 15:3), and they are eyes
that read hearts as well as actions.
Endeavor, I beg you, to realize this fact. Remember that you have to
deal with an all-seeing God, a God who never sleeps, a God who
understands your thoughts, and with whom the night shines as the day.
You may leave your father's house, and go away, like the prodigal,
into a far country, and think that there is nobody to watch your
conduct; but the eye and ear of God are there before you. You may
deceive your parents or employers, you may tell them lies, and act one
way before their faces, and another behind their backs, but you cannot
deceive God. He knows you through and through. He heard what you said
as you came here today. He knows what you are thinking of at this
minute. He has set your most secret sins in the light of His
countenance, and they will one day come out before the world to your
shame, except you take heed.
How little is this really felt! How many things are done continually,
which men would never do if they thought they were seen! How many
matters are transacted in the rooms of imagination, which would never
bear the light of day! Yes; men entertain thoughts in private, and say
words in private, and do acts in private, which they would be ashamed
and blush to have exposed before the world. The sound of a footstep
coming has stopped many a deed of wickedness. A knock at the door has
caused many an evil work to be hastily suspended, and hurriedly laid
aside. But oh, what miserable folly is all this! There is an
all-seeing Witness with us wherever we go. Lock the door, pull down
the blind, turn out the light; it doesn't matter, it makes no
difference; God is everywhere, you cannot shut Him out, or prevent His
seeing. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom
we must give account" (Heb 4:13-note).
Young Joseph understood this well when his employer's wife tempted
him. There was no one in the house to see them, no human eye to
witness against him; but Joseph was one who lived as seeing Him that
is invisible: "How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against
God?" (Ge 39:9)
Young men, I ask all of you to read Psalm 139:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12ff. I advise all of you to learn it by heart. Make it the
test of all your dealings in this world's business: say to yourself
often, "Do I remember that God sees me?"
Live as in the sight of God. This is what Abraham did, he
walked before Him (Ge 17:1). This is what Enoch did, he walked with
Him (Ge 5:22, 24, cp Ge 24:40, 48:15, Ps 26:3, 56:13, 116:9). This
is what heaven itself will be, the eternal presence of God. Do nothing
that you would not like God to see. Say nothing, you would not like
God to hear. Write nothing, you would not like God to read. Go no
place where you would not like God to find you. Read no book of which
you would not like God to say, "Show it to Me." Never spend your time
in such a way that you would not like to have God say, "What are you
doing?"
Proverbs
5:22 His own
iniquities
will
capture
the
wicked,
and he will be
held
with the
cords
of his
sin.
(Pr 1:18,31; 11:3,5; Ps
7:15,16; 9:15; Je 2:19; Ho 4:11, 12, 13, 14; Gal 6:7,8) (Held -