March 12, 2026 -- Proverbs 5:3-14 -- Sin and Restoration

/

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

3  For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,
4  but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5  Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;
6  she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.
7  And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8  Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,
9  lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,
10  lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
11  and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,
12  and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
13  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
14  I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”
English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Proverbs 5:3–14.
 
The big question folks always ask is: why? Why do I have to keep the ways of the LORD? Why do I have to be wise? Why do I have to be a man of discretion who guards knowledge? Here is a very practical example of why wisdom is so important. A fool will immediately welcome a chance to have sex with a willing woman. A fool will find the honeyed words of a wayward woman to be sweet, the oils and perfumes of her body to be alluring, but intimacy with her leads to ruin. Regret. At best you will be a laughingstock, at worst you’ll be diseased, going to death.
 
Be clear, the curse of Adam and Eve’s Fall, their sinful rebellion against God is clearly laid out here. Ungodly women will seek to entrap men in sex. Foolish men will be ravenous for sex. Sex is celebrated in our world. All kinds of deviations and perversions of it rock our world. Notice the impact of sexual activity that is outsides the bounds of God-ordained sexuality (which is one man, one woman to the exclusion of all others). When sex is an act of sin, it results in:

  • A shift from merely thinking about sinning, to plunging in expecting you’ll have a honey of a time; only to realize how foolish you were blowing up your life

  • Regret as bitter as wormwood (a very distasteful plant)

  • A sword which uncontrollably wounds, slices, cuts away what is good in your life

  • Death for the woman and death to men who used her

  • Being taken off the path of life, and being left aimless, wounded, and foolish

  • Giving away your good reputation

  • Honour trampled to the ground

  • Bearing the merciless, painful taunts of others

  • Helplessness and defenseless when strangers torment you about your past sin

  • You groan with grief that can’t be assuaged

  • Your flesh is consumed by the diseases of her prostitution

  • Your mind is eaten up by regret, sorrow, and fear of exposure

  • You will wrestle with regret…even as you are tempted to go back to your sin

  • You will have the scorn of your teachers

  • You will isolate yourself, afraid to seek wise counsel and godly help

  • You will wonder if you can return to the assembled congregation of the people of God.

Be assured there is hope. How do I know this? The Proverbs are written so that those who are far down the road to destruction will have their conscience awakened by the Holy Spirit. God revives and the soul by the love that reaches all the way down to them, offered through the sacrifice of Jesus.
 
The Proverbs are a warning to the people of God to keep them from sin. The Proverbs speak to those who have stumbled far along the path of ruin, calling them to repent and turn to God. Jesus is your Healer. Jesus is your very great hope, Who bears away your sin and your shame. In Jesus Christ, the fool you once were, is now buried through the waters of baptism. The new life that is yours in Christ takes hold of you and renews you.
 
These words are also written so that members of the church are reminded to be merciful to the wayward man and the once-adulterous woman. James reminds believers that it is holy work to bring back to Jesus one who wanders from the truth. Proverbs remind us that even the righteous fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked fall and stay in their ruin (Proverbs 24:16). Who in the church will be patient, gracious, and helpful? What the Bible exposes is how absolutely wicked each man, each woman and each child is. The heart is in constant warfare against its own soul which is leaning on Jesus. Believers must know the depths of their own depravity before they can truly understand the grace they’ve received in Jesus and therefore the compassionate grace they can extend to those who need it.
 
O LORD, if You kept track of our every sinful thought, every careless word, every act of iniquity, and all the good we knew we should have done, but didn’t, not one of us would ever be able to lift our eyes to You. But You have lavished extravagant forgiveness on Your people through the costly cross of Jesus Christ. You have punished Your beloved Son, so that all who turn to You are now called beloved sons and daughters of the Most High God. No wonder You are feared! No wonder the Spirit Who reveals this truth motivates forgiven believers so that they eagerly and gladly obey the commandments of God—which are for them the path of thankfulness and the path of life regained. Forgive us, Compassionate Father, for all the times we have kept a record of the sins of others, while we are at the same time counting on You to forget ours. As restored sinners, every single one of us, equally indebted to Your marvellous, matchless grace, we wait upon You, O God. Restore us to Yourself in love. Restore us to one another in true community. Restore us to be a people who do not keep track of sins, but instead deliberately celebrate every wayward one who returns to the fold of our God. Restore us to a deep and abiding love so that the world around us gasps and says, “See how they love one another!” And by Your grace many more are added to Your people, broken people restored in Christ Jesus our King. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/slQ6MTJLU4I?si=ST3w9LmSdXoHYTHx Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.