“My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life. It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman. Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you. For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life. Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished. 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.”
Proverbs 6:20-35 NLT
It is unwise to read this passage without the personal context of Solomon’s own experiences. Though Solomon was the product of a “perfect union,” before God. He was the second son to Bathsheba and David. Their first son was killed as a matter of principal due to the sins committed to conceive him. This started with pride, led to lust, and ended in murder. With the way in which David agonized over the death of his firstborn to Bathsheba, and the profundity of his Psalms during that time, we can gather that Solomon was well instructed about the dangers of adultery. It is in this context that he was most likely advised by his own mother and father that these crimes will “not go unpunished.” In the past it was the fault of the promiscuous woman but here, the fault lies squarely on the man who played with fire by scooping it into his lap believing he wouldn’t get burned. Solomon uses a foundational element to describe the lack of intelligence it would take to commit adultery. Indeed, “fire, hot, danger,” is one of the first cautionary syllogisms every human learns. Likewise, by extension “adultery, bad, punishment,” should be equally as fundamental to a godly man. This carries a dual application. When one understands how connected our behavior is to our spiritual reality, we should note that this warning against adultery and the utter stupidity of it applies both about spouses but also about God.
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