Proverbs 30:20 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Proverbs 30:20

Comments

Again, Solomon turns to one of the Ten Commandments and reminds us of the horrific nature of sin. But the lesson he draws this time is about the carelessness with which people sin. The adulteress commits adultery so regularly, so habitually, that it is nothing to her. To do this terrible act of betrayal and unfaithfulness, this act which destroys the most precious relationship on earth – to her it is so much a matter of course that it is no different to eating her regular meals. She takes her food, and then at the end of the meal she wipes her mouth, almost without thinking. In the same way, she takes another man who is not her husband and breaks the commandment of the Holy One on High, but then carries on her daily activity as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It is about the deadened conscience. When she first sinned in this way, she did not do it with the same carelessness, but sin is progressive, and her conscience has been repeatedly abused. What should be giving her a warning about this momentous step of disobedience, is now silent because it has been forcibly silenced so often. It refuses to speak properly anymore, because the adulteress has does violence to her own soul. She cannot live with the constant pain of having her conscience pricked, and, since nothing is going to stop her following her lusts, she has agreed that part of her should die.But what has really happened? She has brought on herself and on others an eternal weight of punishment that is prepared for her at the end of life. She has chosen to live in a make-believe world where there is no God, no consequence to sin, no standards of right and wrong except those she is comfortable with, but God is still there. He can wait to deliver his punishment and her time is running out. He will permit her to go so far and no further. She sleepwalks towards death and judgement and when she awakens conscience will spring to life and all that she has done to stifle it will be reversed in a moment. The suddenness with which it will come to life will be a shattering blow. Let no one have anything to do with her and what she offers, but let her be left to her own destiny.

Application

If the constant repeating of sin deadens conscience, reflection on the holiness of God and on the cost that Christ paid to redeem us brings it to life. What our Saviour did is the opposite of what the sinner does when she suppresses conscience. He invited conscience to come to life and speak its worst. He welcomed the scrutiny of God upon sin. Unless the all-seeing eye of God saw every detail, his atoning work could not be complete. But it was not his own sin that he carried, but our sins which he freely made himself responsible for. In order to pay the price for sin, those sins could not be covered up in any way but must be fully exposed and their full horror admitted. So then, while fallen men and women deny sin and suppress conscience, Christ confessed all and received the full penalty of the law on his holy soul.

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Proverbs 30:20 Commentary and Bible Study