Bitter Honey

My son, be attentive to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.

Proverbs 5:1–6 ESV

We know the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

It also leads us to another kind of fear, and that is leaving (or walking outside of) his wisdom.

In today’s verses, we see a picture of what this looks like. It’s a warning for what awaits those who stray from God’s path of life.

As disciples, our lips should “guard knowledge,” which is in direct contrast to the forbidden woman whose lips “drip honey” but ultimately lead to “death.”

Here, the author of this Proverb is painting an evocative image. Think of it like this:

The terms the Bible uses apply to a man’s unfaithful relationship with a prostitute. The story of Proverbs 5 is a warning against adultery.

So in this sense, should the “son” (the original audience) believe a prostitute when she tells him, “I love you… I care for you… I want to be with you…”

Of course not! This “forbidden woman” is simply saying these things for money. At first, it sounds sweet, but the betrayal will end in death.

One of the clearest applications we can make today is pornography.

In fact, Paul even tells us that when we commit sexual sin, we’re actually sinning against our own bodies (1 Corinthians 6:18). This is why we should “flee” from it!

Have you strayed from God’s path of life? Do your metaphorical “lips” guard knowledge? Or do they hold the residue of forbidden honey?

Today’s devotion by Jordan Loftis, author of The Men With Bare Feet and editor of Short Daily Devotions.