The Book of Proverbs everywhere teaches that actions have consequences. Good actions have good consequences, bad actions bad ones. One of the book’s specific lessons is that cultivating a faithful marriage leads to blessing. By contrast, pursuing adulterous liaisons leads to judgment.   In Proverbs 6:25-35, the Proverbist outlines the judgment that falls on the man who seeks adulterous liaisons. They are both person and interpersonal. Verses 25-29 outline the personal judgment that comes to the adulterous man:   Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute … Continue reading Scooping Fire into Your Lap (Proverbs 6:25-35)

  Proverbs 6:20-24 speaks about the power of words for good or bad. It contrasts the good words of parents with the bad words of adulterers. While our parents’ words include “commands” and “teaching,” adulterers’ words are “smooth.” The authentically moral person knows how to resist sexual seduction through “the corrections of discipline.”   Verse 20 begins with an exhortation to listen to your parents:   My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.   The words commands and teaching are legal terms in the Bible. Our parents are our first instructors in the moral … Continue reading The Power of Words for Good or Bad (Proverbs 6:20-24)

  Proverbs 6:16-19 enumerates seven things God hates.   There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him…   While divine hatred is not a major theme of Scripture, it is present in both the Old and New Testaments. See, for example, Deuteronomy 12:31, 16:22; Psalm 5:5; Isaiah 1:14, 61:8; Amos 5:21; Zechariah 8:17; Malachi 2:16; Romans 9:13; Revelation 2:6. In these verses, the usual object of God’s hatred is a sin of some sort. But occasionally, the object of God’s hatred is the person who commits these sins.   Now, I think we all believe that … Continue reading Seven Things God Hates (Proverbs 6:16-19)