UBF Daily Bread

DRINK WATER FROM YOUR OWN CISTERN

Passage: Proverbs 5:1~23

Key verse: 15

Warning Against Adultery

5 My son,^(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words^(B) of insight,
²that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
³For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;^(C)
⁴but in the end she is bitter as gall,^(D)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
⁵Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.^(E)
⁶She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.^(F)

⁷Now then, my sons, listen^(G) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
⁸Keep to a path far from her,^(H)
    do not go near the door of her house,
⁹lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity^[a] to one who is cruel,
¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.^(I)
¹¹At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!^(J)
¹³I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble^(K)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”^(L)

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
¹⁸May your fountain^(M) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^(N)
¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful deer^(O)—
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹For your ways are in full view^(P) of the Lord,
    and he examines^(Q) all your paths.^(R)
²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;^(S)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.^(T)
²³For lack of discipline they will die,^(U)
    led astray by their own great folly.^(V)

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Footnotes

Proverbs 5:9 Or years

Proverbs 5 strongly warns against sexual immorality.

First, we must use discretion in our speech and guard our lips. The path to sexual immorality begins with who we associate with and choose to talk to. By opening this door, we make ourselves susceptible to smooth talk or a line that hooks us into an immoral relationship. Next, we are trapped by where we go and with whom. We would not fall into immorality if we did not go alone somewhere with the opposite sex. (This includes being alone with a digital device for sexual pleasure.) After committing sexual immorality, what is the result? Tragically, lives are ruined (9-14). Immorality makes us lose everything: our strength, spirit, power, wealth, and reputation.

Second, we must reserve sex for marriage. The command, “Drink water from your own cistern,” is a metaphor meaning that sex was made for marriage. There is an intoxicating joy in marital sex. Complete intimacy with your marriage partner brings real love and delight. It is a fountain of blessing to us. To achieve marital purity, we must fear God who sees all our ways and be on guard against the snares of folly and cords of sin.

Prayer: Father, thank you for your strong warning against sexual immorality. Please help me to have discretion and guard my ways before you.

One Word: Let your fountain be blessed (18)