The Way of the Wise - Proverbs
7 - Pay Attention
We come this time to Proverbs chapter 5 and we are looking at verses 1 and 2 which say: “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion, and your lips may preserve knowledge.” This chapter of Proverbs provokes four life and death questions. The questions are these:
“Why should I listen?”; “What should I know?”; “What should I do?”; and “What should I remember?”
First then, “Why should I listen?” When King Solomon says, “My son pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion, and your lips may preserve knowledge”, he sounds more like a schoolteacher than a king. “Pay attention and listen”, he says; familiar words for school children! But this is God’s word; it is not just a word of advice, but a message of the highest authority, so why should I listen? I must listen because God is warning me about something. He is warning me through these words of Solomon to his son because He cares about me. Solomon warns his son about an adulteress and immorality, but it is much more than that; it is essentially a parable, a picture of the temptation to sin.
He speaks in verse 2 about lips preserving knowledge; why our lips? Well, if your heart is right with God what you say will be true and sound. You will say the right things at the right time because you have listened to God. Someone is perhaps trying to persuade you and entice you to sin. But if you love the Lord, you will know how to reply; you will know how to respond with wise godly words.
Why should I listen to what God is saying to me? Because, as we are about to discover, it is a matter of life and death. Secondly then, “What should I know?” We find this in Proverbs 5:3 to 14. If you don’t have a Bible to hand just now, don’t worry because I will be quoting from some of these verses as we discover just what it is we should know. Have you noticed sometimes, when you least expect it, temptation comes to you? It can happen after a time of great personal blessing. Do not ever think that you are immune from it. Do not ever think you are so strong you will never go under. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul describes a very privileged people. They are the people of Israel, God’s people. They have been delivered from Egypt and God has miraculously provided them with water and food in the desert. Paul says that these people are examples to us all. What happened to them? Well, he tells us that in spite of God’s goodness to them, they were drawn into pagan practices and into immorality. They were drawn into grumbling and complaining against Moses and against the Lord. Twice over Paul says these people are examples or warnings to us.
We all have areas of potential weakness and vulnerability, and here, Proverbs 5:3, temptation comes in a very powerful form. A man is flattered by an attractive woman. Here is forbidden fruit; he feels it is exciting; he thinks no one will know. Here is a sin trap, and of course it is deadly. Here is something we should know: there is a terrible price to pay for sin, and that is what we are told in Verse 4. We are told, “In the end she is bitter as gall”, the honey has become bitter; this woman is like a very sharp sword. There is always an afterwards, a consequence, but nobody sees it at the time, and the wounds are deep. It won’t affect me, you say. Oh yes it will, and this woman who represents the temptation to sin, is a death merchant. We are told in verse 5, “Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to hell.”
Did you know that Jesus spoke more about hell than He did about heaven? Hell is a place of eternal loss, a place of tears, of anguish and punishment, a dreadful place. If there is no hell why did Jesus need to become our substitute on that terrible cross at Calvary? Verse 5 is a serious verse, it is a warning that we cannot afford to ignore. We cannot trifle with sin and temptation and expect to avoid the consequences either now or in the future.
In verse 6 this sinful woman is seen as someone rushing through life with no thought or knowledge about where she is headed. Her paths are crooked but she doesn’t know it. Her way of life is careless and sinful. It is a way that ends in judgement. The true way of life is found in Christ, but sadly, to many it is regarded as irrelevant. They keep serious thoughts at bay and live only for the pleasures of the moment. In Verse 7 we hear a second time, “Listen to me”. Here is the tender, caring voice of the Lord and his word. He is very clear and gentle. He is warning us in love not to turn aside from Him.
So here is this very powerful temptation; what am I to do about it? The word of God is very practical and verse 8 is very helpful when it comes to dealing with temptation. It says keep to a path far from her do not go near the door of her house. Just keep away, just say no to all ungodliness. Do not go to places where you know you will be tempted. Do not read or watch things that give the tempter a foothold. Do not go with people who will lead you astray.
The third question is: “What should I know?” This is found in Verses 18 to 20. “Be faithful and be content”, that is the message we discover in these verses. Here is a picture of happiness and contentment in marriage. There is a delightful gospel picture in which marriage speaks of the relationship between The Lord Jesus Christ and his Church. This passage in Proverbs 5 describes the intimacy, the joy, the delight, the satisfaction, and the mutual affection between a man and his wife as they live faithfully together. The Christian church and her precious Saviour are united in a mysterious and wonderful relationship of which the union of a man and a woman in marriage is a beautiful picture. It is a relationship of mutual love and union. It is a situation of true fulfilment.
The fourth question is this: “What should I remember?” We have this in verses 21 to 23. We should remember that no one escapes the gaze of God. Verse 21 tells us, “A man’s ways are in full view of the Lord and He examines all his paths.” No one escapes the gaze of God for He knows all that we do and say. Then in verses 22 and 23 we have an awful warning. There are those who choose the way of sin and reject Christ; they will face the certain, just judgement of God. We are told in these verses that they will die from lack of discipline, led astray by their own great folly. But in all this we should remember that there is a Saviour from all sin; a living Saviour, a loving Saviour, a faithful Saviour, a welcoming Saviour, one who says ‘Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden by sin and temptation, and I will give you rest.’ Have you come to Him?