☛ Probing Proverbs 6:30-35 Excuses might be found for a thief who
steals because he is starving. But if he is caught, he must pay back seven
times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house. But the man
who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself. He will be
wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased. For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy
when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a
payoff of any size. ☚
As we finish this section of Proverbs some very
significant Truths are shared and we would be wise to take heed. Wisdom has
been warning of the dangers and foolishness of sexual sin, culminating with adultery.
Why? God’s first institution was marriage and it is
sacred. One man exchanges vows with one woman to be completely faithful to each
other until death separates them. An adulterer trespasses over that vow and
steals from a spouse the one thing they thought was secure. As wisdom continues, some hard truths
must be confronted. In our day and age we have equated forgiveness
with consequences. We do believe from Scripture that every sin is forgivable.
That is true; however, we have no right to think that concerning consequences.
God forgave Moses for rebelling against His command to not strike the rock, but
Moses still lost the privilege of going into the Promised Land. In our desire
to feel good about our sins and failures we have convinced ourselves that when
God forgives, that also means that there will be no consequences for our sin.
This is not supported in Scripture, and here Wisdom reinforces that fact. The
thief can be forgiven, yet must still pay back what has been stolen. Wisdom
states that the adulterer “destroys himself”. Notice
the description of that destruction: “wounded”, “disgraced”, “His shame will never be erased”, “the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will
show no mercy”. “But Nate, surely an adulterer can be forgiven,
can’t he? Wisdom is talking apples and your thinking
oranges. If an adulterer understands his sin...turns from it – i.e. STOP THE SEX!!; repents and confesses, the Lord in His
grace and mercy, based on the blood of Jesus Christ will forgive. That has very
little to do though with the warnings that Wisdom gives concerning the
consequences of this sin. Moving backwards: “The woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy” The jealous spouse may not be as forgiving as God is...even a
child of God, knowing what they should do, may not if they allow the flesh to
control them. At the least the adulterer may be hated for life by the offended
spouse...at the most the adulterer may enter eternity prematurely! “His shame will never be erased” No matter
how faithful he becomes in the future, all that know what happened will always
know, so the shame of his actions are like a scar, always with him. This is why
so many adulterers pick up and move away, hoping to start new with
strangers. “Disgraced” His legacy is disgraced, because he could not
control himself and not only sinned, but tore apart another couple’s marriage. The fact that the marriage may have been a disaster
already really does not matter, all will view him as the final death nail to
that relationship. Even a president that would have been known for great things
will be remembered that he had to get his sexual pleasure so badly that he did
not care if it separated a couple. Who wants to be remembered for not having
enough integrity to at least keep your sexual escapades limited to people that
have not promised themselves to only one person!
Lastly, “wounded”, the adulterer is wounded...no matter what else
happens he knows inside himself he let down his God, his spouse, his family and
himself. This is more important than many believe and they do not understand it
until after they have lost it. In this fallen world of sin and failure this is
an important goal that can help a believer remain focused. I hate the fact that
I have failed mentally to remain faithful to the woman I love so much. I
compromised with porn and lust...and that is disappointing enough, but I still
have the prize of reaching Jesus and being able to praise Him, that because of
His strength and willingness to supply power when I needed it, I was physically
faithful to the gift God gave me and I enter eternity as a one woman man. That
is my desire and prayer! No fantasized pleasure is worth losing that! Don’t kid yourself! Sacrificing the ultimate of Jesus’ delight in your faithfulness to your spouse on the Alter of the
immediate gratification of sex brings consequences that none desire to pay.
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