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Wisdom to avoid making your loved ones sad
(Proverbs 5)
Andy Nagahara
In the series on Proverbs, today we have chapter 5. Let’s read it in three parts. First, we will read up to verse 15.
1. How should we read Proverbs, who are not young men from the era in which it was written? (1-14)
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.
7 Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man’s house.
11 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!
13 I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.
14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”
As I have told you, Proverbs are words of wisdom passed down from father to son in the Israelite tradition. And we have learned that it is not merely a rule of thumb to avoid ruin and bring prosperity , but something that God himself teaches us from time to time to preserve the excellence of our lives according to the will of the God who created us.
And yet we must read Proverbs with due regard for the fact that it reflects the society of the time, and that it was spoken by a father to a man. Now, I wonder if any of you found this part of the article to be offensive.
Proverbs are written from the perspective of men, a father and son from families of some high social status. In society at that time, which was similar in every country, only a handful of people in a society similar to that of the father and son in Proverbs had what we would now call “basic human rights.” There is no perspective of women, children, ordinary people, or foreigners.
Therefore, if we read this passage superficially, the Bible becomes a “discriminatory document full of prejudice.” Therefore, some people declare that the Bible, along with the scriptures of other religions, is worth no more than any other book, and that it is wrong to believe it to be the word of God. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, word for word, transcending history and culture, that it must be taken as written, and that male-centeredness is God’s will. But both are professed Christians.
Let me ask you, in what sense do you consider the Bible to be the Word of God? I myself am no longer young, but I am a heterosexual man and one who enjoys the privilege of modern institutions. However, I don’t think that a male-centered world is God’s will.
The basis for this is the account of God’s creation at the beginning of Genesis and the words and actions of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. According to Genesis, all people, without exception, were created in the image of God. And Jesus never discriminated against people because of their gender or who they were. There is no apparent assumption of male dominance, as is found in other parts of the Bible.
I believe that the Bible is the word of God, but at the same time, it is true that, on the surface, the Bible is inevitably influenced by the era and society in which it was written. We will not be able to receive God’s true will unless we filter out the noise resulting from these influences through the words and actions of Jesus, who embodied the truth of creation.
2. Wisdom to avoid making your loved ones sad (15-20)
15 Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer– may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife?
As in the passage we read at the beginning, here too the seductress is portrayed as evil, someone who corrupts good young men. The original meaning of the adjective attached to “woman” translated as “stranger” in the Interconfessional Translation is abstract, meaning “outside,” so the woman referred to here can be interpreted as a “foreign woman,” an “unlawful woman,” an “unmarried woman,” a “woman who betrays her husband and commits adultery,” or a “woman who offers sexual relations in exchange for money.” Modern translations of the Bible also use different translations, with the NIV calling her an “adulteress.”
To read the Bible superficially and as the authoritative Word of God, is to conclude that women are inferior to men and sinful. It should be self-evident that all human beings, created in the image of God, are equal. However, not only Christian societies, but also other religions, and not only religions, but human society as a whole has not recognized this throughout its entire history.
It was only in the 19th and 20th centuries that this inequality was significantly improved. Everyone, except for fundamental religious people, knows that discrimination based on wealth, class, gender, race, and sexual minorities is not God’s will. Nevertheless, discrimination has not been eliminated because it has been structurally preserved. The root of this problem is our sinful nature.
While steady efforts continue to be made to eliminate discrimination one by one, the activities of those who want to reverse it continue unabated. If we read the Bible innocently and superficially as the inerrant Word of God, we will be helping such people. Therefore, we need to follow Jesus’ example and read the Bible from his perspective, free from all prejudice.
On the Thursday before his crucifixion, after Jesus had dinner with his disciples, he suddenly offered to wash their feet. The disciples were very surprised and did not agree with him. This is because washing feet was something that a servant did for his master, and not the other way around.
After Jesus insisted on washing and wiping the disciples’ feet with a towel, he said to them:
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John 13:14,15)
In the following conversation, Jesus told them:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (34-35)
Jesus teaches that to love is to serve. We have been commanded as new commandments to “love one another” and “serve one another” regardless of our status or ability. This is something that those who enjoy privileges due to social structures must be keenly aware of.
It can be men against women, the majority against the sexual minority, the rich against the poor, and so on. Because we take these privileges for granted without even realizing it, we tend to hurt those who do not have those privileges. Consider yourself a servant to your spouse, regardless of gender.
Although this commandment is for men to cherish their spouses and show concern for others, God’s will is extended to women as well. That is true for any human relationship.
That is why Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). As servants, we should be able to remonstrate those we serve, but not let our emotions get the better of us and lash out in anger. Furthermore, it is unacceptable to scare or resort to violence.
God does not want you to lose your blessed relationships because of lusts, no matter who you are dealing with.
3. The Lord cares for all our paths (21-23)
21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.
22 The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
23 He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
The “father” of Proverbs is so eager to urge us to treasure God’s wisdom because, as it says, our lives are protected by God’s hand. God will never abandon us unless we try to cut off our relationship with Him.
We should not envy those who do not seek to obey God, no matter how much wealth they may seem to have on earth. That is not real wealth. They are poor people who are unable to realize the terrible misfortune of turning their backs on God.
When Jesus said, “Love your neighbor,” he did not stop there; he even said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (5:43, 44). If we were to pray for such people, it would be, “May they realize God’s grace and change direction.” In fact, the Apostle Paul had such an experience.
We who are fortunate enough to have been made followers of Jesus, let us follow his will and walk with him as “servants “.
(Prayer) Thank you, Jesus, for only by grace have we been made to know you and walk with you.
We are sorry to you that our sins have created inequality and injustice, and that they have led to the poverty, discrimination, and persecution that still so prevail in the world today.
We are also painfully aware that we are people who are prejudiced and look down on those closest to us.
Please let us have your thoughts.
Fill us with the wisdom, patience, and love we need so that we can say the words you want to say and do the things you want to do for the person in front of us.
Teach and empower each person to do what they can to bring this world back to the way You intended it to be created.
We thank you that you always walk with us, and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Summary
God created all people in his own image. However, people cannot accept those who have different characteristics from themselves and treat them as inferior. The structure of society reflects this and is designed to benefit those with power. However, Jesus challenged the social structure that had been taken for granted until then, saying, “Serve one another,” and he became our “servant” himself, not running away from the cross. If we want to follow Jesus, we have no choice but to become servants. To love someone means to become a servant of that person.
For Discussion
1. Why do inequalities and discrimination persist?
2. Please share any new insights you have gained from today’s text.