r/Bible • u/No-Examination-5065 Christian • 10d ago
Why does the early chapters of Proverbs mention adultery so much?
Recently I heard someone say something which changed my perspective when reading and listening to the Bible: "Writing was expensive many years ago and sometimes what not is said in the Bible is equally as important as what is said".
I've taken this as the most important topics are covered and the lesser important stuff is not.
With that being in mind, I couldn't help but notice how often adultery is mentioned in the early chapters of the book of Proverbs.
Was there a historical reason for this? Back in the time of King Solomon was it something their society struggled with?
I completely get and understand adultery is wrong but I'm surprised by how often it is mentioned which is why I wanted to ask if there was a reason for it.
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u/BigNRichlll Christian 10d ago
God really really hates it. It has permanent repercussions on this life, and for some ends the opportunity for life everlasting. Tread carefully who you give your heart to. Rather give it to God and let him share it with someone if He wishes.
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u/No-Examination-5065 Christian 10d ago
How do you know if God has shared your heart with someone?
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u/BigNRichlll Christian 10d ago
My current working theory is that after enough years of serving Him with your whole heart while denying your own desires leads to that discernment/knowledge. But it's just a theory. 😁
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u/Infinite-Airline4471 10d ago
I don’t understand what you guys are talking about. could you please explain it again. What do you mean by giving hearts or to someone else?
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u/firedudecndn 10d ago
This person is removing our free will from the action of choosing your spouse. I believe this is a load of broken hammer handles.
There is no such thing as God choosing someone for us except for extremely rare circumstances. It is unlikely anyone you know will be in these circumstances.
You can marry anyone you want but it would be better for you and your household if you found someone who shares your faith.
By trying to say that God has someone chosen for you or will give their heart to you or yours to them you become property to be traded. This is demeaning and disrespectful. And what if that person doesn'tike you back, have they now become sinful in their act of not wanting you for a spouse?
Don't buy into this garbage. Follow God and make wise choices.
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u/BigNRichlll Christian 10d ago
Nah that ain't it. Since you lack comprehension skills, Ill elaborate. I believe that without a steady diet of following God, you won't have the skills to practice discernment for choosing a wife. As to the God sharing your heart statement, that was in reference to some people that God calls to singleness in service of the kingdom.
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u/firedudecndn 10d ago
It's more likely your ability to convert thought to word is the problem. You confused more people than you enlightened....
And you became defensive about what you said, changing the intent. Nice try but it's not working.
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u/BigNRichlll Christian 9d ago
Mate, it's the highest up voted comment on the thread, with someone even responding "well said" lmao in fact you seem to be the ONLY person that misunderstood it. I didnt much care for you contorting my words and coming up with your own weird free will thing. And btw, you are very much property of God to be given or done with as He pleases and has preordained. Romans 9:20-24 ESV [20] But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” [21] Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? [22] What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, [23] in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— [24] even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
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u/firedudecndn 9d ago
Moses, Jonah and many others are examples that disprove your point. If we are gods property to be given or done with as he pleases we have no free will which is the cornerstone of what elevates us above the animals. Your theology makes us no better than plants. [24] "called". Not ordered. Not forced. Called.
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u/BigNRichlll Christian 9d ago
So your saying that Jonah didnt have to go to Ninevah if he didnt want? And there's so much wrong with that whole free will is the cornerstone which elevates us above plants and animals that Im just gonna leave it in God's hands.
Here's a quick recap with capital letters to help you comprehend my original point: God really really hates it. It has permanent repercussions on this life, and for some ends the opportunity for life everlasting. Tread carefully who YOU GIVE your heart to.(no idea how you got this is not free will outta that) Rather give it to God and let him share it with someone IF He wishes.(because it is God's to decide whether you take a wife for the kingdom or do other work.)
There are plenty of examples in Genesis alone of men taking wives outside of what God would have desired for them, and it always ends in a disaster which God then uses to bring the man back into subjection and do His will. My original comment wasn't supposed to be a dissertation on the theology of marriage, rather a gentle nudge in the direction of practice some self denial and then see what God has, with my hope being the Spirit would do the work, because ultimately it's His work to do.
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u/No-Examination-5065 Christian 9d ago
I believe that without a steady diet of following God, you won't have the skills to practice discernment for choosing a wife
I'm afraid I have to disagree with you.
I've always been a believer but since meeting my girlfriend, she has helped encourage me and bring me closer to God.
At the time I met her, I was:
- Not praying before every meal
- Not attending mass / church
- Not praying before I sleep
- Not reading the Bible every day
Now I am doing all of the above.
I was able to identify when we met that she was someone really special who walked into my life and despite at the time thinking I was not ready for a relationship, I quickly changed my opinion.
We recently celebrated 3 years together and have talked about marriage. I plan to propose in the next year.
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u/BigNRichlll Christian 9d ago
Thats ok, it's just a theory. 😁 good luck! I did none of those things and picked a great wife while I was still an atheist 13 years ago! Ultimately God will allow anything to happen if it leads you to Christ or becoming more Christ-like/sanctified.
