PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27 KJV).

Here Solomon backs up the previous verses with a bit of Bible principle.

“Can a man take fire,” there is a connection in the Bible between fire and sexual lust.

“Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman” (I Corinthians 7:1 KJV).

That word “touch” is exactly what he means. What does he tell a man not to do with liquor? He tells him not to even “look” at it. So many people think that they can look sin right in the face and can handle it. But they can’t.

“I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn” (I Corinthians 7:8-9 KJV).

Of course, by the word “burn” Paul is not saying that a man will go to hell for divorce and remarriage, or murder, or anything else. If the opening into hell were a funnel with two inches of grease on it, you could skate around it and not worry a bit about going down in it. Now, we are not pain proof. Not yet. If we are in this flesh, the Lord can deal with us very harshly.

Here, Paul connects burning with desire, or burning with lust, to not being able to contain in a sexual relationship.

Here is the illustration: “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” In other words, can a man play with lust and not be burned? Is it possible to do that?

“Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:28 KJV).

Now, there are some that have worked themselves up in a demoniac frenzy that they were able to actually walk on and dance on hot coals, but that is completely unnatural.

Verse 26, “By means of a whorish woman” speaks of the “lust of the eyes.” She attracts his attention. Then the hands are connected to the thing in verse 27, “it is good not to touch,” and in verse 28 the feet get involved with it. The eye gets you into trouble, your hands will get you further into trouble, and then your feet will take you places you oughtn’t to be. It’s the old expression, “play with fire and you’ll get burnt.

Daily Bible study is necessary if we are going to begin our day with the right attitude and the right spiritual diet. Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, so let's read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let's keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread! Ideally, a chapter or two of Proverbs will fit in nicely with a good plan of reading our Bibles through each year.

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