Proverb A Day, Proverb 5 [Prayer and Meditation]

Bible NKJV ^ | 900 B.C. | Solomon

[OneVike]

For those of us who have experienced moral lapses in judgement that have led to trials and tribulations beyond what we ever imagined, there is hope for healing and restoration in Christ's message. This message reminds us that God’s agenda is not to crush sinners under his feet, but to heal and restore their relationship with Him. Regardless of how bad you may think your sin is, you will be restored in whole one day. We must know that if you are of God, then there will be a punishment for your sins during your life on earth, because the Lord disciplines those he loves. (Hebrews 12:6) We also must understand that for every action we take, there will be a reaction. Often times there will be another reaction to our moral lapse of judgement many years later. When I think of moments in my life when I was wayward, or just plain stubborn, I am always reminded of the destruction I created with those I truly loved the most, my children. I can honestly admit that I wish I had memories of the many moments I was absent from their life as they grew up. The times I missed, because of my desire to have that which I knew was wrong, yet desired so much. I ignored the signs, and I blocked out what truly mattered to me the most. It wasn't until I lost it all, that I wondered why I was such a fool. A few years ago I asked for my fellow FReepers to vote for my granddaughter to win a contest. I did so because my daughter asked if I could help. My granddaughter did not win, but she did get recognized. She got recognized because I sent a lot of money so my daughter could take my granddaughter to LA to meet with the other contestants. Two years later she actually did win the contest, because her Mother showed the initiative. Last December, at the age of 14, my granddaughter won the National Championship as the best teen dancer in America. Four Months later my daughter and I told my daughter what I felt about the culture she is raising my granddaughters in. Did she take it to heart and understand where I was coming from? Nope. Instead she cut off all communication with me. On fb she unfriended and even blocked me. She also blocked me from Instagram and any other avenue I had to keep up on how my granddaughter is doing. She said if my opinion of the culture is so bad, then I don't deserve to see what they are doing. Today I have no contact with her, nor my granddaughters. Why? Well the truth is, I lost my right to be morally outraged with anything she does many years ago. As I prayed about the situation, the Lord spoke to my heart. He told me, that as wonderful as you think it will be, that which you desire, could destroy what you love today and tomorrow. I chose another woman over her mother, and that destroyed our marriage and our family. This is what Proverbs 5 warns us against. I decided to be enraptured by an immoral woman. I chose an embrace in the arms of a seductress, over my wife. Yes, yes, it was many, many years ago. I was young, I was unsaved, I was stupid. I can make a million excuses, but they would all be just that, excuses. For my selfish desires, I not only refused to consider the damage it would do to my marriage, but I also refused to consider what it would do to my children. The pain and suffering they would have to deal with through their childhood. Daddy, chose someone else over Mommy and us. That choice grew into a festering sore that would one day explode into a rage which would separate me from my grandchildren. I'm not the only one who paid dearly for sins against God. King David was a flawed man who struggled. His sins would even lead him to murder an innocent man who was loyal to him. David amassed power and wives, and although he brought unity and governance to 12 contentious tribes, his own children were sinful and rebellious. There were problems with his children that he seemed powerless to stop. In the end his family troubles would cause the delicate union of the Israel he had woven, to come unraveled. God's biggest disappointment in David would arise from his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, the wife of a loyal soldier, Uriah, whom he would have killed to keep his sin secret.(2 Samuel 11) The affair resulted in Bathsheba getting pregnant. Shortly after birth, the baby from his union became very sick and eventually died. Even though David pleaded in his prayers for God to spare the child's life. Many explanations have been given as to why God took the child's life, but the point is God refused to grant David his prayer that the child live. Thus the child died. (2 Samuel 16.21-22) Now God did not take the life of my daughter, but 35 years later, He allowed my daughter to take my granddaughter away from my presence. Today I have no connection, I have no way to know what is going on, and nothing I can do to change the situation but pray. My granddaughter has a chance to be something big in the dance world. She is that good, yet my actions from when her mother was her age, could keep me from ever seeing her again. Just as Davids actions cost the life of his child, and years later the death of his son Absalom, when he rebelled from his father, plus and the eventual ripping apart of the once unified kingdom of Israel is directly related to King David's sin with Bathsheba.(2 Samuel 12:11-12) Fate has a way of bringing our sin back into our lives to remind us, and others, why it is so destructive. Like an old injury that begins to ache when we get older, so to can the aches of our sins come back to remind us of how foolish our choices can be at times. An interesting aspect of all this is that the woman I lost everything for, was described at the time as a tiny dancer, just like my granddaughter referred to today. She was an accomplished well respected dancer for a local Broadway type theater in the town we lived in lived. My lust, and my desire for her would cost me my family. Oh, I forgot to mention. Two weeks later, she left town with another man who promised her he could help her become big if she followed him to NY. Sometimes our sins can come back to haunt us in ways we could never know. As bad as that may seem, an even worse outcome of this is that I just learned last month that my 38 year old son, whom I have been estranged from, and his wife are strung out on drugs. He runs scams for money to get their fix. I don't even want to think of what his wife does to help get their drugs. I'll be 61 in a Month, and there is no promise my son will even be alive when that day comes. Their children have been taken away from them, and are now wards of the state of Florida. Like King David's sins resulted in the destruction of the united kingdom years, and years later, my family is destroyed from my actions so many years ago. These are the ramifications of a night of romance and sex that I cannot even recall how good it really was. She was beautiful, and I thought she was a goddess. I remember how special I felt to have her even give me the time of day. In reality, she was as bitter as wormwood, as sharp as a two-edged sword, and 35 years later I am still paying the price for a night in the arms of a seductress. Oh how I had hated instruction so many years ago, and my heart despised correction! Yet I know that the Lord died for my sins, and regardless of the destruction I leave behind in this world, my future salvation is assured by the blood He shed on the cross for me, a rotten, good for nothing, worthless father, who prays the Lord will look kindly upon my children. Regardless of of what they think of me.

