Proverbs Study at Moore's Friday, Nov 30th at 7 PM

This coming Friday we will be looking at Proverbs 5:1-14.

Here are questions to think over as you read the text. I have also included the text in ESV translation to help.

Proverbs 5.1 ¶ My son, be attentive to my wisdom;

incline your ear to my understanding,

Proverbs 5.2 that you may keep discretion,

and your lips may guard knowledge.

VS 1: Do you notice anything familiar about the phrasing in vs 1? How would you summarize it? What picture comes to mind when you think of someone "inclining [their] ear to," something?

VS 2: What do the lips of the wise do?

Proverbs 5.3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,

and her speech is smoother than oil,

VS 3: In contrast to verse 2, what do the lips of the forbidden woman do?

– Who was forbidden at this time? See 1 Kings 11:2 and Exodus 34:11-16 for help.

– Who is forbidden now? Can you think of verses to support this? Can you think of any biblical principles to support this?

-- How would you paraphrase this verse? 

Proverbs 5.4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

sharp as a two-edged sword.

VS 3-4 What she says sounds good, is smooth and easy, but in the end is what? Here is another mention of bitter wormwood in scripture: Rev 8:10-11. What kind of picture of bitterness does that portray?

What does two-edged sword make you think of? Some other verses that mention the phrase: Psa 149.6; Prov 5.4; Heb 4.12; Rev 1.16; 2.12.

Unbelievers often seem to be more interested in intimate relationship with us than believers. How might the ideas above help explain that phenomenon?

Proverbs 5.5 Her feet go down to death;

her steps follow the path to Sheol;

Proverbs 5.6 she does not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

VS 5: Where is she headed? 

VS 6: To ponder can mean to prepare and lay a foundation for a road; or, to think about. What is the woman in these verses pondering, if anything? What is her relationship to pondering? What similarities do you see between 5:6 and 4:19.

-- How could person represented in 4:26-27 be sexually joined (ie one flesh) with person in 5:5-6? What would result be?

Proverbs 5.7 ¶ And now, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Proverbs 5.8 Keep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

VS 7-8: How do you respond to such a person? How close is too close? What might some guidelines be?

Proverbs 5.9 lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

Proverbs 5.10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

Proverbs 5.11 and at the end of your life you groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

Proverbs 5.12 and you say, “How I hated discipline,

and my heart despised reproof!

What are the things that the person pictured here hates? What would lesson for us be then? What things should we love and cherish? 

Proverbs 5.13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

Proverbs 5.14 I am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

VS 13-14: What did this person not do? Consequently, what should we do?

Here are some additional verses to help clarify influences others can have on you.

Whoever is not with me is against me.  -- Matt 12:30; Luke 11:23

There's no middle ground. Bad company ruins good morals. 1 Cor 6:16-20.

Don't presume on God's kindness, he is kind to lead you to repent. Rom 2:4