April 5, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 5
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Following Scripture Verses

1. My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
2. That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4. But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
5. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
7. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
8. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
9. Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
10. Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
11. And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12. And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13. And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14. I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15. Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
18. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
20. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
22. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

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"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth" - Proverbs 5:18

From my observation as a pastor it seems that many marriages are unhappy. This appears to be true even in Christian homes. I'm not saying that husbands and wives hate each other, or that they are contemplating divorce, but rather they seem to simply co-exist. May I say that I am thankful when marriages stay together even when problems may occur, for God does not approve of divorce. However, I think it is a shame that so few married people seem to find real joy in their relationship with their mates.

The context of today's verse deals with immorality. Part of the passage deals with the foolishness of stepping outside of the marriage relationship for a "fling". As a part of his teaching, Solomon says that a man should not look for another woman to bring pleasure into his life, but he should rejoice with his own wife. While the context may involve morality, I believe that the principle stated goes far beyond that. A man can be faithful to his wife without finding joy in the relationship. God says, "Be faithful", but he also says, "Rejoice".

How excited are you about the spouse that God has given you? Are you thrilled that he or she is your partner? Do you anxiously look forward to that time of day when you will get to see each other again? Do you desire to spend time with him or her, or do you get more enjoyment out of being with someone else. It is sad when men would rather be out with their buddies than home with their wives, and vice versa. Outside of my relationship with God, the greatest human joy I can have is with my wife.

Do you rejoice with your spouse? God commands it, and we need to choose to do it.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery