Proverbs 6:23 Commentary and Bible Study

Solomon here returns to the picture of the adulteress. We have seen that he uses this as an illustration and parable of the attractions of the world, but let us consider for a moment the literal application of the seventh commandment: ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ God’s command is binding upon us, holds us. He has a standard and a set of instructions for us because he has made us and knows what he has made us for. God’s command holds us and protects us. We live in an age when the world thinks human reason can figure out everything and set up the best policy in relationships, in sexual matters. It does not think it needs any guidance from God and if it wants to, it can change the moral standards handed down in the Ten Commandments. ‘This is our standard,’ we say, ‘we dare not deviate from it.’ How can human beings with their limited understanding provide an alternative to God’s perfect law? How can sinful creatures be trusted to set laws to govern their own behaviour, when they already have within them a bias towards sin? How will they avoid creating a standard that makes it easy for them to carry on in the same sinful paths? God’s law keeps us from relationships which destroy and harm, otherwise all manner of temptation here will drag us down.