KEEP GOD’S COMMANDS IN YOUR HEART

Proverbs 6:12-35 / Keywords 6:21

Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck.

 

6:12 A troublemaker and a villain,

    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,

13     who winks maliciously with his eye,

    signals with his feet

    and motions with his fingers,

14     who plots evil with deceit in his heart—

    he always stirs up conflict.

15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;

    he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

16 There are six things the Lord hates,

    seven that are detestable to him:

17         haughty eyes,

        a lying tongue,

        hands that shed innocent blood,

18         a heart that devises wicked schemes,

        feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19         a false witness who pours out lies

        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Warning Against Adultery

20 My son, keep your father’s command

    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

21 Bind them always on your heart;

    fasten them around your neck.

22 When you walk, they will guide you;

    when you sleep, they will watch over you;

    when you awake, they will speak to you.

23 For this command is a lamp,

    this teaching is a light,

and correction and instruction

    are the way to life,

24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,

    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty

    or let her captivate you with her eyes.

26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,

    but another man’s wife preys on your very life.

27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap

    without his clothes being burned?

28 Can a man walk on hot coals

    without his feet being scorched?

29 So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife;

    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 People do not despise a thief if he steals

    to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,

    though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

32 But a man who commits adultery has no sense;

    whoever does so destroys himself.

33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,

    and his shame will never be wiped away.

34 For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury,

    and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

35 He will not accept any compensation;

    he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.

1. People will always try to deceive and trick you. Beware of sly and adulterous people who tempt you to follow their ways. Rather, remember the wise teachings of our spiritual parents to do what is upright and godly. We should imprint God’s commands on our hearts and follow them as our inner light. We need to meditate on them day and night, and this will guide us and keep us from falling astray. We will open our eyes to see scams and traps around us and avoid them.

 

2. The proverb gives a strong warning especially against adultery. It seems so common. Yet, when people commit adultery, it’s like scooping fire into one’s lap. Reputations are ruined, and the stigma of shame is never removed. Moreover, a jealous spouse will oppose you, punish you, and never forget. Who wants to live in a firepit like this? 3. Passion makes people blind and careless in their choices. It steals their hearts and minds and makes them sick with lust. Those who follow their adulterous desires and break up a family will have to live with this great shame for the rest of their lives as a testament against them. Even years later, David was still remembered for committing adultery with Bathsheba (Mt 1:6).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for your laws protecting me. Help me to imprint your righteous commands on my heart and be on guard against adultery.

One Word Bind God’s laws on your heart