Metaphor of Marriage

Read: Proverbs 5

"For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. Her feet go down to death." Proverbs 5: 3-5

Examine:

In this chapter Solomon is reminding his son to remember that he will be tempted with adultery. He was encouraging him to understand that given the right situation adultery could seem sweeter than anything imaginable. The wisdom the son obtained before the temptation would determine his ability to withstand the sweetness of this temptation.

Apply:

I realize that I will always be susceptible to moral failure in my marriage. This is a fact of which I am well aware and a vulnerability that is under constant guard in my life. As I read this verse my mind is taken to another application for my life today; my marriage to Christ.

God uses the metaphor of marriage to refer to my relationship with Him. Throughout the Old and New Testaments there are many places where God refers to His relationship with me or the Church using marital terms. Building on that metaphor it is easy to picture sin as adultery against God. Temptation can be likened to the adulteress whose lips drip honey. There will be many things in my life that seem to offer relief or pleasure but if they are not of God then they will only lead to death.

Pray:

Father, I am not sure how to do get to where You are leading me, but reading this chapter and thinking of it in context of my relationship with You brings a few things to my mind. First, I realize that I need to draw more of my joy from You. Following You will always require labor, sacrifice, and denial; but Your Word is full of reminders that it should be the joy and pleasure of my relationship with You that fills the void created when I deny an earthly pleasure. I have a tendency to look at the labor side of my relationship with You more than the joy it is designed to provide.

I also realize that I walk to close to temptation. Verse eight of this chapter warns that I should not even go near the door of sin. I fear that I often try and determine how close I can get to sin without failing instead of seeking to be as far from it as possible. I put myself at risk and set myself up for failure when I make this choice. I ask that my love for You drive me far away from the pathway of sin.

Finally, I realize how desperate I am for You to guide me with Your wisdom. Left to myself I will walk away. Outside of Your manifest presence in my life I am incapable of resisting the self-centered and self-destructive force of my ego, pride, and desires. I submit myself to You today and pray that my life will be marked by the purity of my relationship with You.