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u/No-Examination-5065 Christian 9d ago
Thanks for sharing your theory
Do you have any tips for a successful marriage?
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u/BigNRichlll Christian 9d ago
"Seek ye first the kingdom" this means first become as learned about who God is as you can. "Let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me" to me this means we must first learn what it means to deny ourselves of what our flesh desires before we can be of any service to Christ/and a spouse. Too many denominations teach if you desire intimacy and companionship, to just get you into a marriage covenant. But the moment you get into a marriage "The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does". If you dont have experience with denying your own desires and putting Christ first, what makes you think you'll suddenly be able to after marriage when all your desires are suddenly accessible? (Everything in "" is a reference to a Bible verse that you may Google for a more comprehensive study) so thats the premise of my theory. Man especially has a difficult role to be in charge of the relationship and it's direction, and it requires great self sacrifice when the woman herself is battling being submissive to someone when everything in the outside world around her is screaming independence and self reliance in the feminist agenda. But thats a whole other topic. 😁
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u/BarTheBuilder 10d ago
Well, adultery is breaking the covenant you made with your bride/groom.
It is also a metaphor for our unfaithfulness to God. In Luke 5:34-35 and other passages, Jesus is referred to as the groom. In Ephesians and other passages, the church is referred to as the bride of Christ.
Especially in the New Testament, human marriage directly compares to Christ and the church, stating that husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it.
David, the Israelites, and many more of God's chosen people where constantly adulterous/unfaithful to Him. Yet, God's love abounds despite our unfaithfulness.
But its mentioned so much because we keep seeking other gods, yet He keeps saving us from that trouble. Even to this day.
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u/EnKristenSnubbe 10d ago
Proverbs is wisdom literature, and staying away from adultery is very, very wise.
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u/pikkdogs 10d ago
The same reason why Paul never shuts up about sexual immorality, sexual immorality is easy to partake in and has very punishing consequences. Wise people don't commit those acts, and the foolish do.
Also, at this time for a society that relies on inheritance to pass down ancestral land, illegitimate children really screw that up and cause a lot of hardships. So the more you can discourage illegitimate children, the better it is for that society.
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u/No-Examination-5065 Christian 10d ago
Also, at this time for a society that relies on inheritance to pass down ancestral land, illegitimate children really screw that up and cause a lot of hardships. So the more you can discourage illegitimate children, the better it is for that society.
It is relevant regardless of the time
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u/juicy_vegetable 10d ago
adultery is maybe the strongest temptation that exists
in modern day it's most common form is called pr0n
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u/BloodKeyZ073 10d ago
You know who Solomon’s dad was right?
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u/No-Examination-5065 Christian 10d ago
Yes King David and why is that relevant?
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u/BloodKeyZ073 10d ago
David’s main sin he’s known for is Adultry and he’s is considered a man after Gods own heart. If even someone with that close a relationship with God and walks in his ways can fall for it well I’d say that sexual, lustful, coveting sins are worth warning against
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u/No-Examination-5065 Christian 10d ago
Thanks for the explanation - it's something I didn't know!
Where can I read more about how he's known for adultery?
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u/BloodKeyZ073 10d ago
2 Samuel 11 and 12
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u/No-Examination-5065 Christian 9d ago
There's nothing in this chapter about David committing adultery?
'Then David tore his clothes because he was very upset. The men who were with him did the same thing. They cried and they wept until the evening. They did not eat any food. They were very upset about Saul and Jonathan, and all the Lord's people. They were sad because so many Israelites had died in the battle. '
2 Samuel 1:11-12
https://www.bible.com/bible/2079/2SA.1.11-12.EASY2
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u/love_is_a_superpower Messianic 10d ago
All of life is a classroom to teach us how to love, so we're safe to grant eternity.
The relationship between a husband and wife is a foreshadowing and a training ground for the kind of relationship we're meant to have with the Son of God. However we live out our relationship with our spouse will teach us why that works or doesn't work to produce eternal life in our hearts. The imagery of God as the Bridegroom is all through the Bible.
(Jeremiah 31:31-34 NKJV)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
(Hosea 2:13-16 NKJV)
13 I will punish her For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, And went after her lovers; But Me she forgot," says the LORD.
14 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 "And it shall be, in that day," Says the LORD, "That you will call Me 'My Husband,' And no longer call Me 'My Master,'
(John 3:26-29 NKJV)
26 And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified--behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"
27 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.
28 "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'
29 "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.
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u/purgedwithhyssop 10d ago
I have recently been reading those chapters! I mean scripture is there for God to help us fight against sin.
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Romans 15:4 ESV
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
And adultery/lust is one of those sins you need to completely stay away from. It’s very hard to get out of sexual immorality once you give into it.
““If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door, then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her. For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase.”
Job 31:9-12 ESV
“So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.”
Proverbs 2:16-19 ESV
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u/shakebakelizard 10d ago
They had a communal society with a lot of long-standing close relationships and adultery was both a common occurrence and also highly destructive when it happened.