Proverb 5 (NKJV)
The Peril of Adultery

Warning Against Immorality

01 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
00 Lend your ear to my understanding,
02 That you may preserve discretion,
00 And your lips may keep knowledge.
03 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey,
00 And her mouth is smoother than oil;
04 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
00 Sharp as a two-edged sword.
05 Her feet go down to death,
00 Her steps lay hold of hell.
06 Lest you ponder her path of life--
00 Her ways are unstable;
00 You do not know them.

07 Therefore hear me now, my children,
00 And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
08 Remove your way far from her,
00 And do not go near the door of her house,
09 Lest you give your honor to others,
00 And your years to the cruel one;
10 Lest aliens be filled with your wealth,
00 And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you mourn at last,
00 When your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 And say:
00 "How I have hated instruction,
00 And my heart despised correction!
13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
00 Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I was on the verge of total ruin,
00 In the midst of the assembly and congregation."

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
00 And running water from your own well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
00 Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be only your own,
00 And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
00 And rejoice with the wife of your youth.
19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
00 Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
00 And always be enraptured with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
00 And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,
00 And He ponders all his paths.
22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
00 And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction,
00 And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

[OneVike]

[OneVike]

I personalized my commentary for today's proverb, since I am a poster
child for what happens when we do not head God's warning in Proverb 5.

Send FReep Mail to OneVike to get
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[NEWwoman]

21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,
00 And He ponders all his paths.

Amen

And thanks for making yourself vulnerable and sharing.

[dadfly]

Amen brother FReeper. thank God for your powerful witness and shining example of how Jesus is working in your family to turn evil to good, for we continue to “...walk by faith, not by sight.” i pray that you will see your grand daughter again.

[left that other site]

I remember voting for your granddaughter back then.

And, inspired by your transparent and touching story, please know that Jesus HAS forgiven you, and your struggle to BE forgiven by your daughter is seen by Him.

At some point, though, the sin shifts from the one seeking forgiveness to the one withholding it. I will be praying for you, but also for your daughter, that she receives the glorious forgiveness that flows from the Cross of Christ, and in doing so, will be freed from her bitterness and resentment and be reconciled to you, In Jesus Holy Name, Amen.

[Maudeen]

Thank you for your Proverbs posts and your faithfulness. I am using some of your info for my Adult Women’s Sunday School Class . . .ages 23-85 :)

[OneVike]

Wow, I am honored. Thank you.

[OneVike]

Thank you for your prayers. I especially hope you will pray for my daughter and granddaughter, since the only Jesus involved in the lifestyle of dancing seems to be Hispanic male d who are gay.

[OneVike]

Your welcome, :)

[OneVike]

Thanks you, I do pray for her to forgive me. I had thought she did, but her reaction to my honesty show me she hasn’t truly forgiven me.

[left that other site]

Well, you did what you could.

I am praying!

[dadfly]

ok Vike, that’s easy, too. God bless.