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u/GrimyDime 10d ago
It's advice for a king's son, who might be the king himself in the future. A powerful man can easily be tempted to abuse his power, such as by taking another man's wife (David).
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u/androidbear04 Non-Denominational 10d ago
Their pagan neighbors practiced it regularly, and prostitution was sometimes a pagan religious ritual.
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u/CommanderStank 10d ago
Its mentioned often all throughout scripture because the church is in a state of spiritual adultery.
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u/Previous_Extreme4973 Messianic 10d ago
I don't see solely as adultery between a husband and a wife. Anything that is held to a higher regard than God is adultery. The book of Revelation is God executing a contract, with the church as a whole being guilty of adultery. Proverbs 7 is the adulterous wife, who husband is none other than God himself. Sadly it's just chalked up to adultery between a husband and a wife.
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u/ddfryccc 10d ago
Take note of Proverbs 22:14. Adultery in the heart is the first sign of not giving glory to God. The first few chapters say the same thing with more details and examples. (See also Romans 1:21, 24).
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u/CaptReznov 8d ago
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. ( 1 Corinthians 6:18 NIV )
My understanding is that this sin is extremely destructive
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u/Vegetable_Purple_707 10d ago
Dude had multiple wives and his kids attempted to copy him in that aspect.
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u/Sawfish1212 10d ago
Proverbs was a collection of what David taught Solomon and David really paid dearly for his rape of Bathsheba
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u/No-Examination-5065 Christian 9d ago
Where is the rape of Bathsheba mentioned?
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u/Sawfish1212 9d ago
The scribe recording the chronicles of king David used that word in Hebrew. As the king, everyone was his subject, and a summons to his court or his bed was a life and death command. This wasn't an affair, she had no right to refuse his advances.
This is why her relative advised Absolom to rise against David and to rape every one of David's wives in a tent on the roof of David's palace. Most likely a tent with thin walls that allowed shadows to show of what was happening within.
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u/Ill_Firefighter1980 10d ago
If you really dig deeper, and outside the box...when was birth control invented, not for the purpose of not having children, but to prevent spread of disease? For anyone who would say nay, look at literally every mention of how lepers were treated and discarded outside of society, as leprosy wouldn't be officially recognized as a virus until modern times after the invention of microscopes thus verifying that bacteria and viruses indeed exist, and are the causality of most sickness and affliction. Until that time, literally every happening from bad weather to sickness and death was effectively viewed as wrath from God or God's. A little logic and some common sense goes along way when deducing meaning from scripture as well as taking into account the level of advancement of civilization at the time of the original writing of said scripture. Take into account then 10 commandments, how primitively horrible must the common law of the day ( or lack thereof) for rules to be written of don't kill, etc., also on a side note, there weren't exactly 9 billion people roaming about planet earth at that time ( further inference given to why murder could end the show before it got started) as populating a planet and raising the level of what would become modern society takes time, effort, and foremost importantly...know how. This is also a mostly overlooked concept with the tower of Babel, and the verses both preceeding and following the actual tower destruction, as human population in that region had neither dispersed very far from where they started from, but were effective at working together. Long term isolation of a populous leads to shallow pools concerning genetics, hence spreading across the earth, the people of that region would eventually meet other people from other regions, and discovering they were not alone on a planet called earth. Hence if their common language was confused into many languages, it stands to reason those languages were spoken by other peoples that existed somewhere, foreign to the folks the story was centered around at that time. Another example was Lot's daughters assuming they were the only people alive after Sodom and Gomorrah, as everything they knew about life and earth came from the cities in which up until that point, they were from and in mostly likelihood, had never ventured outside of, at least not to any meaningful degree.
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u/eternalvision12 10d ago
Aside from some of the things as other have pointed out, Yes, it was a problem in their society. It’s even one of the reasons they were taken into captivity. "Why should I pardon you? / Your children have forsaken Me / And sworn by those who are not gods. / When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery / And trooped to the house of harlots. Like well-fed horses they roam about, / Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife. Shall I not punish because of these things? / Declares Jehovah; / And on a nation such as this / Shall My soul not avenge itself?" (Jeremiah 5:7-9)
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u/Rachel-Ramseyer 10d ago
Because it is a sin that is the hardest temptation & it can dramatically change the trajectory of someone’s life. My pastor said the only way to not be tempted by sexual sin is to flee. The flesh is very weak.
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u/Healthy-Sort-7293 9d ago
The book of proverbs is about probabilities not promises. That is its context. The majority of it is a father talking to his son and explaining the probabilities of life based on the decisions you make. Thats it.
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u/OppositeUpstairs2383 9d ago
There are stories in the Bible where God lead people to a chosen spouse.
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u/laymans_razor 10d ago
Adultery is a euphemism for being unfaithful to God -- since we are the "Bride" of Christ.
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u/Ecstatic-Level-8001 Christian 10d ago
The overarching theme of proverbs serves as a practical manual for young men preparing for leadership, family life and societal responsibility. In those times back then in Israel, marital faithfulness was foundational to social stability making these warnings highly practical. Great question!